Botanical name: Calea zacatechichi

Other names: Aztec Dream Grass, Zacatechichi

Family: Compositae (aster family); Subfamily Heliantheae, Galinsoginae Tribe. 

Distribution: Mexico, Costa Rica

ORIGIN: MEXICO

The Compositae was used for magical and medicinal purposes in pre-Columbian times. It is possible that Calea Zacatechichi helped the Aztec magicians (Nagualli) travel deeper in Tlàlocan, the realm of dreams.

The Aztec name zacatechichi is translated as “bitter grass”. The first botanical description of the plant comes from the 19th century (1834). Its use was first described by Thomas MacDougall (1968). Research into its pharmacology and photochemistry did not begin until relatively recently.

A group of Mexican researchers headed by José Diaz conducted a double-blinded experiment using a placebo and Calea zacatechichi and registered a significant increase in the number of meaningful dreams in the subjects who had used the dream herb.