Nelumbo stamens/ Nymphaea ampla flower bioassays

[friendly]

8/29/04 Bioassay of pyrolyzed Nelumbo nucifera stamens: Very similar in all respects to Nelumbo flowers but with a beter taste. Effects seemed smoother and lasted longer. Much lassitude and contentment.

8/31/04 Bioassay of N. ampla flowers pyrolyzed: These are the nicest tasting flowers of all the Nymphaea so far. The initial effect seemed to be closer to cannabis than any of the others, but I haven't yet had time to fully delve into the experience on a psychic level as I was at work when I tried the flowers and unable to relax to the level I usually achieve when utilizing these plant species. My assistant beccame almost unable to function at work on one hit, though, so I may have some reassessment to do.

I fully expect this one to be of the level of experience obtained of N. caerulea when I become more acclimated.

Now there remain the N. capensis, N. mexicana and N. omarana flowers yet to be initially bioassayed.

I'm right now working on Mimosa scabrella bark as I was told (I'm doubtful) it's a good one.

The root bark would seem more likely, but from the looks of it, it's another doubtful one.

It's next.

Then the seeds...

So many herbs; so little time.

[spiders]

what method did you use to prepare these?

[friendly]

Pyrolization = smoking.

[Rev]

I was under the impression that N caerulea and N capensis were both synonymous?

[Stonehenge]

This may be something totally different but I saw lotus chips and lotus seed in an asian market recently. The chips were whitish and looked somewhat like noodles or pieces of sliced potato. The lotus seed was white with a split and it looked kind of hollow inside. Are either of those similar to the lotus we are talking about?

Stoney

[friendly]

Rev: N. nouchali and N. caerulea are synonymous.

I have N. capensis here, and it is definitely a different species from N. caerulea.

N. capensis grows in South Africa (hence capensis, after the cape), but this and the fact that it is blue are the primary reasons for the confusion.

However, that being said, I have not yet had a chance to bioassay this flower (so many herbs; so little time) and fully expect to find it active.

Stoney: What you saw were dried and roasted lotus seed halves and lotus root slices, also dried and possibly roasted/toasted.

The root is purportedly not psychoactive, being used as food. However, it is dried and possibly cooked before being used as food, so the fresh root may conceiveably be active.

The whole, uncooked seed is psychoactive, with the plumule--the part of the seed that forms the first sprout--having the highest concentration of alkaloids by weight of the entire plant.

[Agamemnon]

So friendly, if a gnome had these seeds,what would be the best way for him to prepare them for ingestion for psychoactive results?

[friendly]

Husk the seed and eat the whole kernel or just pull out the plumules and eat them.

[Stonehenge]

We are talking about the seeds found in the market, right? Those are already husked and roasted, apparently. How many seeds are a good amount? Do the people who buy them get high? The seeds I saw were smooth, round and white. Is the plumule inside the seed? There seemed to be something inside. Is the rest of the seed inactive? Agamemnon, let us know if you get any results.

Stoney

[friendly]

See my post above. The halved and roasted seeds will not be psychoactive. They have had the plumule removed.

You want the whole, raw seed.

Husk it and eat the entire kernel or just the plumules.

[Stonehenge]

The seeds sold in the market are not halved, they are in one piece. Thanks for sharing what info you have, friendly. Has anyone out there tried the dried husked seeds you find in the markets?

[mescalito]

No but I've tried one seed from SAB I posted under 'Nelumbo Seed Strength?' here,so please experiment with this one and report back(I know I will).

Friendly has a 'few' posts on lotus/nelumbo here on this issue,also SAB sells them cheap enough for us Aussies to experiment with but since you're in the US stoney,friendly should be able to supply you with some plumules or whole seed?

--------------------

So many herbs...it sucks waiting for seasons!

[Stonehenge]

I guess the grocery lotus seeds are inactive then. It figures they would be because if the buyers got buzzed the word would have gotten out by now. It may be an inactive species or otherwise prepared to eliminate any psychoactive effects. I don't care enough about it to order any since I've bought many things over the years that did nothing or made me sick. Salvia is the only new thing I found that was worth the effort. The lotus seeds being cheap and easy to get spiked my curiosity. If I was going to buy something I would look into om chi because they have the real thing and are reasonable on prices.

Stoney

[Rev]

Heres where i took my taxonomy from

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/nymphnouch.htm

authors appear to be

"Author: Cherise Viljoen and Alice Notten

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

January 2002"

so i figured they arent amateurs - just clumpers rather than splitters

[friendly]

Ah, the taxonomy wars go on and on.

See this:

www.victoria-adventure.org/waterlilies/names/c-ce/htm

and

www.victoria-adventure.org/waterlilies/names/n/htm

for their input.

They seem to believe both are different species and have several references to back up their story.

I have both N. capensis and N. nouchali var caerulea (the true Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile, gathered for me in South Africa by a botanist with a Master's Degree in Plant Protection from the University of California at Davis) sitting in front of me now and they appear to be different although related species.

However, I'm no botanist and the activity seems to be spread over a spectrum of Nymphaea species, many yet (I'm certain) to be discovered.

My point is; if it works, it works.

Nomenclature does not make the activity, rather it is often the other way around.

[ 08. September 2004, 01:31: Message edited by: friendly ]

[friendly]

This morning, having finally found some time, I plan on bioassaying N. mexicana or N. omarana.

My N. capensis has lovely petals ranging from lavender blue to pale violet with golden yellow stamens.

The N, mexicana has bright straw-yellow petals.

The N. omarana seems to have no stamens, probably having been harvested later than the others, and has petals ranging through a variety of shades of what can only be called purple, from pale to plum.

Having determined that N. omarana is the choice for today, I open the hermeticaly sealed kilogram bag and inhale the scent.

It is charactistically Nymphaea, reminding me of N. ampla; sweet and heady, but with a disturbingly familiar underscent, this time seemingly of something slightly chocolate-like.

Almost too heady. I continue inhaling the smell of the flowers deeply.

I can feel a calmness similar to that from the Nymphaea caerulea essential oil when sniffed repeatedly, but it's not as dramatic a rush.

I will now smoke a cigarette of just N. omarana flower petals. Strong rush.

Intensity of colors and textures are the first noticable difference. My head feels like there is no back to it; it is missing, there being an empty space, open to the wind, behind my eyes where the brain used to be.

The Walls are Down.

I am very calm, despite there being numerous things to become stressed over in my recent events calendar. There is a fine sense of being distanced from stress.

It's subtly but strongly different from other Lily highs.

I feel like taking the day off, knowing full well that I won't.

Or maybe part of the day off...this I can and will do.

I don't particularly feel like sitting here writing things down right now. I'd rather be doing anything else; or maybe nothing but lying under a tree and watching clouds go by.

Hmmmm. looks like the 'it can wait until later' syndrome again.

Guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out how this all turns out.

I'm going out to find some laid-back joy; I don't think it will be at all difficult.

Hasta manana.

[ 10. September 2004, 02:59: Message edited by: friendly ]

[madbrad]

Hah hah. Bloody Brilliant!

[friendly]

So I went fishing.

I don't believe this plant is quite as strong as N. caerulea, N. ampla or N. capensis, but it is still worthy. Maybe I just need to try it again or use more.

Or perhaps I was just distracted and missed a lot...

Either way, it's a good one.

It plays a little differently than the others, but it's in the same key.

Today I certainly feel as though my batteries have been recharged; I'm full of energy and a love of life, some things that have been lacking lately.

Next: N. mexicana.

[ 11. September 2004, 04:42: Message edited by: friendly ]

[t st tantra]

i touched the edge of revs waterlilly insect world the other day.after smoking an maoi i was eperiencing the usual tinitis[sp?].after a smoke of my favourite pink nymphaea petals ,the ringing in my ears tuned into the bird song in the back yard and then the humming buzz of the insect world.it seemed as though i was tunned to the sound of insect wings vibrating.this was accompanied by a feeling of being immersed in a consciousness that was the world of bird/insect/plant interactions.very pleasant it was indeed !

unfortunately i was not dosed high enough and lost the contact all too soon.but i intend to attempt a return to this beautiful world soon.

t s t .

[ 11. September 2004, 20:26: Message edited by: t st tantra ]

[friendly]

Oh yeah; the Mimosa scabrella bark. It may be a worthy aya clone as tea in high doses as has been claimed by some.

Too much concentration iivolved for anything else, IMHO.

Or maybe it's just the wrong season...

[Rev]

yes that seems to be the consistent inconsistency with many DMT containing species

Glad to know you found 'that' space too TsT.

Good plan with the smoking the 2 - hadnt clicked on that route

I think i went in further cos i had a full oral dose of MAOi and a mild admixture on top of the lillies. I dont think the admixture is as important as the MAOi but it helps. I even suspect good weed might susbtite for the admixture (similar visual uninhibitor) or even some light fungal overtones but its just a theory

Tried to find lillies yesterday but absolute nothing yet

[friendly]

In ancient Egypt the Blue Lily was sometimes associated with forgetfulness of the sorrow and suffering brought about by the death of someone near and dear.

In these instances it was often pictured accompanied by either Mandrake or Henbane, plants that were used with the Blue Lily to achieve such forgetfulness.

It is in these instances also that Blue Lily flowers are seen being held in front of people's noses, ostensibly for the same purpose.

[friendly]

Two days of sitting in the Nymphaea fumes (and a 6 drop dose of N. caerulea hydrosol two nights ago) pushed me over the brink into lilyland yesterday.

I was driving to my girlfriend's house and had stopped to make a turn onto a busy road.

As I made the turn I had a strong vision of a massive automobile wreck involving me, while still being in this world; the two overlapped.

I noticed the familiar feeling of tranference-- from being in the wreck to being the wreck and the realization that I was probably dead as the feeling of being part of everything was again present.

Just like that, I was in the world of the afterlife again--and in this one at the same time. Unfortunately I had to focus on driving for another few minutes, until I got to my girlfriend's house.

The effect lingered, but I got no profoundity from it.

This only lasted for about half an hour, even with me trying to stay in that realm before I popped back into being solely in this world.

[ 26. September 2004, 01:59: Message edited by: friendly ]

[Vanda]

Could you explain a '6 drop Nymphea hydrosol' thing to me please? sounds interesting to say the least.

[friendly]

OK. A hydrosol is composed of the distilled water and non-oil volatile elements of the flowers condensed from the steam that carries the essential oil from the flower petals through the condenser and into the receiving vessel. The essential oil usually sits on top of the hydrosol in the receiving vessel. Sometimes a heavier than water oil is produced which sits under the hydrosol.

If you think rosewater you will have the idea, if not the effect.

6 drops of this hydrosol measured from an eyedropper put into a glass of water is enough to scent and flavor the water strongly and produce a noticable effect when consumed.

Not many essential oils or hydrosols have yet been shown to have psychoactive effects, but a few have. I think this is a new field and bears further looking into.

Years ago I obtained the domain name floraceuticals.com in anticipation of this coming field.

I think it's almost time to put up the website.

[ 28. September 2004, 01:20: Message edited by: friendly ]