TIL: Cup Of Gold(Solandra Grandifola, a solanacae plant) Flowers are Highly Hallucinogenic

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Today I learned that the plant commonly referred to as Cup of Gold (Solandra Grandiflora) is a plant in the solanacae family, the same that includes tomatoes and the like, that has hallucinogenic properties, due to compounds found commonly in the solanacae family called tropane alakloids.  There are many of these, some psychoactive and some toxic and it's these compounds that have earned the solanacae family it's reputation for being poisonous. 

This is a photo I took of the flowers on my neighbors tree.

A fellow Steemian @silvia posted an article recently trying to identify a tree they found at their relatives house.  Originally sold as an apple tree, 10 years later it's apparent that isn't the case.  Someone mentioned me in the comments, saying I might be able to help.  I did my best to identify the tree, as my neighbor happens to have one as well.  We couldn't specifically identify what it was on our own, so we decided to wait until the owner of the nearby property was back from vacation to ask him about it.

Immaure fruits not unlike those in @silvia's post

Well he finally returned and I today I asked him what it was.  He said it quickly in Spanish, but I couldn't understand it perfectly.  I asked him to write it down, which he did, "Cupo de oro" or cup of gold.  I immediately took to Google, and what I found was surprising.  There are many plants of many different kinds that are called that.  I thought I had identified the mystery tree as Allamandra Cathartica, until I saw the seed pods, which were spiky balls compared to the fruit that both my neighbors bush and @silvia's relatives' tree both had. This still remains a mystery to me, although I learned a lot of interesting stuff about a distant tomato relative, also referred to as cup of gold. 

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Solandra Grandiflora is a vining plant, with thick, tough vines that can extend over 100 feet in length.  They grow wild in the southern US, Central America and South America.  I've seen them here in Acapulco although I can't remember where specifically.  They sport large ten inch trumpet flowers, that start off as a light yellowish white and eventually turn to gold once pollinated.  They eventually produce white fruit with many seeds that eventually turn colors to a deep red.  The seeds are good for propogation of the vine, if you're interested in doing that. The flowers put of a strong sweet fragrance, somewhat like coconut oil.  The Huichol people from Jalisco, Mexico reportedly used to lay down under one of these plants, to have the dew rain on them and transport them to "a realm of mystical enlightenment".

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There are many ways that have been recorded of people doing this drug, different indigenous Mexican groups all seem to have their own manner of going about it.  From my understanding, all parts of the plant contain fairly high levels of the tropane alkaloids that cause the psychadelic experience, but the roots have the highest reported concentration. 

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The three main alkaloids that seem to be linked to these sorts of experiences are: scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and nortropine. Interestingly enough, scopolamine is used medicinally in patches and things like that as a cure for motion sickness. This implies that if you use a lot of those patches at once, you can achieve a hallucinogenic experience.  Another interesting use of the plant medicinally is that apparently locals use the drops of dew from the flowers as a medicinal eye drop, capable of clearing eye infections.

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Now the solanacae family is huge containing 2400 species split into two genera, Daturas and Brugmanis.  Daturas refer to the small plants, like tomatoes and the like.  Brugmanis are the tree and bush varieties of the solanacae family. These genera didn't exist originally, but as scientists identified more plants within the solanacae family, these became necessary as there was a clear divide in how the plants grow. 

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To the people who use it medicinally for it's psychoactive effects, the plant is referred to as Kieli or Kieri depending on who you're talking to.  There's a legend that says that the god of wind and magic, Keili Tewiali came to earth and took form as that vine, to offer enlightenment to the people. 

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The Huastec people are known to eat the fresh flowers to induce trances.  This is generally trying to answer a difficult question or diagnose an illness.  Mixtec eat the flowers to produce what they refer to as divinatory states.  The fresh flower is said to produce what's reffered to as an ecstatic trance.  Some tribes press the stalks and trink that.  Some make a tea of the stalk and the root.  Other cultures have been known to dry the leaves and roots, mixing them with other medicinal herbs to smoke.  Some Mexican cultures put it in their cocao drinks to increase it's effects. As you can tell, there is more than one way to skin this cat. 

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Historically speaking, the use of this drug has been proven to pre-date peyote, a hallucinogenic drug very commonly used by the same tribes today.  The effects have been compared to peyote and are described as being much stronger, more frightening and can lead to madness.  They also last much longer, apparently leading to psychosis that can last for up to 36 hours.  Smoking it provides strong effects without the chance of madness, and the trip is generally much shorter. It's for this reason that Solandra Grandiflora has earned the name crazy tree, as it's known for inducing madness.  It's probably for this reason that many tribes, including the Huichol, have adopted peyote over this powerful hallucinogen.

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Many cultures believe this plant to be magical, linked to the dark magic specifically.  There is a side effect of madness in extremely high doses, so many cultures believe that a shaman that uses this is malicious or dark in nature.  It seems to me it's just one of those things that should be used in smaller moderated doses, if at all.  The side effect of madness is generally associated with long term, heavy use. 

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So there you have it, the cup of gold, a highly hallucinogenic cousin to our beloved tomatoes.  From my understanding many members of the solanacae family, like the famous belladona, can be used to achieve a hallucinogenic effect.  What makes them dangerous is that many of the tropine alkaloids happen to be heavy toxins, that can cause death.  It is from these compounds that the nightshade family gets its reputation.  I find it highly interesting that very similar chemicals, with slight differences are known as powerful hallucinogens known for enlightening the people. 

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This is something I want in my garden eventually, as it's pretty gorgeous.  I'm very interested in the effects, as it's been historically used by so many people in Mexico to reach states of enlightenment.  I'm sure I'd try smoking it before drinking or ingesting it, just because I have no idea how it will effect me and the doses seem to be vague.  There's Erowid, the best psychonaught) information source I know of, information on it but there are no experience reports listed for it. Maybe in time, I'll come across it and be able to try it to be the first to submit one, we'll see.  

Stay tuned for my next article later today, where I share something crazy I found out about tomatoes today!

Sources:

http://entheology.com/plants/solandra-grandiflora-chalice-vine/

http://entheology.com/plants/solandra-grandiflora-chalice-vine/

https://erowid.org/plants/solandra/solandra.shtml