Silene undulata

Silene undulata (Xhosa: iindlela zimhlophe—"white ways/paths", also known as Silene capensis, and African dream root) is a plant native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa.^[1][2][3]

Silene undulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Genus:	Silene
Species:	S. undulata
Binomial name
Silene undulata Aiton
Synonyms
Silene capensis Otth Melandrium undulatum (Ait.) Rohrb.

Cultivation

In cultivation, S. undulata is an easily grown, but moisture hungry herb. It is tolerant of extreme heat, >40 °C (104 °F), and moderate cold, −5 °C (23 °F). A moisture retentive seedbed is essential. The fragrant flowers open at night and close in the day. It is a biennial to short lived perennial and the root can be harvested after the second year.

Uses

Silene undulata is regarded by the Xhosa people as a sacred plant. Its root is traditionally used to induce vivid (and according to the Xhosa, prophetic) lucid dreams during the initiation process of traditional healers, classifying it a naturally occurring oneirogen similar to the more well-known dream herb Calea zacatechichi.^[1][3]

Constituents

Silene undulata has been found to contain β-carbolines such as norharman, harmalol, and harmaline, and harmine, as well as ibogaine.^[4] In addition, these constituents were predicted to act as serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor agonists.^[4] These components, and in turn serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor activation, may be involved in the psychoactive effects of Silene undulata.^[4]

See also

• Oneirogen