Калея үш жапырақты: Дәстүрлі қолданысы мен әсерлері

Species of plant

Calea ternifolia (syn. Calea zacatechichi) is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America. It is used in traditional medicine and ritual in its native range.

In Mexico the plant is used as a herbal remedy for dysentery and fever. The Chontal people of Oaxaca reportedly use the plant, known locally as thle pela kano, during divination. Isolated reports describe rituals that involve smoking a plant believed to be this species, drinking it as a tea, and placing it under a pillow to induce divinatory or lucid dreams due to its properties as an oneirogen. Zacatechichi, the former species name, is a Hispanicized form of the Nahuatl word "zacatl chichic" meaning "bitter grass". Users take the plant to help them remember their dreams; known side effects include nausea and vomiting related to the taste and mild to severe allergic reaction. While quite bitter if brewed in hot water, the bitterness can be considerably masked by brewing with Osmanthus flowers, which have a compatible scent profile.

Chemical compounds isolated from this species include flavones such as acacetin and sesquiterpene lactones such as germacranolides. The sesquiterpenes known as caleicines and caleochromenes may be active in its effects on sleep. This plant was banned in Poland in March 2009.

One study suggest that the herb may have some toxic properties towards kidneys (nephrotoxicity).

American composer David Woodard, who cultivated Calea ternifolia on his San Francisco estate, composed a motet entitled "Calea Zacatechichi", which he recorded with a Hispanic choir.