by Curlan Campbell
- Caribbean Spice Island Plants offers comprehensive view of Grenada’s plant life
- Charles presented findings on Anadenanthera peregrina at 2019 Garifuna Conference
- Natural disasters and human intervention can threaten survival of multiple plant species
The Cohoba plant, undiscovered in Grenada by local researchers for almost 24 years, was recently found and identified in St Vincent by Dolton Charles of La Poterie, Grenada. Anadenanthera peregrina, a large tree in the legume family native to the Caribbean and South America, has been used as a hallucinogen by shamans for over 4,000 years, according to archaeological evidence.
Taino shamans ground the Cohoba seeds into a psychotropic powder — one of the most potent hallucinogens in the pre-Columbian era — inhaled to enter a trance state to open themselves to the world of spirits and ancestors.
Charles initially learned about the plant from his grandmother’s stories. However, it wasn’t until after Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004 that French archaeologist Dr Henry Pettijean Roget, a prehistory expert in the Antilles, informed him of the plant’s importance while they were both in Grenada. It took Charles 15 years to discover the rare plant on another island. Exploring the possibility of investing in the marijuana industry in neighbouring St Vincent, Charles stumbled upon a cave and discovered artefacts of the island’s earlier settlers, which later led him to the Cohoba plant.
Charles returned to Grenada with samples and seeds to be tested by the Produce Chemist Laboratory, which later confirmed the plant was indeed Anadenanthera peregrina. Charles presented his findings at the Garifuna Conference in 2019. “I presented the seeds and the pods and a whole breakdown of the plant. After all these years, we thought the plant was extinct in places like Grenada and St Vincent, and no one knew the importance of that plant. Yes, we have artefacts in the museum in St Vincent and Grenada that depict the use of the Cohoba, but no one has ever seen the plant,” Charles said.
In 2004, William D Hawthorne, a tropical botanist/plant ecologist from the Oxford Science Department, compiled a catalogue and photo guide of the trees and shrubs found in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
“This book’s evolution started in 2000 under the Department for International Development (DFID), a UK forestry-funded project under the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Oxford Science Department. Initially, the funding was for the production of a simple botanical field guide targeting taxi drivers, vendors and schools. However, our survey proved otherwise; over 80% of the respondents preferred a book,” said Dean Jules, who played an essential role in conducting field research.
“Caribbean Spice Island Plants” offers a comprehensive view of Grenada’s plant life, featuring botanical and local names, identification notes, and usage. During the project, Jules and local botanist Dr Guido Marcelle assisted in the research to collect and identify various plant species, but after identifying a variety of plants, they could not find the Cohoba plant.
“It’s not perhaps correct to say that it is extinct at this moment since we have had several massive hurricanes devastating our forest ecology. Maybe it is still here, but will take some serious field research based on its preferred climatic growing conditions. Further, its distribution is perhaps narrow, meaning it is not growing everywhere. This can pose some difficulty in identifying the plant,” Jules said.
Jules, a former supervisor at the Forestry Department, said factors other than natural disasters can also impact certain local plant species. “Apart from natural disasters, human intervention can threaten the survival of multiple plant species through clear felling, slash and burn for farming and building houses, including plant diseases. So, there are many factors that can contribute to extinction, not omitting lack of education. There’s a dire need for conservation education, beginning at our schools, community level, tourist guides, taxi drivers, tour operators, and private and public initiatives.”
Charles, currently constructing a 16th-century Kalinago Heritage Village in La Poterie on his own, considers discovering a particular plant very significant. As part of the recreation of the Kalinago village, he wants to ensure that the plants, fruits, and trees that were part of the indigenous people’s diet are also available on the property. He said, “We did some tests recently, and the result is so exciting with the different compounds and how important those compounds are to our health. Back in the 16th century, Europeans would have tried to eradicate it, and now, with our bad health practices and seeing the importance of the compounds in that plant that would help treat mental health illnesses.”
Congratulations to the contributors and wish them every success in this undertaking!!