The earliest report of the use of a Psychotria as an 
additive to ‘‘fortify’’ the hallucinogenic yajé drink pre- 
pared basically from Banisteriopsis Caapi or B. inebrians 
was made in 1967 (Schultes, R. E. in Efron (ed. ) ‘‘Ethno- 
pharmacologic search for psychoactive drugs’’ (1967) 51). 
At that time, the identification could be made only to 
genus. Now, asa result of the field work of Mr. Pinkley 
amongst the Kof’n Indians, it is possible to assign the 
species with certainty to Psychotria psychotriaefolia. 
Pinkley has, furthermore, been able to determine the 
sterile collection Naranjo s.n. to this species. 
In the morning, after one of the all-night yajé-sessions 
which he attended amongst the Kofins, Pinkley found, 
in the dregs at the bottom of the clay pot which had 
held the narcotic drink, a sediment containing leaves of 
Banisteriopsis and small rubiaceous fruits. These dregs 
might not have attracted the notice of an untrained ob- 
server. Since, however, Pinkley was especially interested 
in the complexities of yajé-preparation, these specimens 
raised his curiosity and, pursuing the problem ethnobo- 
tanically, he established the fact that Psychotria psycho- 
triaefolia is not an uncommonly used additive in this 
region. 
The Kofins call Psychotria psychotriaefolia by the 
name o-pri-to. One of Pinkley’s interesting observations 
indicates that these Indians refer to the ‘‘heavenly 
people’’, with whom they commune during the yajé in- 
toxication, by the same term o-pri-to. He further re- 
ports that Mr. M.B. Borman, a missionary-linguist 
studying the Kofiin language, states in a letter that both 
Banisteriopsis Rusbyana and Psychotria psychotriaefolia 
are added to the yajé drink prepared from B. Caapi to 
“increase the visions and make them of longer duration’’. 
‘These observations serve to emphasize long felt urgen- 
cy for a thorough chemical study of Psychotria and very 
closely related genera, such as Palicourea. 
The collections Pinkley 225 and 235 were identified 
by Dr. John D. Dwyer of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 
[ 164 ] 
