[ah-yuh-wah-skuh] 
| a woody South American vine, Banisteriopsis caapi, of the malpighia family, having bark that is the source of harmine, a hallucinogenic alkaloid used by Amazon Indians. |
| a·ya·hua·sca (ī'yə-wä'skə, ä'yə-) n. A hallucinogenic brew made from the bark and stems of a tropical South American vine of the genus Banisteriopsis, especially B. caapi, mixed with other psychotropic plants, used especially in shamanistic rituals by certain Amazonian Indian peoples. [American Spanish, from Quechua, rope of the dead, narcotic : aya, corpse + huasca, rope.] |