Bitter & non-bitter Calea Z. (Mexican dream herb) active/non-active

[Leaves]

I have a Calea plant & I have noticed when I chew the leaves they are not bitter at all, I found this strange considering how bitter the dried Calea I have used to make tea was in the past. I did a quick search about non-bitter Calea & this showed that others have had the same experience & that the non-bitter variety is not active. Has anyone had experience with this?

edit: I should point out this plant did not come from SAB

Edited December 19, 2013 by Leaves

[Leaves]

I can answer my own post & looks like I have Chromolaena odorata

Edited December 19, 2013 by Leaves

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

^looks spot on for what I got sold as calea too...

[gtarman]

I dunno if there's a correlation really between bitterness and alleged activity...I've personally bio-assayed many times many very bitter plants from multiple sources, via multiple routes of ingestion, across a wide range of dosages and have not experienced any marked activity at all.

Some folks swear by it (Calea), but my money is on placebo, or at the very least that it just doesn't affect some people. Although I wouldn't be inclined to believe the latter in the absence of a properly controlled double-blind study or three.

YMMV as per usual

Edited December 19, 2013 by gtarman

[vadub]

You might have read my thread from the shroomery I posted a while ago. I've been mentioning this for quite a while but the wrong plant keeps on getting sold. Kinda lame.

As someone growing the correct species (confirmed by flowering) I can't imagine how you couldn't think its active gtarman. Quidding fresh leaves has been the most effective route of administration.

[gtarman]

^ lol. I've said previously that if there is an active strain, I've yet to try it. Which may actually be the case...it just strikes me as odd that the wrong plant could be spread about so widely when the material from it that I have tried is all quite plainly (to my eyes) inactive.

If there were a possibility of trying this active kind somehow or obtaining a cut I'd definitely be interested in being proven wrong. Hasn't happened yet though.