I didn’t know that with some plants you can propagate from leaves. My friend gave me a few chacruna leaves and told me to just dip them water for a while and lo and behold some roots started to come out. I potted them into individual pots and they will eventually grow into a shade loving shrub.
Chacruna is Psychotria viridis which is half of the recipe to make ayahuasca, a psycoactive decoction used by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest. I haven’t tried it myself, but over the years I’ve met people who have traveled to South America to go on spiritual quests to learn the lessons that these ‘plant teachers’ are able to teach. I’ve heard a lot of stories and experiences from people, the profound impacts it had on them, and that fascinates me.
It is strange to think of plants beyond something that provides nourishment, protection, or shelter for the physical body, but to actually form a bond with them as if they were a friend. This actually has been part of our human story which I feel is lacking from our daily lives in our modern world.
Originally posted on 2021-08-27, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.