>only species of plant that produces the psychoactive substance salvinorin A
>no other species of Salvia seem to produce it
>has a very limited distribution
>propagates itself exclusively via vegetative cloning and hardly ever produces seeds in the wild or in cultivation
>this has led researchers to believe that this isn't a naturally occurring plant, but a cultigen or a hybrid
So, if this plant was "created" by the Mazatec Indians, how did the salvinorin compound come to be? Was it by sheer luck, while toying with the plant's metabolism? This is utterly perplexing and I can't find any in-depth scientific literature about this topic.
I suppose the most logical explanation would be that S. divinorum was originally a naturally occurring plant with a very limited distribution that already contained salvinorin A. This ancestral plant was later been modified by the Indians and then completely extirpated from its habitat, leaving only the cultigen variety. Thoughts?
>no other species of Salvia seem to produce it
>has a very limited distribution
>propagates itself exclusively via vegetative cloning and hardly ever produces seeds in the wild or in cultivation
>this has led researchers to believe that this isn't a naturally occurring plant, but a cultigen or a hybrid
So, if this plant was "created" by the Mazatec Indians, how did the salvinorin compound come to be? Was it by sheer luck, while toying with the plant's metabolism? This is utterly perplexing and I can't find any in-depth scientific literature about this topic.
I suppose the most logical explanation would be that S. divinorum was originally a naturally occurring plant with a very limited distribution that already contained salvinorin A. This ancestral plant was later been modified by the Indians and then completely extirpated from its habitat, leaving only the cultigen variety. Thoughts?
