Thread: Xhosa (Silene Capensis) African Dream Root - Log and Discussion

Nice thread. Too bad you haven't gotten any results yet. I'm definitely interested in getting some myself. I'll probably go read about it on DMT-nexus first.

But first, I got some pharmahuasca to take care of.

Mine arrived, but havent got it yet because Ive got to collect it from the parcel office. Will report tomorrow!

Ok, tried mine out this morning. It frothed up pretty good in water. I made a video of it, I will upload it later so you can see what method I used, and what it looked like.
This stuff tastes pretty nice, it smells almost exactly like liquorice root (maybe thats what it is!)
Got mine from Spiritgarden Ethnobotanicals, supplier of Peyote, ayahuasca, kratom and other entheogens

Thats great LostOnTrains! I'm glad you got your's to froth up and thanks for the link, I guess I'll be ordering some root from that vendor when I get a chance.

Good luck, I hope you end up with nice results, keep us updated. :]

Alright the video is uploaded YouTube - Silene Capensis. Day 1 so you can see how I prepared mine. I used quite a lot, but after I was done, I put the lid on the jar and put it in the fridge. Im gonna re-use it each day, adding a bit more root when it needs it and changing for fresh water when I feel like it.
I ate the foam, then frothed it up again and ate another load. After the second load I physically couldnt eat any more.
Also didnt eat anything else for a while after, but had a big cup of coffee right after eating it, not sure it that would effect it in any way.

Hope you have more luck with yours soon. The vendor is based in the UK, Ive no idea where you are from... but they were VERY quick posting it and it seems pretty fresh too.

Yeah I'm totally convinced I got an old harvest or bad batch now, yours looks quite fresh. I got mine from herbalfire.com, so I advise people to avoid that vendor if you plan on ordering some of this stuff. I'm from the US but considering you got really good results with the froth, I'm definitely considering paying a little extra to order from a vendor that I know has good stock. I might wait a week or two before I start up my research again, though.

Thanks for sharing the video, by the looks of it I'm sure the results will prove successful.

Originally Posted by LostOnTrains

I ate the foam, then frothed it up again and ate another load.

That looks a lot like the descriptions I've been reading all over the web. Quite a bit of foam to eat. It appears you didn't really pulverize it into dust; just a minute or so with the mortar and pestle to crush it up.

Originally Posted by astralpixels

Yeah I'm totally convinced I got an old harvest or bad batch now, yours looks quite fresh.

I ordered mine from World Seed Supply on the Bonanza(dot)com site in the USA. I found several other vendors by using Google, but a lot of them had the same 'contact' address as HerbalFire. I suspect they're doing business under several different names.

I haven't received mine yet, but I will also shoot a video of the preparation process when it does arrive. Hopefully it works out ok.

Thank you LostOnTrains, that video was very good. I'm really considering trying this
myself. I'll see how things play out here

Originally Posted by anderj101

I found several other vendors by using Google, but a lot of them had the same 'contact' address as HerbalFire. I suspect they're doing business under several different names.

Wow... HerbalFire seems kinda sketchy

Also, anderj101, I love your dream goal:

Originally Posted by anderj101

()Morph into a giant Linux penguin and crush the Microsoft campus.

I lolled

Originally Posted by anderj101

That looks a lot like the descriptions I've been reading all over the web. Quite a bit of foam to eat. It appears you didn't really pulverize it into dust; just a minute or so with the mortar and pestle to crush it up.

Bear in mind I speeded up the preparation process on the video. The grinding took longer than is shown. Some parts were big and I had to take them out and cut them up more with scissors, and then grind some more. But yeah, mostly it was broken down into small chips rather than powder... my mortar and pestle isnt too good. Seemed to work okay though.

EDIT: DJ entry: Weird dream/vision from last night

Its to bad this drug isn't better documented because it would be great to know the best way to prepare it.

Originally Posted by Shadow27

Also, anderj101, I love your dream goal: ()Morph into a giant Linux penguin and crush the Microsoft campus.

Thanks! Being an avid Ubuntu Linux user, I avoid Microsoft like the plague.

Originally Posted by LostOnTrains

Bear in mind I speeded up the preparation process on the video.

I thought so. Looks like it worked good, thanks for posting the video.

@Anderj: can't wait to read about your results and thanks for the info, I'll make sure to double check vendors to make sure they aren't owned by herbalfire (not that I have anything against them, but seems like their silene capensis isn't of too great quality, can't speak for the rest of their stock)

@LostOnTrains: interesting DJ entry thanks for sharing, I wonder if the root is already taking effect, keep us updated!

Originally Posted by anderj101

Thanks! Being an avid Ubuntu Linux user, I avoid Microsoft like the plague.

Its Fedora Linux or Solaris for me I hate windows

I finally collected all the materials needed to try out the Silene Capensis.


The Silene Capensis, as received from World Seed Supply.


A closeup.


Got a new coffee grinder to pulverize the roots.


Input...


Output... I fed this through a couple of times to obtain a 50% fine powder and 50% small granules.


Loading a level tablespoon into a jar with some water. The dust smells a bit like licorice.


No froth after swirling with a wooden spoon for a while. I also put a lid on the jar and violently shook it for a couple of minutes, still no froth.

I'm not really sure what to do with it, since there is no froth to eat. Perhaps I'll just filter the water through a fine screen and drink it...

Im not sure but I would say dont grind it. Use a mortar and pestle. All I can suggest, and I have no experience.

Tried it faithfully for 7 days straight, each day eating the foam in the morning.
Decided to give it a break as I haven't really noticed any particular change in my dreams (some of them seemed like they were maybe a bit more vivid, but that was probably just because I was expecting it).
My main problem I think is that I have been eating meat pretty much every day, and I read that this can render it uneffective.
I still have plent of root left, but I may save it fro when I have a week to really stick to a diet and do it properly.

It's a shame we haven't gotten good consistent results. On one hand Lostontrains managed to get it to foam, but it seems that like me, anderj can't seem to get it to foam either (perhaps try not grinding it to a complete powder, but do something like Lostontrains did). I didn't eat any meat but I heard that protein in general can counter it's effects. The problem is, I was eating lots of tofu which happens to have a lot of protein as well. One of the reasons I had imagined the protein couldn't haven't been the main factor is that some people did this for 3 months to gain permanent effects, and I can't imagine a diet that could last that long with omitting or reducing protein without there being some health concerns. So I really don't know what might be going wrong here.

I actually started taking the root again in torn up pieces with kitchen scissors and mixing it in some tea for the past 3 days, and still nothing more than a bit more vivid hynpagogic imagery with a white glow to them, but this for all I know can be from placebo or any other things I'm eating through the day, because it's not abnormal for me to experience weird HI (as it's already odd to begin with). So I really think that it just doesn't seem to work for certain people.

I'll give it a go one more time from a new vendor in a few weeks, but I'm not too psyched about it as I was initially, I may just try other oneirogens instead.

I'd say try reducing the protein. Not dangerously but enough. Maybe it's not protein at all, maybe its something else in meat
that helps the process?

I've heard that meat and/or protein negates its effects. It could be that perhaps we could try to reduce protein in take a bit for a few days while trying it out, but I can't imagine how some people manage reducing protein intake for 3 months (in order to gain permanency with the root's effects).

I'm hoping that it may just be meat and not so much protein, that reduces the effects, and the reason mine proved unsucessful was because I perhaps got a batch that didn't seem to foam. All of this though is complete speculation, I really have no idea what to think about it, it's such an unresearched plant.

This doesn't seem to be nearly worth the effort put into it.

Originally Posted by astralpixels

anderj can't seem to get it to foam either (perhaps try not grinding it to a complete powder, but do something like Lostontrains did).

I'm going out shopping later to see if I can find a mortar and pestle set. I can't imagine that there will be much of a difference, but I will certainly give it a try. Perhaps the electric grinder created too much heat and destroyed something in the root.

hmm. I've been doing some research on techniques / instructions for taking it and haven't been able
to find anything. I'm really tempted to order some myself, perhaps from a different vendor, and see
If I can come up with anything. It might be difficult though as I am a college student and my parents
probably wouldn't be open to this kind of thing. I'll figure something out.

Originally Posted by anderj101

I'm going out shopping later to see if I can find a mortar and pestle set. I can't imagine that there will be much of a difference, but I will certainly give it a try. Perhaps the electric grinder created too much heat and destroyed something in the root.

That is entirely possible

Originally Posted by astralpixels

I've heard that meat and/or protein negates its effects. It could be that perhaps we could try to reduce protein in take a bit for a few days while trying it out, but I can't imagine how some people manage reducing protein intake for 3 months (in order to gain permanency with the root's effects).

I'm hoping that it may just be meat and not so much protein, that reduces the effects, and the reason mine proved unsucessful was because I perhaps got a batch that didn't seem to foam. All of this though is complete speculation, I really have no idea what to think about it, it's such an unresearched plant.

From the various bits and pieces Ive read online, its best to stop eating meat for a couple of days before taking the xhosa root, and then to continue not eating meat whilst taking it.
One theory I had was that its not the protein exactly, but the act of fasting that makes it work better.

Im guessing it was the Xhosa Tribe that used this root(?)
So according to wikipedia, their traditional diet:
The Xhosa settled on mountain slopes of the Amatola and the Winterberg Mountains. Many streams drain into great rivers of this Xhosa territory including the Kei and Fish Rivers. Rich soils and plentiful rainfall make the river basins good for farming and grazing making cattle important and the basis of wealth.
Traditional foods include beef(Inyama yenkomo), mutton(Inyama yegusha), and goat meat, sorghum, maize and umphokoqo (dry maize porridge), "umngqusho" (made from dried, stamped corn and dried beans), milk (often fermented, called "amasi"), pumpkins(amathanga), beans(iimbotyi), and vegetables.
[edit]

If meat was a large part of their diet, then cutting it out would be like starving yourself.
Then again, I think fasting like this would be sufficient to create some pretty messed up dreams anyway.

Originally Posted by LostOnTrains

Im guessing it was the Xhosa Tribe that used this root(?)
So according to wikipedia, their traditional diet:
The Xhosa settled on mountain slopes of the Amatola and the Winterberg Mountains. Many streams drain into great rivers of this Xhosa territory including the Kei and Fish Rivers. Rich soils and plentiful rainfall make the river basins good for farming and grazing making cattle important and the basis of wealth.
Traditional foods include beef(Inyama yenkomo), mutton(Inyama yegusha), and goat meat, sorghum, maize and umphokoqo (dry maize porridge), "umngqusho" (made from dried, stamped corn and dried beans), milk (often fermented, called "amasi"), pumpkins(amathanga), beans(iimbotyi), and vegetables.
[edit]

Sounds like they get a lot of protien with all the meat and beans and such.