| Maconha Brava | |
|---|---|
| Zornia latifolia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Aeschynomeneae |
| Subtribe: | Poiretiinae |
| Genus: | Zornia |
| Species: | Z. latifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Zornia latifolia Sm.[1] |
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Zornia latifolia is a perennial herb, with little yellow flowers. And, its stem is 20 to 50 cm long, glabrous or pubescent, with a prostrate growth habit and intense branching.
It is known to have psychoactive effects, and is often part of herbal spice or fake cannabis mixtures.
Contents |
Zornia latifolia is a plant native to South America, Argentina, Boliva, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. It has also been naturalized in some parts of west Africa. It is a perennial, tap-rooted herb with intense branching.
It is a plant well suited to hot temperatures, and it has little shade tolerance. It does best in a well-drained acidic soil, and has been known to have some soil renewing qualities. It does is not entirely dependent on cross pollination, giving it some pest resistance, however, it is prone to contracting such diseases as blackmold and scab.[2]
In Brazil it has become very common for people to smoke the seeds of the Zornia Latifolia plant, as they produce a mild euphoric effect. In Europe, America and Canada, Zornia has become a popular ingredient in herbal spice and smokeable incense mixtures as a form of fake cannabis, to try to evade the current federal restrictions on safer herbs such as cannabis sativa.
Zornia latifolia has not been subject to empirical scientific studies, though many have reported effects such as: mild Euphoria, narcotic effects, visual changes and mild sedative effects. Not enough research has been done on Zornia Latifolia to test for toxicity.