Rhaphithamnus

Rhaphithamnus
R. venustus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Verbenaceae
Genus: Rhaphithamnus
Miers
Species

Rhaphithamnus spinosus
Rhaphithamnus venustus

Synonyms
Homotypic Synonyms
  • Raphithamnus Dalla Torre & Harms
Heterotypic Synonyms
  • Poeppigia Bertero ex Férussac

Rhaphithamnus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Verbenaceae. It is native to Argentina, Chile, and the Juan Fernández Islands.

Traditionally, it is considered by the locals that the berries of this genus of plants are toxic or poisonous, so their consumption is not recommended.

Species

Accepted species include:

Use in Chilean folk medicine

In the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile, R. spinosus is one of three plant species believed in local folk medicine to be antidotes to the anticholinergic poisoning caused by the dangerous hallucinogenic plant Latua pubiflora (Solanaceae). It is used by the shamans of the indigenous Huilliche people who employ Latua to enter trance in machitun healing rituals.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Rhaphithamnus Miers". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Rhaphithamnus Miers". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Rhaphithamnus spinosus (Juss.) Moldenke". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  4. ↑ Murillo, Adolfo (1889). Plantes médicinales du Chili [Medicinal Plants of Chile] (in French). Paris: Exposition Universelle de Paris, Section Chilienne. pp. 152–155. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.138501.
  5. ↑ Mariani Ramírez, Carlos (1965). Temas de hipnosis [Topics on Hypnosis]. Biblioteca de Estudios Médicos (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Editorial Andrés Bello. p. 336.
  6. ↑ Sparre, B. (1970). Letter to the authors of the Harvard Botanical Museum Leaflet on Latua: Plowman, Gyllenhaal and Lindgren. Stockholm: Museum of Natural History.
  7. ↑ Plowman, Timothy; Gyllenhaal, Lars Olof; Lindgren, Jan Erik (November 12, 1971). "Latua pubiflora: Magic plant from southern Chile". Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University. 23 (2). Cambridge, Massachusetts: 61–92. doi:10.5962/p.168555. JSTOR 41762272.

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