The seeds of this tree— Texas buckeye—are considered toxic, 
but as yet no hallucinogenic principles have been reported from 
the species. 
Zingiberaceae 
Kaempferia L. 
Vague reports indicate that in New Guinea Kaempferia 
Galanga L., known as maraba, is employed as an hallucinogen 
(Schultes 1970c), but phytochemical corroboration is lacking. 
The rhizome of K. Galanga, containing essential oils, is highly 
prized as a condiment and medicine in tropical Asia. 
There are some 70 species of Kaempferia distributed in 
tropical Africa, India to southern China, and western Malaysia. 
SUMMARY 
This review has attempted to survey those higher plants and 
fungi recorded in the literature as having been used by primitive 
or modern peoples as hallucinogens. The ethnomedical history 
for each, where known, has been summarized, and the active 
principles, when known, have been identified. The active princi- 
ples can be broadly classified into a small group of non- 
nitrogenous compounds and a larger group of nitrogenous 
substances. In the latter group, the active principles can be 
classified into eight major skeletons or ring systems, with the 
indole nucleus being predominant. 
A number of minor plants alleged to have been used for 
hallucinatory purposes at one time or another have been listed in 
Table | for completeness, and a comprehensive bibliography has 
been provided for the reader having more than a peripheral 
interest in the subject matter. The bibliography is not exhaus- 
tive, however, due to space restrictions. 
More than 200 species of higher plants are represented in the 
survey. That they are widely distributed in the Plant Kingdom is 
demonstrated by the fact that they belong in 146 genera of more 
than 50 families. It is truly amazing that of these more than 200 
species of hallucinogenic plants, the active principles are known 
for only about 45. Perhaps the major deterrents for more 
accelerated studies in this field are two: 1) the lack of a good 
186 
