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Charles Zidar
ANCIENT MAYA BOTANICAL RESEARCH |
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| Family: | Solanaceae | | Genus: | Nicotiana | | Species: | tabacum | | Authority: | L. | | Common Name: | tobacco | | Maya Name: | Kuz, kutz | | Depictions: | Jade ear spools and ceramics... | | Maya Plant Use: | Medicine, product use, fumatory, poison
Members of the Solanaceae family are known hallucinogens. | | Botanical Significance: | Tobacco was an important plant to the indigenous people of the Americas. The flower of tobacco and to a lesser extent, the leaf is very distinct. Accurate depictions of the plant can readily be seen in Maya art. It is known that plants from the Solanaceae family were of great importance to most American Indian groups. Plants such as Datura inoxia, Solandra brevicalyx, and Petunia violacea were used for their hallucinogenic qualities.
| | Ritual Significance: | God L is seen here smoking a cigar. Tobacco leaves can also be seen on his headdress.
Plants in the Solanaceae family were used for their hallucinogenic qualities. (See Plants of the Gods, Schultes and Hofmann 1992)
| | Notes: | N. langsdorfii? | | Photos: | Click on an image below for high resolution comparison. |
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