Little-Known Cultivated Plants of the Colombian Amazonia

Author(s): Richard E. Schultes

Source: Economic Botany, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1987), pp. 446-450
Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4254997 .
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 Notes on Economic Plants
Little-known Cultivated Plants of the Colombian Amazonia. -The rich flora of
the northwest Amazon-that area of the hilea situated in Colombia, Ecuador,
and adjacent parts of Peru-undoubtedly will give the tropical world new culti-
vated plants in years to come. Even today there are a number of species cultivated
by Indians of the region that are either little known or unknown outside of this
small corner of the Amazon Valley. Several are of special interest.

Macoubea witotorum R. E. Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl. 24:193. 1976.

The genus Macoubea (Apocynaceae) has additional species and varieties: M.
guianensis Aubl. and M. Sprucei (Muell. Arg.) Markgraf- the former known from

Fig. 1. FruitsofMacoubeawitotorum.LaChorrera,Rio Igaraparana,

Amazonas,Colombia.(Photo
by J. M. Idrobo.)

EconomicBotany, 41(3), 1987, pp. 446-457

1987, by the New York BotanicalGarden,Bronx, NY 10458
1987] NOTESON ECONOMICPLANTS 447

V)Y~~~VA
u _

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VI

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Fig. 2. Cayaponia kathematophora. Rio Apaporis, Amazonas, Colombia. (Photo by Richard E.

Schultes.)
448 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 41

Fig. 3. Cayaponia ophthalmica. (Drawing by John Stanwell-Fletcher.)

the Guianas, Venezuela, and northern Brazil, the latter from the uppermost Rio
Negro of Brazil.
Two species are known from Colombian territory: M. guianensis and, more
commonly, M. witotorum (Fig. 1). The two are easily distinguished, particularly
by the size and shape of the fruit: the former species has a perfectly globose fruit
measuring 6-8 cm in diameter; the latter has a larger fruit that is zygomorphically
reniform or stomachiform, 16 cm x 9 cm in diameter. Macoubea guianensis,
according to references and herbarium collections, is always found wild in the
1987] NOTESON ECONOMICPLANTS 449

' . .
r 4e 4 Y

Fig. 4. Maranta Ruiziana. Cultivated, Rio Piraparana, Vaup6s, Colombia. (Photo by Richard E.
Schultes.)

forest, whereas M. witotorum, known in Colombia from the Amazonas and In-
irida, is always cultivated.
The natives relish the sweet pulp of M. witotorum. After cutting off a point of
the fruit, they suck out the pulp without eating the seeds. The tree fruits abundantly
in March and April. The Witotos who live along the Rios Karaparana and Igara-
parana cultivate the tree in all agricultural plots.

Cayaponia kathematophora R. E. Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl. 20:321. 1964.

This species of Cayaponia (Cucurbitaceae; Fig. 2), cultivated by various Indian
tribes in the Colombian Amazon, is remarkable in having very large fruits and
seeds. To the best of my knowledge, this vine does not occur in the wild. It is
grown for its large, glossy brown seed that, when hollowed out, is employed by
the natives in the manufacture of anklets and necklaces for dances. The specific
epithet, meaning "necklace bearing," refers to this use of the seeds.
The Kabuyari Indians know the vine as wa'-cha; the Makunas call it ka'-moo-
450 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 41

ka; the Taiwano name is pa'-moo-pa; in the Matapie language it is wa'-yaw; and
the Puinaves refer to it as way-yot'.

Cayaponia ophthalmica R. E. Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl. 20:321. 1964.

One of the prevalent diseases in the humid tropics is conjunctivitis. The Indians
of the northwest Amazon employ many plants to treat this ailment, but Cayaponia
ophthalmica (Cucurbitaceae; Fig. 3), known only from cultivation, appears to be
the most important species for this use amongst the natives of the Rio Apaporis
in Amazonian Colombia.
The soothing wash made from the soft green bark seems to be effective in
controlling the disease. The wash is prepared in a cold-water infusion and is
applied five or six times a day. The specific epithet refers to this medical use.
The vine, a heliophile, is cultivated, but, like so many cultivated plants of the
region, grows almost without care on the edges of agricultural plots.
A spot test for alkaloids with Dragendorff reagent indicated that the fresh leaves
and bark are negative.
The fruit-not known in botanical collections-is reported to be yellowish and
the size and shape of a small lime.

Maranta Ruiziana Koern. in Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc. 35(1):45, 128. 1862.
The species of Maranta (Marantaceae; Fig. 4) best known, as the source of West
Indian arrowroot, is M. arundinacea L. The Indians of the Colombian Vaupes,
however, cultivate another species as the source of a starchy rhizome: M. Ruiziana.
This widely branched herbaceous perennial, 3-4 ft tall, is widespread in the
western Amazon. I have found no references to its cultivation.
The Kubeo Indians in the region of Mitu in the Vaupes refer to the plant as
ma-ke'-ree-pa. In the Peruvian Amazon, it is known as sio, inchahuy; cuycuy and
yunca-oca. The last-name epithet refers to the starch-filled rhizome. -Richard E.
Schultes, Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Caapi Revisited-in Christianity.-The malpighiaceous liana Banisteriopsis caapi

(Spruce ex Griesb.) Morton is widely distributed throughout the Amazon basin
where its hallucinogenic properties have been recognized by tribal people since
antiquity and have been used by them extensively in magico-religious ceremonies
to the present day. Knowledge of its entheogenic effects-now understood to be
due to the presence in the plant of the alkaloids harmine and harmaline and
related compounds-was first called to the attention of modem botanists in 1851
by the self-effacing Yorkshireman Richard Spruce (1817-1893), plant explorer
extraordinary, who left a rich legacy of thousands of identified Amazonian plants,
prolific records of meticulous observations, botanical and otherwise, and not a
few animadversions concerning his 13 uninterrupted years of peripatetic residence
in Amazonia (1). Among his multitude of original contributions were his notes
on the use by observant, sagacious natives of species of Banisteriopsis, variously
called caapi, ayahuasca, yaje, notema, or pinde, by indigenous populations
throughout tropical South America. Its history, chemical structure, and manner
of preparation and use were reviewed by Schultes and Hofmann (2; 163-181).