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The Corroboree
apothecary

Quararibea funebris

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Alright. Thanks for that, by the way, puristlove.

Few bits of more info.

1. Erowid has still not replied to my email :(

2. Did some more research on this tejate drink and came up with this site:

http://www.go-oaxaca.com/newsletter/tejate.html

Interesting bits:

 

quote:


The earliest known record of this ingredient was noted in 1582 in The General History of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún where he affirmed that the name comes from cacahuaxochitl and means cacao flower or xochicacahuatl which is a Nahuatl word for precious flowers and, according to de Sahagún was a fragrant and penetrating odor. Some writings mention that on the left side of the torso of the prehispanic sculpture of Xochipilli (God of the Flowers) is carved the flor cacahuaxochit. By the way, in Zapotec the name is Ye’bdie’e’ and is the same name assigned to the trees that produce the flower. Based on these early records it is believed that since prehispanic times the cacao flower has been used as an ingredient by the inhabitants of these lands and, in particular, by those of Bobe’o or present day San Andrés Huayapam. There are records that mention that in aristocratic circles the prehispanics used to drink cold chocolate mixed with corn and the cacao flower which they called poymomatli.

Another good bit:

 

quote:


The Production of Tejate

 

In order to prepare tejate in is necessary to boil the corn in water mixed with ashes, and once made the resulting mixture acquires the name conezle. This is ground and mixed with the seed of mamey and the cacao flower. As this is mixed, little by little, water is added and the mixture begins to separate the flower (creating a paste that forms on the top) indicating that the drink is ready to serve in the traditional small cups decorated by Oaxacan hands from the Central Valley.

Ashes huh? Interesting...maybe that's why some people have deemed it inactive. There is so much good info on that page about tajete, but I only posted some just in case that site decided to vanish (for posterities sake that is ).

3. Can anyone run down these papers?

* Rosengarten jr., F., 1977: An unusual spice from Oaxaca: the flowers of Quararibea funebris. - Bot. Mus. Leafl. 25, 183-202.

* Schultes, R. E., 1957: The genus Quararibea in Mexico and the use of its flowers as a spice for chocolate. - Bot. Mus. Leafl. 17, 247-264.

I assume that second one is the one that friendly was talking about earlier in the thread.

lalala :)

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Bad news.

I was in contact with a guy who knew of fruiting plants in the US. He said, contact me in January, when the plants are in fruit and I will visit the botanical gardens and hopefully obtain some seed.

I just got an email from him, saying he would still try, but the tree at Flamingo Gardens was destroyed during hurricane Wilma, and many of the other botanical gardens that had trees were destroyed by either Wilma or Katrina.

Hopefully there will be some better news soon, but things aren't looking good :(

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I am onto someone who is selling the flowers, so I will do some trade with him and then ask for seeds. It's not an uncommon plant - it's just difficult to get to the right people.

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yep, I know. As a business it is often easier to get to their suppliers.

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found an old national geographic with an article on cocoa ,they refered to chocolate flower as being a liquid that flows from the cocoa flowers and was collected and consumed.

not arguing id , just helping gather facts!

t s t .

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i'd be very interested in getting a plant of this when it comes up (and it will. no 'ifs' here :)) i havnt been able to sprout a single seed of anything yet, so it would be a waste sending them to their deaths at my house. plants i can look after :) maybe someone could sprout one for me when we get the seed. i'll pay you to do that!

i'd be happy to help pay costs for importing them too.

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Just an update on the ongoing research folks.

Have come across a few unreferenced lines you might find interesting.

1. The traditional drink including this stuff was used not just for its damn fine taste, but also to treat anxiety.

2. Can be eaten by itself popcorn style

3. Apparently was smoked with tobacco! This would very very possibly put it as the prime candidate for the flower on the Xochipili statue.

If anyone has references relating to any of this stuff, please post! :)

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Anyone got any seeds/plants of Quararibea funebris in Australia yet?

Second that interest.

Amazing research by apothecary, well done! Had me completely absorbed reading the entire thread start to finish.

Much appreciated

Aya

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Troutman have u by any chance asked this online nursery if they will ship seeds?

plants will not survive the journey O/S

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I have. The answer is no :( Maybe the answer has changed since I asked at the end of '06 but I doubt it.

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Reviving this thread because I may have found a source for these seeds. Long story. Lots of hunting. Has anyone on the forums ever had one of these trees in their possession? Specifically raised one from seed? Any tips on growing from seed would be brilliant. Also, if anyone here is interested, I may be able to share some Quararibea funebris seed around once it arrives.

p.s. It's been quite a while since I last visited these forums - they've changed a lot! I like the new system, very modern (the good type).

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bump.

A friend in Mexico is buying these seeds from her local market in Oaxaca tomorrow and posting them shortly after. I'm not sure how big they are, nor how much they will cost, so I've asked for her to buy $20 - $30 worth of seeds.

Has anyone here had experience with these trees? I've read that their seeds can be hard to germinate... Any tips? GA3? (BTW, I've never used it). And again... If anyone wants some Q. Funebris seed, let me know.

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update:

after visiting the market today and speaking with an old mexican lady selling tejate there, my friend informs me that the seed (even in it's home of Oaxaca!) is quite difficult to find. the old lady told her that most who use Cacahuaxochitl travel to the nearby town of San Andres Huayapam and take cuttings from the trees that grow there, transplanting them someplace closer to home. so my incredible friend, whom I have never even met before, has offered to drive to this town to track down some seed. talk about kindness.

apologies for the numerous bumps to this thread, but there seemed to be some genuine interest in Q. Funebris before the trail went cold, so I thought maybe those previously following this thread would be interested in these updates.

Edited by donjuan
  • Like 1

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Actually, i would be interested in obtaining some of these seeds. Thanks for bumping this thread, it's been a fascinating read, I've never heard of this plant before. I'd hate to lose my chance at getting them, but if you get enough you could PM some of the other guys to alert them that there's something exciting going on.

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awesome plant hunting! thanks for bumping

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