Banisteriopsis caapi (Spruce ex Griseb.) Morton, Malpighiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate; score: 1 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Banisteriopsis caapi)

Other Latin names:  Banisteria caapi Spruce ex Griseb.; Banisteria inebrians (C.V.Morton) J.F.Macbr.; Banisteria quitensis Nied.; Banisteriopsis inebrians C. V. Morton; Banisteriopsis quitensis (Nied.) C. V. Morton

Common name(s): [more details]

English: soulvine, yage

Unknown: ayahuasca

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Liana, the young branches sparsely appressed-sericeous to glabrate, the old branches glabrous, terete, the bark becoming fissured into shallow corky splits in age, with the wood sometimes conspicuously lobed. Stipules triangular, 0.5-1.0 mm long, glabrous or appressed-sericeous. Leaves with the petiole 9-25 mm long, sparsely appressed-sericeous or glabrate, eglandular or bearing a pair of cupulate glands near the apex, the lamina (4.8-)8.2-15.9(-20.5) em long, (2.5-) 3.5-7.7(-11.5) em wide, smaller in the inflorescence, often quite coriaceous when mature, broadly ovate to ovate, obtuse to truncate at the base, short-to long-acuminate at the apex, flat to slightly revolute at the margin, bearing abaxially 2-5 pairs of sessile glands near or at the margin and an additional pair near the midrib at the base, glabrate adaxially, very sparsely appressed-sericeous to gla-brate abaxially, the hairs T-shaped, sessile with the trabecula 0.1-0.4 mm long, with the primary veins prominulous adaxially and the reticulation sometimes impressed, and the primary and secondary veins prominent abaxially. Inflores-cence of 4-flowered umbels arranged in axillary cymes, subtended by very re-duced leaves or the inflorescence leaves deciduous before anthesis, sparsely to-mentose to velutinous; bracts and bracteoles 1.0-1.8 mm long, triangular to elliptic, appressed-pubescence abaxially, glabrous adaxially, caducous before or during flowering, rarely immediately after flowering. Pedicels sessile, 7-11 mm long, 0.4-0.6 mm in diameter, 0.3-0.5 mm without the hairs, appressed-sericeous or tomento-sericeous. Sepals sericeous abaxially, minutely tomentose throughout adaxially, elliptic, obtuse at the apex, 2.0-3.5 mm long, 1.5-2.0 mm wide, all eglandular or the 4 lateral sepals biglandular, the glands 0.5-2.2 mm long, 0.4-1.2 mm wide, projecting 1.2-2.0 mm beyond the glands; petals pale pink, becom-ing pale yellow in age, fimbriate, the 4 lateral petals reflexed between the sepals, the claw 1.0-1.5 mm long, 0.2-0.4 mm in diameter, the limb 5.0-8.5 mm long, 4.0-6.0 mm wide, the posterior petal with the claw erect, 2.5-3.0 mm long, up to 1.0 mm wide, constricted at the apex, the limb 5.0-7.0 mm long, 2.5-4.5 mm wide, broadly obovate with the basal fimbriae gland-tipped. Stamens with the filaments 2.0-4.0 mm long, connate basally, the posterior 3 flexuous and inflexed between the posterior styles, the locules sparsely pilose to glabrate, those of the 3 anterior stamens 0.7-1.2 mm long, those of the other 7 stamens 0.3-0.9 mm long, the connectives of the 5 posterior stamens 0.2-0.7 mm long, 0.2-0.4 mm wide, 0.1-0.2 mm deep, not glandular, those of the 5 anterior stamens 0.8-1.6 mm long, 0.5-1.0 mm wide, 0.3-1.0 mm deep, glandular, those opposite the antero-lateral sepals enlarged and overtopping the locules by 0.5-1.0 mm. Ovary 1.0-1.2 mm tall, white-sericeous, the anterior style straight, 2.8-3.2 mm long, 0.2 mm in diameter, the posterior styles diverging and lyrate at the base, 3.0-4.0 mm long, 0.15 mm in diameter, the stigmas capitate. Samara with the carpophore up to 4 mm long and 0.4 mm wide, the nut 5-11 mm tall, 3-5 mm long, the abaxial margin with a tooth at the base, appressed-pubescent to glabrate, the wing 18-42 mm long, 8-22 mm wide, appressed-pubescent soon glabrate, the wings of the posterior samaras somewhat rotated to lie more nearly parallel to the wing of the anterior samara, the locule of the nut hairy throughout within. . . . Collected in flower December to August and in fruit March to August." (Gates 1982, pp. 112-113)

Habitat/ecology:  "A plant of the moist tropics, where it is found at elevations from around sea level up to 1,000 metres." (Useful Tropical Plants)

Propagation:  Easy to propagate vegetatively by stem cuttings. (Gates 1982, p. 114)

Propagation by seed. (Useful Tropical Plants)

Native range:  South America (Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) (GRIN)

"Possibly native to, but widely cultivated by native peoples in, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Amazonian Brazil. . . . It is difficult to know where this species is native, since it is widely cultivated throughout Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Amazonian Brazil by native populations for use in the preparation of an hallucinatory beverage; most of the collections available to me were from cultivated plants according to their collection data. . . ." (Gates 1982, p. 113)

Impacts and invaded habitats:  If you know of habitats invaded by or other impacts of this species, please let us know.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim (year unknown) species considered "Non-Native : Naturalized", accessed 20180924
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native cultivated	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180924
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	possibly native cultivated	Gates, Bronwen (1982) (p. 113) see also "Native Range" field in PIERDATA
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador	native cultivated	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180924
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador	possibly native cultivated	Gates, Bronwen (1982) (p. 113) see also "Native Range" field in PIERDATA
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native cultivated	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180924
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	possibly native cultivated	Gates, Bronwen (1982) (p. 113) see also "Native Range" field in PIERDATA
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
South America (non-Pacific rim) South America (non-Pacific rim)	Bolivia	native	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180924
South America (non-Pacific rim) South America (non-Pacific rim)	Bolivia		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)
South America (non-Pacific rim) South America (non-Pacific rim)	Brazil	native cultivated	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180924
South America (non-Pacific rim) South America (non-Pacific rim)	Brazil	possibly native cultivated	Gates, Bronwen (1982) (p. 113) "Amazonian Brazil"; see also "Native Range" field in PIERDATA
South America (non-Pacific rim) South America (non-Pacific rim)	Brazil		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)		Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) (year unknown) accessed 20180924 (had to zoom in on interactive map to particular location to determine details)
Venezuela Venezuela	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	native cultivated	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180924

Control:  If you know of control methods for Banisteriopsis caapi, please let us know.