Sananga rootbark: Tabernaemontana undulata from the Amazon
Tabernaemontana undulata is a shrub in the Apocynaceae, the dogbane family. It grows in the Amazon basin, where several peoples use the roots and bark to make the preparation called sananga. What you buy here is the raw material for it: dried rootbark, broken into pieces. The strips are pale, running from cream to light brown, curl up as they dry and show fine fibres along the broken edges.
Sananga is first of all the name of a liquid, not of a plant. Ethnobotanical sources describe how the root and bark of Tabernaemontana species are pressed or steeped into a watery extract. Besides T. undulata, the related Tabernaemontana sananho is used for the same purpose. The literature on this group of plants describes indole alkaloids of the iboga type. Notably, sananga is not known for altering consciousness, unlike most plants it tends to be listed alongside.
Traditional background
Its use has been documented among several Amazonian peoples. The Matsés know the preparation as becchete, a use described by researcher Dan James Pantone, while journalist Scott Wallace of National Geographic was the first to report its use among the Matis. Sananga has also been recorded among the Ticuna and the Kaxinawá. The liquid is applied to the eyes, which according to those accounts causes a sharp burning sensation that fades after a short while. It is associated with hunters keeping their eyesight sharp and with preparation for ayahuasca ceremonies. Those are recorded traditions, not effects we attribute to this product.
What we sell this for
Avalon Magic Plants sells this rootbark strictly as a botanical specimen of ethnographic interest. It is not intended for consumption, and not for use in or around the eyes. Keep the bag dry, dark and well sealed, out of reach of children, and the material will stay in good condition the longest.
Related species at Avalon Magic Plants
The same part of the range includes Banisteriopsis caapi, Chacruna, Chaliponga and Clavo Huasca. Every order leaves in discreet packaging.
