A preliminary inventory of plants used for psychoactive purposes in southern African healing traditions

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of plants for psychoactive purposes in southern African healing traditions. Information on psychoactive plant use was gathered by screening the ethnobotanical literature and interviewing 15 traditional healers on their use and prescription of plants for psychoactive purposes in South Africa. This information was subsequently compiled into an inventory. The inventory lists 306 plants, representing 94 families, with psychoactive uses in southern Africa. The plants listed in the inventory were arranged alphabetically by family, followed by the botanical species name, ethnic names and corresponding ethnic groups utilising the plants for psychoactive purposes, and literature reports on psychoactive use. Where available, information on plant part used, preparation, dosage, route of administration, known and potentially active psychoactive ingredients and personal fieldwork notes were included. Particular families contain high numbers of species used for psychoactive purposes. The chemotaxonomic research cited indicates that the presence of compounds with potential psychoactivity may account for the higher number of species per family used.

Watt (1967) appears to have made the last comprehensive review investigating psychoactive plant use in southern Africa. Therefore, this inventory is a new and useful synthesis on the important, but thus far neglected, area of psychoactive plant use in southern Africa. The high number of species reported as having psychoactive uses from the literature supports the hypothesis that southern Africa has a flora that is rich in psychoactive chemicals that is substantially utilised by indigenous groups.