The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center - Shroomery

Salvia Divinorum
botanist making general collections is not likely to collect S. divinorum
because its distribution is highly restricted and its flowering infrequent,
thus the few existing collections of this species have all been made in
conjuntion with ethnological investigations.
Several aspects
concerning this
species beg
inspection: it has been
found growing only in
the region inhabited
by the Mazatec
Indians; no plants
have ever been
observed to set seed in
the wild; and though
plants may be found
flowering at any time
from October until May, they apparently rarely do so. The corolla
conformation suggests no clear pollination syndrome and the flowers
do not point to any obvious taxonomic affinities within Salvia. These
and other questions regarding the biological status of S. divinorum
cannot be fully understood without consideration of the magicodivinatory
aspects of the species. Although information regarding the
Mazatecs is limited, recent interest in these people and their medicoreligious
approach to healing has shed light on certain facts that may
be relevant to the natural history of the species, as the pertinent
writings of Wasson and Valdes have elucidated (Wasson 1962, 1963,
1980; Wasson et al. 1974; Wasson & Wasson 1957; Valdes 1983;
Valdes et al. 1983; Valdes et al. 1987).
http://www.sabia.com/salvia/my_html/introduction1.html (2 of 2) [04.09.01 10:51:35]