Evolution and origins of the Mazatec hallucinogenic sage, Salvia divinorum (Lamiaceae): a molecular phylogenetic approach.
Journal of plant research – September 01, 2011
Source: PubMed
Summary
The potent Mazatec hallucinogenic sage, *Salvia divinorum*, has long puzzled scientists about its origins. New genetic analysis definitively shows this unique plant is not a hybrid as once believed. By sequencing DNA from numerous *Salvia* species, researchers confidently reclassified its lineage, identifying its closest known relative as *Salvia venulosa*, a rare species found surprisingly far away in Colombia. This clarifies the evolutionary history of the psychoactive plant.
Abstract
Salvia divinorum Epl. & Játiva-M. (Lamiaceae) is a potent hallucinogenic plant that is classified within Salvia subgenus Calosphace, section Dusenostachys, and hypothesized to be an interspecific hybrid. It is of ethnobotanical significance due to its employment in traditional healing ceremonies by the Mazatecs of Oaxaca, Mexico, and due to its unique pharmacology-a highly selective, non-nitrogenous, κ-opioid receptor agonist. In order to test its phylogenetic position and putative hybridity, we sequenced multiple DNA regions (ITS, trnL-trnF, and psbA-trnH) of 52 species-representing the major lineages of subgenus Calosphace-and six accessions of S. divinorum. Our molecular phylogenetic results suggest that S. divinorum should not be classified within Dusenostachys and that it is not a hybrid. Additionally, we determine that the closest known relative of this psychoactive Mexican sage is S. venulosa, a rare endemic of Colombia.