Coriaria thymifolia
Coriaria thymifolia, known as shanshi (Ecuador), tutu-papa, tutu-heu-heu, toot plant (New Zealand), or ink plant is a shrub found in montane environments throughout the Americas and Pacific Islands. The plant bears dark blue, almost black, blossom-shaped clustered berries that resemble black liquorice[1]. The fruit is widely known as toxic to livestock, with many sheep, cattle, goats, and in one recorded case even a captive elephant dying from "toot poisoning" in New Zealand, and cases of animal deaths also recorded in South America[2]. In humans the plant reportedly has hallucinogenic, possibly deliriant, properties when consumed, and is sought out for these purposes by Ecuadorian peasants. Reported effects include a sensation of flight. The cause of the toxic and hallucinogenic effects is not known, but is suspected to be an unidentified glycoside. [3] Despite this usage, and the plant's toxicity, human fatalities from C. thymifolia poisoning are considered rare, although it can easily cause violent convulsions. The dark-coloured fruit are also used in South America to make a traditional ink called chanchi. Animals poisoned by C. thymifolia have been successfully treated using ammonium carbonate, with lime and other alkalies used in humans[2].
| Shanshi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Coriariaceae |
| Genus: | Coriaria |
| Species: | C. thymifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Coriaria thymifolia Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. | |
References
- "Shanshi (Coriaria thymifolia)". 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- Wilson & Wilkins (1911). "The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics vol. 2". Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - "The Vaults of Erowid". Retrieved 6 August 2013.