---
name: Psychotria Viridis
molecule: C12H16N2
compound: "N,N-Dimethyltryptamine"
era: Ancient
origin: Amazon Basin
archetype: Freetekno
ancestor: Native American, Mayan
swag_score: 3
image: "https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/freetekno_nativeAmericans_mayan_psychotria%20viridis.webp"
date_added: "2025-01-12"
---

<div align="center">
  <img src="https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/freetekno_nativeAmericans_mayan_psychotria%20viridis.webp" alt="Psychotria Viridis" width="320" />
</div>


# Psychotria Viridis

## Effects & Properties

**Effects:** Vivid hallucinations, altered perception of time and space, and
emotional introspection. The effects are rapid and intense. Risks include psychological distress,
and a rare psychotic episode in predisposed individuals.

**Natural Occurrence:** Native to Central and South America, the
shrub contains DMT in its leaves at concentrations of 0.1–0.61% by dry weight, with higher
levels in the morning. It grows in humid rainforest, often in fertile, limestone-rich soils up to 150
meters altitude.
**Appearance:** The plant is a shrub between
1,5 to 5 meters tall, with glossy dark green elliptic leaves, small white flowers, and red to purple
berries. Dried leaves are grayish or reddish brown.

## History

Psychotria viridis (chacruna) has been used by Indigenous Amazonian peoples for centuries as the primary DMT-containing ingredient in ayahuasca brews, combined with the MAO-inhibiting Banisteriopsis caapi vine. The plant's role in ayahuasca was first documented by Western ethnobotanists in the mid-20th century, notably by Richard Evans Schultes and later by the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council. Chacruna has become central to the global ayahuasca movement that emerged from the 1990s onward, with ayahuasca retreat centers proliferating across South America and beyond, attracting spiritual seekers and researchers studying its potential for treating depression and PTSD.

## Connections

**Archetype:** [Freetekno](../../../core-lore/archetypes.md#freetekno)

**Ancestor:** [Native American](../../../core-lore/ancestors/native-american.md), [Mayan](../../../core-lore/ancestors/mayan.md)

**Tarot Card:** [Page of Cups](../../../core-lore/tarot-cards/page-of-cups.md)

**PubChem:** [N,N-Dimethyltryptamine](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/N%2CN-Dimethyltryptamine)

**Paired With:** [Datura](datura.md)

## Sources

- https://erowid.org/plants/psychotria/psychotria.shtml
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Dimethyltryptamine
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotria_viridis
- [Ayahuasca - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayahuasca)
- [Banisteriopsis caapi - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banisteriopsis_caapi)
- [Richard Evans Schultes - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Evans_Schultes)
- [N,N-Dimethyltryptamine - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N,N-Dimethyltryptamine)