Labiatae 
Coleus Lour., Salvia L. 
In southern Mexico, crushed leaves of Salvia divinorum 
Epling & Jat.-M., known in Oaxaca as hierba de la Virgen or 
hierba de la Pastora, are valued by the Mazatec in divinatory 
rites, when other more potent hallucinogens are unavailable 
(Wasson 1962). Although investigators have experimentally 
substantiated the psychotomimetic effects, an active principle 
remains to be isolated from the plant (Schultes and Hofmann 
1973 and 1980; Wasson 1962). It has been suggested that S. 
divinorum represents the hallucinogenic pipiltzintzintli of the 
ancient Aztecs (Wasson 1962). 
There are some 700 species of Sa/via in the temperate and 
tropical parts of both hemispheres, but no other species seems to 
have been reported as an hallucinogen. 
The leaves of two other mints, Coleus pumilus Blanco and C. 
Blumei Benth., both native to southeast Asia, are similarly 
employed by the Mazatec (Wasson 1962). Chemical studies of 
these two species, at least on the basis of material growing in 
southern Mexico, have not been reported, and a psychoactive 
principle is not known in this genus of some 150 species of the 
Old World tropics. An uncharacterized alkane, sterol and 
triterpene (Garcia et al. 1973), and the flavonoids aromadendrin 
and cyanidin 3,5-di-0-8-D-glucosyl p-coumarate (Lamprecht et 
al. 1975) have been isolated from C. Blumei, but they would not 
be expected to induce marked pharmacological effects. How- 
ever, diterpene quinones of the coleon Q type have been isolated 
from other species of Coleus and one might expect compounds 
of this type to give rise to some type of biological effect (Arihara 
et al. 1975). 
Leguminosae 
Erythrina L. 
The reddish beans of Erythrina may have been valued as 
hallucinogens in Mexico. Resembling seeds of Sophora secundi- 
flora, they are frequently sold in modern Mexican herb markets 
under the name colorines (Schultes 1970c). Several species 
contain indole or isoquinoline derivatives and could be hallu- 
cinogenic. 
18] 
