Psychotria viridis (Chacruna)

About the product

100% dried Psychotria viridis leaves. Origin: Peru.

Psychotria viridis (also known as chacruna or chacrona) is an evergreen shrub in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. It grows wild in the lowland rainforests of the Amazon – in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil – and usually reaches two to five metres in height. The leaves are long, narrow and glossy, 5–15 cm, and the shrub bears small red berries.

The leaves have a long and central place in the traditions of several indigenous peoples of the western Amazon, where knowledge of where the shrubs grow and when the leaves are harvested has been passed down through generations. The shrub thrives in partial shade beneath the canopy and tolerates having its leaves harvested year after year.

Chacruna has an unusual trait: a single leaf can become a new plant. Laid against moist soil, a leaf forms roots where the leaf vein has been damaged, and this is how the plant is often propagated in cultivation.

Our leaves come from the Peruvian Amazon and have been gently dried to a deep olive green – yellowed leaves are a sign of overly harsh drying. Stored dark and dry, the leaves keep their quality for one to two years.