Prestonia amazonica might enter into the caapi picture. * 
He said that the eaapi-pinima (*‘ painted caapi’’) is ‘*an 
apocynaceous twiner of the genus Haemadictyon, of 
which I saw only young shoots, without any flowers. 
The leaves are of ashining green, painted with the strong, 
blood-red veins. It is possibly the same species . . . dis- 
tributed by Mr. Bentham under the name of Haemadic- 
tyon amazonicumn. sp. It may be the caapi-pinima which 
gives its nauseous taste to the caapi. . . and it is prob- 
ably poisonous... , but it isnot essential to the narcotic 
effect of the Banisteria, which (so far as I could make 
out) is used without any admixture by the Guahibos, 
Zaparos and other nations out of the Uaupés.”’ 
In 1922, ayahuasca or ayawasca was reported as a nar- 
cotie for the first time from Bolivia, from the Rio Beni, 
by White (101), thus greatly amplifying our knowledge 
of the range of the use of the intoxicant. White defi- 
nitely identified it as Banisteriopsis Caapi. Although he 
collected material for chemical analysis, it is not clear 
from his account whether or not his identification was 
based on an herbarium specimen. Much of White’s bo- 
tanical material is preserved in the Botanical Museum 
of Harvard University, but a search through the Eco- 
? However, Spruce’s original field notebook, preserved at the Royal 
Botanical Gardens at Kew, shows a discrepancy, in this regard, with 
the published report. The field notes say: “9712, Banisteria Caapi 
Mss. From this is prepared an intoxicating drink known to all the 
natives on the Uaupés by the name of caapi. The lower part of the 
stem, which is the thickness of the thumb swollen at the joints, is the 
part used. This is beaten in a mortar with the addition of water and a 
small quantity of the slender roots of the Apocynac. (apparently a 
Haemadictyon) called caapi-pinima or painted caapi, from its lvs. being 
stained and veined with red . . . Query? May not the peculiar effects 
of the caapi be owing rather to the roots of the Haemadictyon (though 
in such small quantity) than to the stems of the Banisteria? The In- 
dians, however, consider the latter the prime agent, at the same time 
admitting that the former is an essential ingredient. The two plants 
rls 
are planted near all mallocas (villages)... 
[15 | 
