Pfaffia iresinoides
The size of the plant and of its bag can vary a little from the photograph — each one grows at its own pace. We keep them as consistent as we can.
Overview
Marusa, or onanyati rao, is a master plant of the Shipibo tradition of the Peruvian Amazon. Shipibo healers value it for its gentle, "watery" quality and use it in healing of the heart and emotions; it even has its own healing song, its icaro. It's a subshrub of the amaranth family, native from southern Mexico to Venezuela and Peru, the Caribbean included. A plant of deep cultural meaning for ethnobotanical collections.
Culture
A subshrub of the humid tropics. It wants soil rich in organic matter, well drained, with moderate moisture, and it adapts to both partial shade and sun. Planting distance: 1–2 m.
Edible Uses
No known edible uses.
Medicinal
In traditional Amazonian medicine it's used mainly in healers' spiritual and emotional work, rather than for specific physical ailments. There are no scientific studies of its effects. Don't confuse it with "suma" or "Brazilian ginseng", which is a different plant.
Traditional uses for information only. Not a substitute for advice from a health professional.
Agroforestry
A support species with a secondary life cycle that reaches the high stratum in the system. It fits well among trees, in the system's medicinal plant area.