''Virola'' is a genus of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s in the
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...
family,
Myristicaceae
The Myristicaceae are a family of flowering plants native to Africa, Asia, Pacific islands, and the Americas and has been recognized by most taxonomists. It is sometimes called the "nutmeg family", after its most famous member, '' Myristica fragr ...
. It includes medium-sized
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s native to rainforests of the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil.
[ Species are known commonly as ''epená'', ''patricá'', or ''cumala''. They have glossy, dark green ]leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
and clusters of tiny yellow flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s, and may emit a pungent odor.
Traditional use
Several species of this genus have been used to create hallucinogenic snuff
A hallucinogenic snuff, or psychedelic snuff, is a powder prepared from plants containing psychedelic alkaloids and insufflated (snorted) to produce hallucinogenic effects. Hallucinogenic snuffs have been used as entheogens by indigenous peop ...
powders.
Chemical constituents
The tops of '' Virola oleifera'' have been shown to produce lignan-7-ols and verrucosin that have antifungal
An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as ...
action regarding '' Cladosporium sphaerospermum'' in doses as low as 25 micrograms. Lignan-7-ols oleiferin-B and oleiferin-G worked for ''Cladosporium cladosporioides
''Cladosporium cladosporioides'' is a darkly pigmented mold that occurs world-wide on a wide range of materials both outdoors and indoors.
It is known for its role in the decomposition of organic matter and its presence in indoor and outdoor en ...
'' starting as low as 10 micrograms.
Species
71 species are accepted.[
*'' Virola aequatorialis''
*'' Virola aguarunana''
*'']Virola albidiflora
''Virola'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae. It includes medium-sized trees native to rainforests of the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. Species are known commonly ...
''
*'' Virola allenii''
*'' Virola alvaroperezii''
*'' Virola amistadensis''
*''Virola bicuhyba
''Virola'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae. It includes medium-sized trees native to rainforests of the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. Species are known commonly ...
''
*'' Virola bombuscaroensis''
*'' Virola caducifolia''
*'' Virola calimensis''
*''Virola calophylla
''Virola calophylla'' is a species of tree in the family Myristicaceae. It is native to Central America and South America, namely Panama,
Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia ( Department of Amazonas, Department of Vaupés), Ecuador ( Na ...
'' Virola calophylloidea
''Virola calophylloidea'' is a species of tree in the family Myristicaceae
The Myristicaceae are a family of flowering plants native to Africa, Asia, Pacific islands, and the Americas and has been recognized by most taxonomists. It is sometime ...
''
*''Virola carinata
''Virola carinata'' is a New World, tropical evergreen tree in the family Myristicaceae that is indigenous to Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil ( Amazonas and Rondônia
Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdi ...
''
*''Virola chrysocarpa
''Virola'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae. It includes medium-sized trees native to rainforests of the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. Species are known commonly ...
''
*''Virola coelhoi
''Virola'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae. It includes medium-sized trees native to rainforests of the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. Species are known commonly ...
''
*''Virola cogolloi
''Virola'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae. It includes medium-sized trees native to rainforests of the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. Species are known commonly ...
''
*'' Virola crebrinervia''
*'' Virola cumala''
*'' Virola cuspidata''
*'' Virola decorticans''
*'' Virola divergens''
*'' Virola dixonii''
*'' Virola duckei''
*'' Virola elongata''
*'' Virola flexuosa''
*'' Virola fosteri''
*'' Virola gardneri''
*'' Virola guatemalensis''
*'' Virola guggenheimii''
*''Virola koschnyi
''Virola'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae. It includes medium-sized trees native to rainforests of the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. Species are known commonly ...
''
*'' Virola kwatae''
*'' Virola laevigata''
*'' Virola lieneana''
*'' Virola loretensis''
*'' Virola macrocarpa''
*'' Virola malmei''
*'' Virola marleneae''
*'' Virola megacarpa''
*'' Virola michelii''
*'' Virola micrantha''
*'' Virola minutiflora''
*'' Virola mollissima''
*'' Virola montana''
*'' Virola multicostata''
*'' Virola multiflora''
*'' Virola multinervia''
*'' Virola nobilis''
*'' Virola obovata''
*'' Virola officinalis''
*'' Virola otobifolia''
*'' Virola parkeri''
*'' Virola parvifolia''
*'' Virola pavonis''
*'' Virola peruviana''
*'' Virola polyneura''
*'' Virola reidii''
*'' Virola rugulosa''
*'' Virola sanguinea''
*'' Virola schultesii''
*'' Virola sebifera''
*'' Virola sessilis''
*'' Virola steyermarkii''
*'' Virola subsessilis''
*'' Virola surinamensis''
*'' Virola theiodora'' (synonym '' Virola rufula'' )
*'' Virola tuckerae''
*'' Virola urbaniana''
*'' Virola venosa''
*'' Virola villosa''
*'' Virola weberbaueri''
*'' Virola yasuniana''
Gallery
File:Virola elongata fruit.jpg, ''Virola elongata'' fruit
File:Virola elongata seeds.jpg, ''Virola elongata'' seeds
File:Virola carinata embryo.jpg, ''Virola carinata'' embryo
File:Virola sebifera.jpg, ''Virola sebifera''
File:Virola surinamensis 2.jpg, ''Virola surinamensis''
Legal status
United States
Louisiana
Except for ornamental purposes, growing, selling or possessing ''Virola'' spp. is prohibited by Louisiana State Act 159.
See also
*'' Myristica'' — some species of this genus have been reclassified into ''Virola''.
* 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 ...
* 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 ...
* Psychedelic plants
References
Notes
General references
* Jonathan Ott
Jonathan Ott (born 1949 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an ethnobotanist, writer, translator, publisher, natural products chemist and botanical researcher in the area of entheogens and their cultural and historical uses, and helped coin the term "' ...
– ''Shamanic Snuffs or Entheogenic Errhines'' (2001)
* Richard Evans Schultes – ''Plants of the Gods'' (1992)
Erowid Virola Vault
External links
*
Sura.ots.ac.cr: ''Virola koschnyi''
— ''photos and info''.
Gardening.eu: Info on Growing ''Virola''
{{Authority control
Myristicaceae genera
Flora of Southern America
Entheogens
Herbal and fungal hallucinogens
Medicinal plants of South America
Psychedelic tryptamine carriers
Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet