{{short description|Species of plant}} {{speciesbox | image = Anadenanthera colubrina tree.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |last1=Canteiro |first1=C. |last2=Lewis |first2=G. |year=2020 |title=''Anadenanthera colubrina'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T62478A170266795 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T62478A170266795.en |access-date=6 November 2025}}</ref> | taxon = Anadenanthera colubrina | authority = (Vell.) Brenan | range_map = Anadenanthera-colubrina-range-map2.png | range_map_caption = Range of ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' | synonyms = *''Acacia colubrina'' Mart. * ''Acacia grata'' Willd. * ''Mimosa colubrina'' Vell. * ''Piptadenia grata'' (Willd.) J.F. Macbr. }}
'''''Anadenanthera colubrina''''' (also known as '''vilca''', '''huilco''', '''huilca''', '''wilco''', '''willka''', '''curupay''', '''curupau''', '''cebil''', or '''angico''') is a South American tree closely related to yopo, or ''Anadenanthera peregrina''. It grows to {{convert|5-20|m|abbr=on}} tall and the trunk is very thorny.<ref name="pubmed"/> The leaves are mimosa-like, up to {{convert|30|cm|abbr=on}} in length and they fold up at night.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071020083622/http://psicodioscorides.com/listar_a.html Diccionarios Botánicos]}}</ref> In Argentina, ''A. colubrina'' produces flowers from September to December and bean pods from September to July.<ref>Angelo Z, Dante and Capriles, José M. ''[http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-73562004000400038&lng=es&nrm=iso La Importancia de las Plantas Psicotrópicas para la Economía de Intercambio y Relaciones de Interacción en el Altiplano sur Andino.]'' Chungará (Arica). ''Volumen Especial,'' 2004. Pages 1023-1035. ''Chungara, Revista de Antropología Chilena''. ISSN 0717-7356.</ref> In Brazil ''A. colubrina'' has been given "high priority" conservation status.<ref name="pubmed">{{cite journal |vauthors =Monteiro JM, de Almeida Cde F, de Albuquerque UP, de Lucena RF, Florentino AT, de Oliveira RL |title=Use and traditional management of Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil |journal=J Ethnobiol Ethnomed |volume=2 |article-number=6 |year=2006 |pmid=16420708 |pmc=1382198 |doi=10.1186/1746-4269-2-6 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Nomenclature == ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' is known by many names throughout South America. In Peru it is known as '''''willka''''' (also spelled ''wilca,'' ''vilca'' and ''huilca'') which in the Quechua languages means "grandchild."<ref>César Itier. Diccionario del quechua sureño - castellano (con un índice castellano-quechua. Lima, 2017, p. 241; César Itier. Palabras clave de la sociedad y la culture incas. Lima, 2023, p. 299-320</ref>
== Geography == ''A. colubrina'' is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Cuba, and Mauritius.<ref>[http://www.ildis.org/LegumeWeb?sciname=Anadenanthera+colubrina ILDIS LegumeWeb]</ref>
== Natural growing conditions == thumb|right|''Anadenanthera colubrina'' flowers ''A. colubrina'' grows at altitudes of about {{convert|315–2200|m|abbr=on}} with roughly {{convert|25–60|cm|abbr=on}} per year of precipitation and a mean temperature of {{convert|21|C|F}}. It tends to grow on rocky hillsides in well-drained soil, often in the vicinity of rivers. It grows quickly at {{convert|1-1.5|m|abbr=on}} per year in good conditions.<ref name="storage">[http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/Publications/1032/1032_PDF/7%20-%20South%20and%20Central%20America.pdf Desiccation and storage of Anadenanthera colubrina beans.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060716113340/http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/Publications/1032/1032_PDF/7%20-%20South%20and%20Central%20America.pdf |date=July 16, 2006 }} ''International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI).'' Edilberto Rojas Espinoza.</ref> The growing areas are often "savannah to dry rainforest." Flowering can begin in as soon as two years after germination.<ref>[http://www.ethnobotanica.org/wiki/index.php?title=Anadenanthera_spp. Ethnobotanica.org Anadenanthera spp.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930111911/http://www.ethnobotanica.org/wiki/index.php?title=Anadenanthera_spp. |date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref>
== General uses == thumb|right|''Anadenanthera colubrina''
=== Food === A sweetened drink is made from the bark.<ref name="pubmed"/>
===Gum=== Gum from the tree can be used in the same way as gum arabic.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cMSFT5K3C9wC&dq=Anadenanthera+peregrina+falcata&pg=PR9 | title = Anadenanthera: Visionary Plant of Ancient South America | author = Constantino Manuel Torres | author2 = David B. Repke | year = 2006 | page = 98| publisher = Psychology Press | isbn = 9780789026422 }}</ref>
=== Tannin === ''A. colubrina's'' tannin is used in industry to process animal hides.<ref name="pubmed"/>
=== Hallucinogen === The beans of ''A. colubrina'' are used to make a hallucinogenic snuff called vilca (sometimes called ''cebil''). The bean pods are roasted to facilitate removal of the husk, followed by grinding with a mortar and pestle into a powder and mixed with a natural form of calcium hydroxide (lime) or calcium oxide. The main active constituent of vilca is bufotenin; to a much lesser degree DMT and 5-MeO-DMT are also present.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} ''A. colubrina'' has been found to contain up to 12.4% bufotenin.<ref name="PharmanopoPsychonautics">{{cite journal |author=Ott J |title=Pharmañopo-psychonautics: human intranasal, sublingual, intrarectal, pulmonary and oral pharmacology of bufotenine |journal=J Psychoactive Drugs |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=273–81 |year=2001 |pmid=11718320 |url=http://entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=9&z=8 |doi=10.1080/02791072.2001.10400574 |s2cid=5877023 |access-date=2007-08-04 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175808/http://entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=9&z=8 |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
It is also believed that the ground beans were used as a snuff by the Tiwanaku.<ref name=msnbc1>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130305122735/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27441890 Hallucinogens Found in Mummy Hair]</ref> There have been reports of active use of vilca by Wichi shamans, under the name ''hatáj''.<ref name="ott1">{{cite book |author =Ott, Jonathan |author-link =Jonathan Ott |title=Shamanic Snuffs or Enthogenic Errhines |publisher=EthnoBotanica |year=2001 |page=90 |isbn=1-888755-02-4 |url=http://www.erowid.org/library/books/shamanic_snuffs.shtml}}</ref>
Between 2013 and 2017, archaeological excavations at the Quilcapampa site in southern Peru, found that the Wari used seeds from the vilca tree and combined the hallucinogenic drug with chicha, or beer made from the molle tree.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Biwer |first1=Matthew E. |last2=Álvarez |first2=Willy Yépez |last3=Bautista |first3=Stefanie L. |last4=Jennings |first4=Justin |title=Hallucinogens, alcohol and shifting leadership strategies in the ancient Peruvian Andes |journal=Antiquity |date=February 2022 |volume=96 |issue=385 |pages=142–158 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2021.177|s2cid=246999684 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Archaeological evidence shows ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' beans have been used as hallucinogens for thousands of years. The oldest clear evidence of use comes from pipes made of puma bone (''Felis concolor'') found with ''A. colubrina'' beans at Inca Cueva, a site in the Humahuaca gorge at the edge of the Puna of Jujuy Province, Argentina. The pipes were found to contain the hallucinogen DMT, one of the compounds found in ''Anadenanthera'' beans. Radiocarbon testing of the material gave a date of 2130 BC, suggesting that ''Anadenanthera'' use as a hallucinogen is over 4,000 years old. Snuff trays and tubes were found in the central Peruvian coast dating back to 1200 BC. Archaeological evidence of insufflation use within the period 500-1000 AD, in northern Chile, has been reported.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Capparelli |first=Aylen |last2=Pochettino |first2=María |last3=Andreoni |first3=Diego |date=2005 |title=Differences between written and archaeological record: The case of plant micro remains recovered at a Northwestern Argentinean Pipe. Proceedings of the IVth |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285703082_Differences_between_written_and_archaeological_record_The_case_of_plant_micro_remains_recovered_at_a_Northwestern_Argentinean_Pipe |journal=International Congress of Ethnobotany}}</ref>
=== Traditional medicine === thumb|right|300px|''Anadenanthera colubrina'' foliage and flowers. [[Image:Anadenanthera colubrina at Iguazu Falls (Argentina).JPG|thumb|right|300px|''Anadenanthera colubrina'' leaves and bark at Iguazu Falls.]] The tree's bark is the most common part used medicinally.<ref name="pubmed"/> Gum from the tree is used medicinally to treat upper respiratory tract infections, as an expectorant and otherwise for cough.<ref name="plantamed">[https://web.archive.org/web/20071007115516/http://www.plantamed.com.br/plantaservas/especies/Anadenanthera_colubrina.htm Plantamed (Portuguese)]</ref>
=== Wood === thumb|right|''Anadenanthera colubrina'' trunk
In northeastern Brazil, the tree is primarily used as timber and for making wooden implements. "It is used in construction and for making door and window frames, barrels, mooring masts, hedges, platforms, floors, agricultural implements and railway sleepers."<ref name="storage"/> The wood is also reportedly a preferred source of cooking fuel, since it makes a hot and long-lasting fire. It is widely used there in the making of fences, since termites seem not to like it. At one time, it was used in the construction of houses, but people are finding it more difficult to find suitable trees for that purpose.<ref name="pubmed"/>
== Chemical compounds ==
Chemical compounds contained in ''A. colubrina'' include: * 2,9-dimethyltryptoline – plant<ref name="drduke">[http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=72 Dr. Duke's] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219223907/http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=72 |date=February 19, 2013 }} Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases</ref> * 2-methyltryptoline – plant<ref name="drduke" /> * 5-MeO-DMT – bark<ref name="drduke" /> * 5-Methoxy-''N''-methyltryptamine – bark<ref name="drduke" /> * Bufotenin – plant<ref name="drduke" /> beans<ref name="uno">{{cite journal |url=https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1965-01-01_2_page006.html |title=Native hallucinogenic drugs piptadenias |last=Granier-Doyeux |first=Marcel |year=1965 |journal=Bulletin on Narcotics |volume=1965 |issue=2 |pages=29–38 }}</ref> * Bufotenin-oxide – fruit,<ref name="drduke" /> beans<ref name="uno" /> * Catechol – plant<ref name="drduke" /> * Leucoanthocyanin – plant<ref name="drduke" /> * Leucopelargonidol – plant<ref name="drduke" /> * DMT – fruit,<ref name="drduke" /> beans, pods,<ref name="uno" /> bark<ref>[http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=981893406&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pdf&filename=981893406.pdf Medicina traditional Ergebnisse einethnomedizinischen ...(German)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205184910/http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=981893406&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pdf&filename=981893406.pdf |date=February 5, 2012 }}</ref> * DMT-oxide – fruit<ref name="drduke" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Psychedelics Encyclopedia |author =Peter Stafford |author2 =Jeremy Bigwood |year=1993 |publisher=Ronin Publishing |isbn=0-914171-51-8 |pages=420 pages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ec5hNgYWHtkC }}</ref> * Methyltryptamine – bark<ref name="drduke" /> * Orientin – leaf<ref name="drduke" /> * Saponarentin – leaf<ref name="drduke" /> * Viterine – leaf<ref name="drduke"/>
The bark and leaves contain tannin and the beans contain saponin.<ref name="plantamed" />
== Botanical varieties == * ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' (Vell.Conc.)Brenan var. ''cebil'' (Griseb.)Altschul * ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' (Vell.Conc.)Brenan var. ''colubrina''
== References ==
=== References === {{Reflist|2}}
=== Further reading === * {{cite book |author =Rätsch, Christian |author2 =Schultes, Richard Evans |author2-link =Richard Evans Schultes |author3 =Hofmann, Albert |title=Plants of the gods: their sacred, healing, and hallucinogenic powers |publisher=Healing Arts Press |location=Rochester, Vt |year=2001 |isbn=0-89281-979-0 }} * {{cite journal |vauthors =Pachter IJ, Zacharias DE, Ribeiro O |title=Indole Alkaloids of ''Acer saccharinum'' (the Silver Maple), ''Dictyloma incanescens'', ''Piptadenia columbrina,'' and ''Mimosa hostilis'' |journal=J. Org. Chem. |volume=24 |issue= 9|pages=1285–1287 |year=1959 |doi=10.1021/jo01091a032}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111123/http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/vrrc/?page=results&rpno=1&family=&genus=Anadenanthera&species=&intPerPage=25&x=76&y=10 ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' Specimens Click View Med] at the Field Museum * [https://web.archive.org/web/20230509223923/http://legacy.tropicos.org/Image/38354 ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' photo] * [http://www.ipef.br/identificacao/nativas/detalhes.asp?codigo=16 ''Anadenanthera colubrina''] {{in lang|pt}}
{{Psychedelics}} {{Serotonin receptor modulators}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q2719018}}
colubrina Category:5-HT2A agonists Category:Dimethyltryptamine Category:Entheogens Category:Herbal and fungal hallucinogens Category:Medicinal plants of South America Category:Plants described in 1831 Category:Psychedelic drugs Category:Psychedelic tryptamine carriers Category:Serotonin receptor agonists Category:Trees of Argentina Category:Trees of Bolivia Category:Trees of Brazil