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Banisteriopsis caapi
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Ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) bark showing visible mold growth. Ayahuasca brew with Baniseriopsis caapi, Mimosa hostilis rootbark and chackruna leaves displayed on shamanic drum. Thick jungle vine Banisteriopsis caapi, known as ayahuasca, climbs a tree trunk in a lush forest. A red sign at the base reads Ayahuasca Banisteriopsis caapi.
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Ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) bark showing visible mold growth.
Banisteriopsis caapi vine The woody vine can grow to 30 meters (98 feet).

Banisteriopsis caapi

plant
Also known as: ayahuasca, ayahuasco, caapi, vegetal, yagé
Written by
Karen Sottosanti
Karen Sottosanti is a writer and editor who works in educational publishing. 
Karen Sottosanti
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Banisteriopsis caapi, thick, climbing, woody vine (liana) of the Malpighiaceae family, native to tropical South America and widely associated with the rainforests of the Amazon basin. It is one of several plants used to make the hallucinogenic drink ayahuasca, which is an important traditional medicine of Indigenous South Americans. The vine is also commonly called ayahuasca, as well as several other names, including caapi, vegetal, and yagé. In the Quechuan languages of South American Indigenous...

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