Abstract
More than 20,000 of
the about 400,000 known vascular plants are known for their medicinal
use. A very small number of medicinal plants contain compounds that
alter the function of the human mind. Although entering Western culture
mostly since the 1960s, “magic” plants have been part of traditional
medicine for millennia. Most of these hallucinogens are derived from
plants. Interestingly, New World cultures have always been known to
employ more magic plants than their counterparts on the Old World,
although botanical diversity does not provide a conclusive explanation
to this phenomenon. Hallucinogenic plants are traditionally used to
induce altered perceptions, and ultimately mystic/religious experiences,
and contact to the spirit world. In addition, such plants are often
employed in traditional healing, to divine the type of illness and the
needed remedy, as well as to put patients at ease to allow for a better
diagnosis. The present chapter attempts a very short introduction into
the world of “magic plants.”
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-28155-1_24
