Ethnobotanical Seeds & Herbs

Seeds, leaves, herb or bark

The quickest way through this page is by plant part. Each line below names the species, its family and the pack sizes on offer.

• Seeds. Yopo, Anadenanthera peregrina (Fabaceae), in 25 g, 100 g and 1 kg. Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds, Argyreia nervosa (Convolvulaceae), in 5 g and 25 g; a second listing offers the same two sizes.
• Leaves. Chacruna, Psychotria viridis (Rubiaceae), dried, in 50 g, 250 g and 1 kg.
• Herb. Chaliponga, Diplopterys cabrerana (Malpighiaceae), in 50 g and 250 g. The label reads "[herb]", and the product photo shows dried leaves next to the pouch.
• Root bark. Mimosa hostilis (jurema preta), botanically Mimosa tenuiflora (Fabaceae), in 50 g and 250 g.

Within a listing, a bigger pack only raises the net weight; what is in the pouch stays the same.

What the Herborist pouch tells you

Herborist packs all six listings in kraft-paper pouches, and every product page shows its pouch in a photo. The printed label carries the plant name, the botanical name and one English word in square brackets, explained in the questions below. Neither the chacruna label nor the woodrose labels name a country of origin, and this page does not add one. Other products from the same maker are on the Herborist brand page.

Four families, two continents

Botanically, the five species have little in common. Yopo and Mimosa tenuiflora are legumes (Fabaceae). Chacruna sits in the Rubiaceae, which also contain the coffee plant. Chaliponga is a liana of the Malpighiaceae, and Argyreia nervosa one of the Convolvulaceae.

The native ranges here follow the World Checklist of Vascular Plants kept by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Four species are American. Chaliponga has the smallest range: Brazil (north only), Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Chacruna is recorded more widely, from south-eastern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, from Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and in South America as far as Bolivia and the Brazilian north. Yopo is native on several Caribbean islands, among them Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and the Lesser Antilles, and on the mainland from Colombia and the Guianas to Bolivia and south-eastern Brazil. Mimosa tenuiflora is recorded from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama to Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. The fifth species is Asian: A. nervosa is native to India, Assam, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar, and only introduced in Hawaii.

Older and newer names

Two botanical names are worth knowing when you compare labels with reference works. Mimosa hostilis was published in 1875, after Mimosa tenuiflora (1810). The priority rule keeps the earlier name, so the product's trade name is now a synonym; in Brazil the plant is called jurema preta. Argyreia nervosa was first named Convolvulus nervosus, in the bindweed genus. Yopo and Mimosa hostilis also have dedicated pages, Yopo and Mimosa hostilis, as do chacruna and chaliponga.

Packaging and delivery

Mycotrop sells all products strictly as collectible or souvenir items. Orders are prepared on business days and dispatched in neutral outer packaging that does not describe the contents. When tracking is available, you receive the link by email after dispatch. Many international deliveries arrive 3 to 15 business days after dispatch; this is an estimate, not a promise. Details are on the Delivery, Tracking & Returns page.

Frequently asked questions

Why are there two Hawaiian baby woodrose listings?

Both contain Argyreia nervosa seeds in a Herborist pouch labelled "[seeds]", in 5 g and 25 g, and each listing has its own photos. Compare the photos on the two product pages to choose.

Which plants come in a 1 kg pack?

Yopo (25 g, 100 g, 1 kg) and chacruna (50 g, 250 g, 1 kg). Chaliponga and the Mimosa hostilis root bark stop at 250 g, the woodrose seeds at 25 g.

What does the word in square brackets on the label mean?

It gives the form of the contents in English: "[seeds]" on the yopo and woodrose pouches, "[herb]" on chacruna and chaliponga, and "[whole]" on the root bark.

Under which other name does chaliponga appear in older references?

As Banisteriopsis cabrerana, a name published in 1958. In 1979 the species was moved to the genus Diplopterys; its accepted name is Diplopterys cabrerana (Cuatrec.) B.Gates.

Is Hawaiian baby woodrose a kind of rose?

No. Argyreia nervosa belongs to the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), not to the rose family (Rosaceae). Other English names on record are elephant creeper and woolly morning glory.