Alepidea Amatymbica - African Dream Root

[Alysyrose]

Status: Legal
Effects: Slight but noticeable alteration when smoked, subtle marijuana-esque sensations felt, though hard to pin-point. Seems to engage the subconscious mind more than the conscious no matter which method of ingestion is used. Curious.
Notes: Very heat resistant, as it is traditionally smoked (sometimes snuffed, but that would take an extremely fine powder. Probably won't try that.) A tea might work equally well, though actives may change by this means of ingestion. Extract of resin and actives by ethanol extraction is very possible, but would require a lot to work with.

"Lesoko - Alepidea amatymbica

The dry rhizome and roots are smoked, or powdered and taken as snuff by diviners and healers to assist in divination and communication with the ancestors. Smoking the roots results in sedation and vivid dreams. The roots are also used as a smoking admixture, and the smoke disguises the smell of whatever it is that is being smoked in conjunction with this admixture. Elderly people powder the dry rhizome and take it as a snuff. The rhizome is carried as a lucky charm, and is also used to ritually wash divining bones. The rhizomes and roots contain high concentrations of several diterpenoids of the kaurene type. The major compounds are dehydrokaurenoic acids and kaurenoic acids, of which ent-16-kauren-19-oic acid is usually present in the greatest quantity."

Most herbs used today for dream assistance, lucidity and OOBE happen to come from Africa. Funny that. However, the most popular one to date, Calea zacatechichi, comes from Mexico. It's gained the common name of THE "Dream Herb", quite unfairly IMO, as the African types have, at least for myself, been far more effective. This is the most effective I've tried yet.

You won't find much info on this root. It's marked as "rare" simply because it's a relative newcomer to the ethnobotanical field. It is however fairly interesting. Like with most things, I tend to post these on FB first and then paste in the forums. So:

***

So, Alepidae Amatymbica...
There's no common name, so let's call it "Alep." (Note: It has a variety of common names, pardon this.)

AKA: huh, what a weird thing.

I received it this morning. Since I always like to test things as soon as I get them (which resulted in some holy fuck moments in the past) I decided to with this, by smoking. The most striking thing first off is the smell this thing generates. I don't really say this about anything, but it "smells magickal." It's hard to describe. The thing is a root, so there's a slight earthiness to it, but also a smoothness and spiciness that's not 'really' spicy. I can't think of any other way to describe the smell other than "it smells magickal." This is new for me. Smell is unlike anything else, but gentle, subtle, though certainly catches the attention of your senses. The smell reminds me of the desert or something very 'Egyptian'. It comes from Africa, so that's not far off. Anyway, onwards.

I didn't smoke a lot, but there's a definite effect, although subtle. I know how to spot a placebo fairly easily after testing out so many things. This thing seems to work on the subconscious much more than the conscious. A subtle but creeping "open-ness", "relaxation" and "dream-attention" pervades. I'm sure with a higher dose, this would become more apparent. It can also be made into a tea apparently, which I'll be trying tonight. Basically, anything that's active on the smoking level will survive the heats required to make a tea extraction.

This is reportedly a very strong dream herb, so the dream aspect is something I'll be paying attention to tonight. I recall one report saying that this was the cause of his first wet dream in all his life, so maybe there's some aphrodisiac qualities as well. Can't say at the moment. For me, it certainly teased and engaged the subconscious in a very curious but subtle way, which makes me think it might also have some very magickal applications. It's hard to describe.

More later when I make a tea tonight, and after the dreams.

***

I guess this can describe it: It "creeps into the back" of your mind, with only some recognition by the conscious, yet, you do recognize it. So maybe it makes your subconscious more aware of itself, which makes sense since it's also a dream herb. Nothing like I've experienced yet, totally unique, and this was a small dose. More later.

***

So, the "dream herb" function of this definitely panned out. Dreams were long, vivid, involved, with quite a bit of lucidity at one time. They weren't "nuts" or "insane", but I can say that aside the interesting wakeful effects, this is one of the stronger dream herbs I've encountered. If I can manage two nights of lucidity in a row (or longer) that's really saying something.

***

[Svipal]

Thanks for sharing this! i have worked with calea and mugwort for dream recall and lucidity but it never really helped in that way. I think if i can find african dream root i would like to try this for lucid dreaming.
I'm interested to see this subforum grow and will certainly post my own experiences.

[Frater Isla]

Where do I get it?