• Members of the previous forum can retrieve their temporary password here, (login and check your PM).

Thieves steal Hydrangeas, *allegedly* for their psychoactive effect

Migrated topic.
twofourtwo

twofourtwo

Rising Star
I found a small news clipping from Dutch newspaper/ tabloid 'De Telegraaf.' People in the quiet town of Sint Nicolaasga are missing the Hydrangeas (Hortensias) from their gardens and apparently some people believe* the stems of the flowers are smoked for an alleged* hallucinogenic effect. (Mind the caveats lol )

Probably an urban (or rather, rural) legend but who knows 😁
I cut many many thousands of hydrangeas as a teenager with a recess job in a greenery, but it never occured to me to smoke them, and back then I've tried to get high off a lot of things : )

(translated)
'Hallucinating' hydrangea thieves

SINT NICOLAASGA -
Police in the Frisian town of Sint Nicolaasga are looking for some hydrangea thieves. For the second time in a short time, the region's inhabitants lost their beloved flowers.

"Some assume that the cut stems are smoked for a hallucinogenic effect. We do not know," police told the Leeuwarden Courant.
Click to expand...
I thought there'd be no better place to post this, than the only forum where people smoke the orchids from their window sills :d Maybe someone here is able to debunk these outlandish claims. Or better still, confirm them...
 
Hydrangrea also contain a glycoside called amygdalin, which is metabolized into various incarnations of cyanide in the body. It may give you a buzz, but it's also pretty acutely toxic.

When I was doing toxicology as part of my EMT-B program, they included hydrangeas on the list of common yard plants to be on the look out for in suspected poisoning cases.
 
In Japan, ama-cha,甘茶 meaning sweet tea, is another herbal tea made from Hydrangea serrata, whose leaves contain a substance that develops a sweet taste (phyllodulcin). For the fullest taste, fresh leaves are crumpled, steamed, and dried, yielding dark brown tea leaves. Ama-cha is mainly used for kan-butsu-e (the Buddha bathing ceremony) on April 8 every year—the day thought to be Buddha's birthday in Japan. Ama-cha is poured over a statue of Buddha in the ceremony and served to people in attendance. A legend has it that on the day Buddha was born, nine dragons poured Amrita over him; ama-cha is substituted for Amrita in Japan.

In Korean tea, Hydrangea serrata (hangul:산수국 hanja:山水菊) is used for an herbal tea called sugukcha (수국차) or ilsulcha (이슬차).

The pink hydrangea has risen in popularity all over the world, but especially in Asia. Pink hydrangeas have many different meanings, but generally means, "You are the beat of my heart," as described by the celebrated Asian florist Tan Jun Yong, where he was quoted saying, "The light delicate blush of the petals reminds me of a beating heart, while the size could only match the heart of the sender!"[11]
Click to expand...

--

H. paniculata is sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness and/or death due to the cyanide[11] present as cyanogenic glycosides.[12]
Click to expand...

Smooth hydrangea was used medicinally by Native Americans, and later, by early settlers for treatment of kidney and bladder stones.[9][10]
Click to expand...

Cool info. Certainly has a lot of ornamental value. Even sacred value. However, all parts of the plant are toxic to some degree. Kind of similar to the whole situation with tropanes and thieves.
 
Back
Top Bottom