Roopey Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) This is a list of native narcotic plants that I have made using the books “Aboriginal People and Their Plants” by Phillip A. Clarke and “Australian Medicinal Plants” by E.V. Lassak & T. McCarthy. I will be adding information to the list as time goes on, but in the meantime I'm sure it will be a good reference for those looking to do more research into the native narcotic plants. From “Aboriginal People and Their Plants”: According to Clarke, the aboriginals would use these plants when they ran out of Pituri and Tobacco as substitute narcotics. Mostly they were chewed, after roasting over a fire and mixed with ash from Acacia sp., but sometimes were smoked through bamboo pipes. In Central Australia they used: Serrated Goodenia (Goodenia cycloptera) Sneezeweed (Centipeda sp.) Speedwell (Evolvulus alsinoides) Desert Gooseberry (Solanum ellipticum) Stiff Goodenia (Goodenia lunata) Bush Vicks (Pterocaulon serrulatum) In the Northern Territory: Granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis) Heliotrope (Heliotrope sp.) Witchweed (Striga curviflora) Emu-berry (Grewia sp.) In the Kimberley: Bunch Spear Grass (Heteropogon contortus) Bunu bunu (Stemodia lythrifolia) Fruit Salad-bush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum) Lobelia (Lobelia sp.) Rock Isotome (Isotoma petraea) Unfortunately he only covers those territories, and for those of us in the southern half of the country we can't really do much with that list. Now “Australian Medicinal Plants” has a much more extensive list that is not territory specific, so more information will be added as I collect more data on where to find these plants and there traditional uses. Some of these are on the above list. Native Narcotic Plants: Acacia beauverdiana Acalypha wilkesiana Amorphophallus variabilis Callicarpa longifolia Centella asiatica Cerbera manghas Clerodendrum ovalifolium Codonocarpus cotinifolius Duboisia hopwoodii D. myoporoides Evolvulus alsinoides Heteropogon contortus Isotoma petraea Nicotiana benthamiana N. cavicola N. excelsiot N. gossei Santalum lanceolatum Other Mild Narcotics and Painkillers: Acacia cuthbertsonii Aegiceras corniculatum Alocasia macrorrhizos Alphitonia excelsa Avicennia marina Barringtonia calyptrata Brucia javanica Buchanania arborescens B. obovata Callitris intratropica Clerodenrum floribundum Corymbia terminalis Crotalaria cunninghamii Cyperus victoriensis Dendrobium teretifolium Dodonaea lanceolata Dodonaea polyandra Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima Ehretia saligna Eremophila alternifolia E. fraseri Erythrina verspertilio Euodia vitiflora Geijera parviflora Goodenia varia Melaleuca cajuputi subsp. cajuputi Musa banksii Osbornia octodonta Pandanus spiralis Petalostigma pubescens P. quadriloculare Polugonum barbatum Santalum obstusifolium Senna form taxon 'artemisioides' Spilanthes grandiflora Tinospora smilacina Tribulus cistoides Ventilago veminalis Xylomelum scottianum Happy Hunting, Roop Edited December 26, 2012 by Roopey 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted December 26, 2012 Not sure about Centipeda spp. In Tas traditionally was used as a lotion for skin infections, made into a brew for tuberculosis, and crushed and inhaled and rubbed onto the nose for colds. I have had Centipeda cunninghamii (Common Sneezeweed) rubbed on me a bit like Vicks as a kid, and helps with clearing the nose no doubt. Perry,L.M. 1980 Medicinal Plants of E & SE Asia lists Centipeda minima however as containing myriogynine, a glycoside and a saponin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bigred Posted December 28, 2012 do you know much about castanospermum australe i have been reading a few things about it it is full of alkoloids and mostly toxic but one is used to help treat aids . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roopey Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) AMP has this to say: Castanospermum australe is used to treat post-prandial hyperglycaemia in diabetic patients. May have potential applications in the treatment of HIV-AIDS. CAUTION: the seeds are quite toxic and must be sliced and washed for several days in water before cooking and consuming. Active Constituents: The seeds contain bayogenin, a toxic saponin, as well as several alkaloids such as castanospermine, 7-deoxy-6-epi-castanospermine, and australine. Castanospermine has been shown to inhibit growth of the AIDS virus. I'll see what else I can find about the soaking process and I will PM you. If we could keep the topic of discussion on the narcotic plants that would be great, thank you. Edited December 28, 2012 by Roopey 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mycot Posted December 29, 2012 Thanks for posting these lists. Many of these species we know very little about. Need more bio-assays to figure out which of these may be worth pursuing further. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wameron36 Posted December 31, 2012 I'm interested in the Grewia species mentioned for NT as I hadn't heard of this before. I've got Grewia latifolia and retusifolia growing in the bush hear that I often collect the fruit from. I know of the plants being well regarded for dysentery and diarrhoea, but never heard anything about narcotic properties. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtarman Posted April 11, 2013 Thought I'd add this old post from a thread I just necrobumped - it's a list compiled back in '06/'07: http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11193&p=150613 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yeti101 Posted April 12, 2013 Don't forget the Customary Medicinal Knowledgebase http://biolinfo.org/cmkb/index.php Share this post Link to post Share on other sites