The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications

I have long been looking for a book that included historical, chemical, AND folklore. Add a reverse index from folklore, medicinal uses back to plants and I would be in bliss - but for now, just have to settle for love.So what's in this huge tome:A must read introduction on what psychoactive subances are and how they are classified and the history of their study. Information on the Theory of Dosage, Set and Setting for users and descriptions of what the types of ritual uses are and how they are broken down. Shamanic consciousness, and how Dosage, Set and Setting can be used to effect consciousness in a purposeful way.How psychoactive plants were critical in the development of culture.The included plants are all those that the author's experience indicated to be psychoactive as well as those plants that other researchers or literature have reported to be psychoactive (under constituents and effects, he indicates those where facts fail to back up the myths and literature of the plant) Also included are two part psychoactive plants, ie where two or more plants must be combined to be psychoactive. Well known, well investigated plants are in the section for Major Monographs, less studied plants are in a section for Minor Monographs. A section for plants referred to as "legal highs", of which some are, and some aren't, but if it has a reputation, you can find it in one of these 3 sections so that you can see what is known about it. There is another section for practically unkown plants that have no botanical identity, but may be psychoactive, and a huge seperate section for psychoactive fungi.In it's own section there is "Psychoactive Products", and the major reference section that you will use a lot "Psychoactive constituents of plants" for which you can look up what the constituents listed in the monographs actually mean, as well as look up constituents you are looking for and get referred to the plants that contain them.Major Monographs are broken down into the following sections:Listed alphabetically according to botanical names,below which is the most common English name, or a common internation name.Family the plant belongs to along with additional details about taxonomy.Forms and Subspecies, any known forms, varieties, cultivars, or subspecies of the plant.Synonyms -nonvalid botanical names and misspellings found in the literature.Folk Names - Folk and popular names and information about the particular language a name is taken from, and translations of many of the terms provided, variant spellings reflected in the literature referenced for each plant.History - it's discovery, botanical description and historical uses.Dstribution - the curent cultivated and natural rangeCultivation -Information about the more simple and successful methods of growing and cultivating each plant.Appearance - brief description, other plants that might possibly be mistaken for it and the plant's distinguishing features are emphasized here.Psychoactive Material - the parts of the plant that are utilized as well as products obtained from them, where appropriate, the pharmaceutical names of the raw drugs are also given.Preparation and Dosage - preparing and dosing the various raw drugs, it is noted that identical dosages can produce very different responses in different individuals, so this information is not definitive, see the introduction for how to determine the corect Dose, Set and Setting.Ritual Use -Traditional uses of the plant in shamanic rituals, priestly ceremonies, domestic festivals and other experiences.Artifacts -where possibly reference is made to three types of artifactes, those composed of the plant or manufactured from it, Artistic representations of the plant in paintings, architecture, etc., Art works (paintings, poetry, music, theater pieces, etc.) whose inspiration has come from the use of the plant.Medicinal Use - Ethnomedical, folk medical, biomedical and homeopathic therapeutic and medicinal significance.Constituents -comprehensive listing of the known constituents of the plantEffects- the effect or pattern of effects is described.Commercial Forms and Regulations - Pertinent information about plants and/or the raw drugs obtained from them that are available through commercial sources, and any known laws or regulations as of the time of writing.Literature - specialized literature on the plant under discussionMinor Monographs follow the same pattern for the available information, but are much smaller as there is significantly less information to tell.Lots of awesome color photographs, woodcuttings and black and white drawings and diagrams from all kinds of historical places. Nobody should be taking this book out to the field to identify plants (it's way to big and heavy) so if you want field identification photo's, check out the literature section and get yourself a field identification book for the plant you are interested in. Or print some off the internet to combine with your notes and drawings copied from the book.This is an incredibly comprehensive, exhaustively researched book that I look forward to using for years to come. Enjoy yours too.

I’ve had this in my cart for over a year but finally pulled the trigger. So worth it! It’s very thorough and tells you literally everything you may want to know as a jumping point.

Have you ever tried looking for info on natural drugs on the internet? It is nearly impossible to find information on a rarely touched topic. Sites like erowid and wikipedia attempt to touch the topic, but they rely mostly on user feedback which can often be very questionable, sometimes flat out urban legend. The number of pictures in the book is astonishing, probably 2 per page for 900 pages.One plant can include family, forms and subspecies, synonyms, folk names, history, topographical distribution of the plant, cultivation, appearance, sometimes preparation and dosage, ritual use, artifacts, medicinal use, constituents/alkaloids responsible for effects, effects of the alkaloids, commercial forms and regulations, and references to related literature in addition to a small picture or two, and a picture of alkaloid molecular structure.It covers everything to devoting 17 pages to peyote, 6 pages to coffee, 4 pages to camphor (found in lip protectant and vicks vapor rub), to 2 pages on the blue lotus flower. One thing missing is lethal doses of these things, even with peyote which has a officially established lethal dose of mescalin that is lab researched. So if you plan on using this book as a complete personal reference guide for personal use or cultivation, you will need additional material. It focuses more on culture, history, natural habitat, and traditional ritual uses.. which I think is what makes the book so good. It is like an art book. Each plant a painting. Well put together, well researched, and well thought out, with a truly massive amount of information.

At over 7 pounds, this book is packed with information! The first 700 pages of it are individual profiles of a wide range of psychoactive plants and fungi--including info on their active constituents, history, usage, and cultivation. The remainder of the book is broken into two sections, one describing major classes of chemicals, and the other focused on plant mixtures and legendary compounds like soma. This is primarily a reference work, but it's more entertaining and comprehensive than Ott's Pharmacotheon.It's only major flaw is failing as an effective identification guide. All of the images are small, about 2" x 2" and relegated to the margins. While peppered with Ratsch's own photos which are unavailable elsewhere, there are few botanical illustrations other than some of the commonly seen historical woodcuts.Ratsch chooses to give us a comprehensive view of the information available rather than leaning towards practical application. Plants like monkshood and Datura are mentioned as dangerous only in passing. Dosage guidelines in general are rather vague. Heimia salicifolia and puffball mushrooms are included based on their rumored effectiveness--along with research that contradicts it. He typically presents all the evidence and leaves it up to the reader to make their own educated decisions.Ratsch does a superb job collating all the data currently available from various sources and adds to it his own research and insights. And unlike most other books on entheogens, he also covers stimulant and sedative plants and even some of the less psychoactive herbals. In spite of it's lack of illustrations, if you buy one reference on psychoactive plants this is the book you'll want.

Trabalho muito completo, abordando um número enorme de espécies com muitas informações de cada uma delas e o mais importante de tudo com doses e métodos de manipulação para cada uma. Livro essencial para todos que gostam de plantas e dos seus efeitos psicoativos.

Perfect

A very good book, it's concise and very informative. It has great pictures and good write up about each plant and uses.

I did by the English version for a very dear friend, I myself own the German original. The book is one, everybody with interest and psychoactive plants or Ethnopharmacology should know and own. Always the first reverence!

This book is very interesting to people who are not only interested in psychoactive plants, but also other their uses. Lots of pictures, history, names recipes etc. Highly recommend it