Mansoa alliacea | Ajo sacha | Wild garlic

Description

Mansoa alliacea | Ajo sacha | Wild garlic | Opener of the Way

Popular among many tribes in the Amazon

Considered the “opener of the way” in Amazonian shamanic tradition, ajo sacha (Masoa alliacea) is a much respected plant teacher that is used in many contexts: as a tonic, in floral baths, and as an admixture in the ayahuasca brew.The indigenous Indian tribes of the Amazon use every part of the plant for “magical” or “spiritual” purposes because they believe it is capable of chasing evil spirits away and at the same time, it also has elements of bringing good luck. Tea made from the bark of the herb is fed to dogs among the Shipibo-Conibo Indians in order to make them better hunters. The men of the tribe drink the same tea as well in a way of summoning good luck during the hunting process. The same tribe prepares the bark to produce a poultice which is used to treat swellings, bumps and inflammatory skin conditions. The Ese’eja Indians prepare a leaf tea for colds, while the Amuesha use a leaf tea to aid fertility.

Herbal Medicine

In Peru and Brazil towns, Ajos Sacha has been used in herbal medicine for a long time whereby it considered analgesic, ant rheumatic, and anti-inflammatory. Due to these properties it is used as a remedy for arthritis, rheumatism, body aches and pain, and muscle aches and pain.

Habitat

Native to the Amazon rain-forest, Ajos Sacha is a tropical shrubby tree that enjoys the pride of being evergreen and producing numerous woody vines that makes it beautiful and healthy to look at. The woody vines grow two to three meters tall from the roots and it is catalogued under two major Latin names as: Mansoa alliacea and Pseudocalymma alliaceum. Its other name ajos sacha, is Spanish and it was named that way due to its garlic smell which is strong when the leaves of the herb are crushed. The name ajos sacha means “false garlic”. Due to its garlic odor, it has been adopted into the culinary field by adding it as a condiment in the tropics and the Amazon rainforest.

The physical features of Ajos Sacha are breathtaking, it produces leaves that grow up to 15 cm long and flowers that look like lavender having a throat that makes it more beautiful with a strip of white color. Due to the beauty of its flowers and looks, it has qualified as an ornamental piece in most homes and gardens in the tropics. In the United States, the Ajos Sacha is grown in gardens and due to its hardy vine; it survives the freezing frost making it very popular and valuable.

Names

There are other names that the herb has due to its wide spread in the globe. They include the following: aboeja-mibia, ah-kah-pota, ajo macho, ajo sacha, ajos sacha, ajosacha, ajos del monte, Amazonian garlic bush, ayotete, be’o-ho, be’o-ja pusanga, bejuco de ajo, boens, cipo-alho, cipo-d’alho, false garlic, garlic rope and garlic vine.