Banisteriopsis caapi, or the caapi vine, is considered by many indigenous communities in South America to be the most important teacher plant of the Amazon. It - it is a female plant - has been given nicknames such as 'madre ayahuasca', 'plant of the gods' and 'vine of the soul'. It grows in the lush Amazon rainforest of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil where it has been traditionally used for thousands of years by numerous South American tribes in the Amazon.
Caapi alone does not make ayahuasca; to obtain ayahuasca, caapi is boiled together with chacruna leaves for hours into a concentrated dark tea, and only in this combination does it have a psychedelic effect.
In the indigenous traditions and plant medicine ceremonies in the Western world, this is not what it is about; it is about the healing power on the physical, emotional and soul levels, and in addition ayahuasca makes it possible to make contact with the divine that connects everything, with the wisdom of mother earth and that within ourselves. All in all, it is part of a rich cultural mythology and tradition.