''Dianthera pectoralis'' is an

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

in the family

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae () is a Family (biology), family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are Tropics, tropical Herbaceous plant, herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epip ...

. This water-willow is widely known as tilo in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. In

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, it is called ''chapantye'' and ''zeb chapantyè'' on

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

and

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. Other folk names are freshcut, chambá ''carpintero'' ("carpenter"), ''té criollo'' ("''

Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...

'' tea"), curia, death-angel, masha-hari, or "piri piri". This

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

was described by

Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. Biography Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to Par ...

in 1760, who provided additional data in 1763. A well-marked

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, var. ''stenophylla'', was described by

Emery Clarence Leonard Emery Clarence Leonard (1892–1968) was an American botanist known for his work on the Acanthaceae plant family and on the flora of Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, ...

in 1958.

Uses

Traditional uses

Across its range, it is used in folk medicine as a relaxant and general tonic. Additionally, it is often used in preparation of

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

, a South American psychoactive brew.

Other uses

As regards other applications, it is noted for its pleasant smell and as a source of

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

, which it produces in plenty, and which in combination with

umbelliferone Umbelliferone, also known as 7-hydroxycoumarin, hydrangine, skimmetine, and ''beta''-umbelliferone, is a natural product of the coumarin family. It absorbs ultraviolet light strongly at several wavelengths. There are some indications that this c ...

is responsible for many of its notable properties. It is also admixed to epená (''Virola'') snuff to make it smell more pleasant. In particular var. ''stenophylla'' might also be

hallucinogenic Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, moo ...

in certain preparations; it is known to ''wajacas'' (

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

s) of the

Krahô The Krahô (, ) are an indigenous Timbira Gê people of northeastern Brazil. The Krahô historically inhabited a portion of modern Maranhão along the Balsas River, but were pushed west by pioneer settlement and cattle farmers. Currently, the K ...

tribe in Brazil, who know that variety as ''mashi-hiri'' and consider it a potent

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances used in spiritual and religious contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. Hallucinogens such as the psilocybin found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancie ...

, not to be taken by the uninitiated. The ''wajacas'' (

s) refer to the leaves of the Dianthera pectoralis ''var. stenophylla'' as bolek-bena meaning "Leaves of the Angel of Death". Its name likely comes from the fact it has killed three

curandero A ''curandero'' (, "healer"; f. , also spelled , , f. ) is a traditional native healer or shaman found primarily in Latin America and also in the United States. A curandero is a specialist in traditional medicine whose practice can either con ...

Etymology

The name "tilo" could be by association with ''

Tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

'', the linden trees. These are entirely unrelated

eudicot The eudicots or eudicotyledons are flowering plants that have two seed leaves (cotyledons) upon germination. The term derives from ''dicotyledon'' (etymologically, ''eu'' = true; ''di'' = two; ''cotyledon'' = seed leaf). Historically, authors h ...

s whose flowers have similar relaxant properties. The water-"willows" are not relatives of the true willows either; like the lindens, the latter belong to the

rosid The rosids are members of a large clade (monophyletic group) of flowering plants, containing about 70,000 species, more than a quarter of all angiosperms. The clade is divided into 16 to 20 orders, depending upon circumscription and classificatio ...

branch of the eudicots.

References

Bibliography

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: * 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) * 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway * ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...

br>Tilo

n Spanish N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

Retrieved 2008-11-01.
Tilo
(in Spanish), Consultas Medicas. Retrieved June 2010. * (2006a):

Germplasm Resources Information Network Germplasm Resources Information Network or GRIN is an online USDA National Genetic Resources Program software project to comprehensively manage the computer database for the holdings of all plant germplasm collected by the National Plant Germpla ...

�
''Justicia pectoralis''
Version of 2006-08-04. Retrieved 2008-04-04. {{Taxonbar, from=Q9016813 Acanthaceae Ayahuasca analogs Medicinal plants Plants described in 1760 Taxa named by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin