yellow solution. Its action resembled that of the first alkaloidal 
portion. 
Mire was identified in 1925 as Brunfelsia hydrangeiformis 
(Pohl) Benth. by Youngken, who carried out a detailed phar- 
macognostic study of mire. Miré is now known to constitute a 
distinct species, B. Mire, described by Monachino in 1957. The 
plant is found in parts of Amazonian Peru and Brazil and is a 
close relative of B. hydrangeiformis which is restricted to 
southeastern Brazil. 
The findings of Rusby and Githens on miré recall the earlier 
studies on manacd root, especially the occurrence of two simi- 
lar alkaloidal fractions and a strongly fluorescent substance. In 
addition, the stimulation of the sweat and salivary glands are 
likewise known in manacad, suggesting that similar types of 
compounds may occur in unrelated species of the genus. 
One herbarium collection of miré (Cardenas 2813) bears the 
interesting comment that cattle die when they eat the leaves, a 
further indication of its toxic activity. Two other species, B. 
brasiliensis and B. grandiflora, are also reported to be poison- 
ous to cattle. B. Mire remains relatively unknown from chemi- 
cal and pharmacological standpoints and clearly merits 
additional phytochemical work. 
3. Brunfelsia grandiflora D. Don 
Brunfelsia grandiflora is widely recognized in the upper 
Amazon for its potent drug effects. Yet its identity and uses 
have long been obscured in the literature by misidentifications 
and confused ethnobotanical reports. Specimens of B. grandi- 
flora in herbaria are consistently and erroneously determined 
as B. latifolia (Pohl) Benth., B. maritima Benth. or B. bono- 
dora (Vell.) Macbr. There have been numerous notes on her- 
barium labels that this species is medicinal, narcotic and/or 
poisonous, but reports in the literature are sparse and mislead- 
ing. 
Beginning in 1967 and in later publications, Schultes brought 
to the fore the question of the possible use of Brunfelsia as a 
hallucinogen, referring specifically to its widespread cultiva- 
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