Pharmako/Poeia (1995) is Dale Pendell‘s bipartite exegesis on the ethnobotanical genesis of entheogeons (colloquially, drugs). Born of witful curiosity, witty, tyrant-upturning poetry, and tosses, wet with slobbering plant-power, of alchemy, the two volumes of this novel, novel-like work are — in the fey and hectic phrases of that old psychonaut, Allen Ginsberg:

an epic poem on plant humours, an abstruse alchemic treatise, an experiential narrative jigsaw puzzle, a hip and learned wild-nature reference text, a comic paen to cosmic consciousness, an ecological handbook, a dried-herb pastiche, a counterculture encyclopedia of ancient fact and lore.

Contents (by plant)

Volume One

1. POWER PLANTS—green allies
   1. The Mad River Plant: Prunus emarginata
   2. Bulrush: Scirpus atrovirens
2. THANATOPATHIA—tasting of death
   1. Tobacco: Nicotania tabacum
   2. Pituri: Duboisia hopwoodii
3. INEBRIANTIA—relating to drunkenness
   1. Yeast: Saccharomyces cerevisiae
   2. Wine: Vitus vinifera
   3. Beer: Hordeum vulgare
   4. Aqua Vitae
   5. Æther
   6. Fossil Fuel
4. RHAPSODICA—where seeds of song are sown
   1. Absinthe: Artemisia absinthium
   2. Calea zacatechichi
5. EUPHORICA—plants bearing pleasure
   1. Opium: Papaver somniferum
6. PACIFICA—the peacemakers
   1. Kava kava: Piper methysticum
7. EXISTENTIA—the stance of the pre-essential
   1. Ska Pastoria: Salvia divinorum
8. EVAESTHETICA—sensually pleasing
   1. Marijuana: Cannabis sativa
9. METAPHYSICA—intimations on the nature of things
   1. Nitrous Oxide
10. GLOSSARY
11. REFERENCES
12. CREDITS

Volume Two

1. PLANT ALLIES—a poet’s guide
2. PHANTASTICA—visionary plants
   1. Ayahuasca: Banipsteriosis, Psychotria viridis
   2. Teonanacatl: Psilocybe cubensis
   3. Peganum harmala
   4. DMT
   5. Phalaris arundinaceae
   6. Arundo donax
   7. Desmanthus illinoensis
   8. Lysergic acid amide: Claviceps purpurea
   9. Ololiuqui: Ipomoea, Rivea spp.
   10. Stipa robusta
   11. Peyote: Lophophora williamsii
   12. San Pedro Cactus: Trichocereus pachanoi
   13. The Great Toad Mother: Bufo alvarius, B. marianus
3. EMPATHOGENICA—entering the suffering
   1. Terpenes and the kin: Nutmeg, MDMA
4. DAIMONICA—here there be dragons
   1. Tropane alkaloids: Datura, Brugmansia, Solandra
   2. Flying ointments: Henbane, Belladona
   3. Coriaria thymifolia
   4. Mescal bean: Sophora secundiflora
5. HYPNOTICA—bringers of sleep
   1. Rauwolfia serpentaria
6. CHARISMATICA—yearning for grace
   1. Betel: Areca catechu/Piper betle
7. EXCITANTIA—provokers and agitators
   1. Coffee: Coffea arabica
   2. Tea: Thea sinensis
   3. Cocaine: Erythroxylum coca
   4. Chocolate: Theobroma cacao
   5. Khat: Catha edulis and amphetamine
   6. Misc: Guayusa, Mate
   7. The Black Drink: Ilex spp.
8. TELEPHORICA—bearing a great distance
   1. Tabernanthe iboga
   2. Amanita muscaria
9. THE FOOL

Copyright

Pharmako/Poeia is copyright 1995 Dale Pendell. All the lucky same, he’s dispensed several websites (Daniel Siebert‘s Sage Wisdom, principally) with the glad-happy rights to reprint the Ska Pastoria: Salvia divinorum section of that book on those websites. Under that same stricture, Raiazome reprints that well-structured section (and only, alas, that section), above.