Argyreia nervosa
| Argyreia nervosa | |
|---|---|
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| Argyreia nervosa flowers (enlarge) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Convolvulaceae |
| Genus: | Argyreia |
| Species: | A. nervosa |
| Binomial name | |
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Argyreia nervosa (Burm.f.) Bojer |
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| Synonyms | |
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Argyreia speciosa (L.f.) Sweet |
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Argyreia speciosa (L.f.) Sweet
Convolvulus nervosus Burm.f.
Convolvulus speciosus L.f.
Lettsomia nervosa (Burm.f.) Roxb.
Argyreia nervosa is a perennial climbing vine native to the Indian subcontinent and introduced to numerous areas worldwide, including Hawaii, Africa, and the Caribbean. Though it can be invasive, it is often prized for its aesthetic value. Common names include Hawaiian baby woodrose, adhoguda अधोगुडा or vidhara विधारा (Sanskrit), elephant creeper and woolly morning glory. The two botanical varieties are A. n. var. nervosa described here, and A. n. var. speciosa, a species used in Ayurvedic medicine, but with little to no psychoactive value.
A. nervosa seeds contain various ergoline alkaloids such as ergine. A study reported stereoisomers of ergine to be found in the seeds at a concentration of 0.325% of dry weight.
A. nervosa is a rare example of a plant whose putative hallucinogenic properties were not recognized until recent times. While several of its cousins in the Convolvulaceae family, such as Rivea corymbosa (ololiuhqui) and Ipomoea tricolor (tlitliltzin), were used in shamanic rituals of Latin America for centuries, A. nervosa was not traditionally used for this purpose. Its properties were first brought to attention in the 1960s, despite the fact that the chemical composition of its seeds is nearly identical to those of the two species mentioned above, and the seeds contain the highest concentration of psychoactive compounds in the entire family.
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Wikipedia