Ipomoea Corymbosa

Its common names include Christmasvine, Christmaspops, and snakeplant.

Ipomoea corymbosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Convolvulaceae
Genus:	Ipomoea
Species:	I. corymbosa
Binomial name
Ipomoea corymbosa (L.) Roth
Synonyms
List Convolvulus corymbosus L. Convolvulus domingensis Desr. Convolvulus laevicaulis Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. Convolvulus multiflorus Kunth Convolvulus sidaefolius Kunth Ipomoea antillana Millsp. Ipomoea domingensis (Desr.) House Ipomoea sidaefolia (Kunth) Sweet Legendrea corymbosa (L.) Ooststr. Legendrea mollissima Webb & Berthel. Rivea corymbosa (L.) Hallier f. Turbina corymbosa (L.) Raf.

Known to natives of north and central Mexico by its Nahuatl name Ololiúqui (also spelled ololiuhqui or ololiuqui) and by the south eastern natives as xtabentún (in Mayan), it is a perennial climbing vine with white flowers, often grown as an ornamental plant. Its flowers secrete copious amount of nectar, and the honey that bees make from it is very clear and aromatic. It also grows in Cuba, where it usually blooms from early December to February. It is considered one of the main honey plants of the island.

This plant is often used for purposes other than recreation, as natives of Mexico consider the powder produced from its seeds a tool for divination and communion with spirits. Because of the widespread use among native tribes, Colonial rules initially feared Ololiuqui and banned it introducing harsh punishments for users.

 

The Nahuatl word ololiuhqui means "round thing", and refers to the small, brown, oval seeds of the morning glory, not the plant itself, which is called coaxihuitl (“snake-plant") in Nahuatl, and hiedra, bejuco or quiebraplatos in the Spanish language. The seeds, in Spanish, are sometimes called semilla de la Virgen (seeds of the Virgin Mary).^{[citation needed]} While little of it is known outside of Mexico, its seeds were perhaps the most common psychedelic drug used by the natives.^{[citation needed]}

In 1941, Richard Evans Schultes first identified ololiuhqui as Turbina corymbosa and the chemical composition was first described in 1960 in a paper by Albert Hofmann. The seeds contain ergine (LSA), an ergoline alkaloid which is also present in ergot of rye and is similar in structure to LSD. Ergot of rye was part of the Kykeon, the drink which was a component of the Eleusinian mysteries. The psychedelic properties of Turbina corymbosa and a comparison of the potency of different varieties were studied in the Central Intelligence Agency's MKULTRA Subproject 22 in 1956.

This species is an invasive species to the United States, Europe (Spain), and Australia, where it has become more naturalized.

• Xtabay