Interior of a peach with the pit removed.

It’s either the inside of a nectarine (not a peach) or, more likely, not a plant at all. But, rather, an organism which lives within the trees of the Amazon.

There is a Brazilian tree frog which has been found to produce a secretion which as been used by tribal shamans for centuries to “treat illness, pain, and even laziness.” More recently, pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb have been looking into the compound for use in medicine.

There’s a subspecies of this frog in Peru which only exists in a very specific mountain peak. The TI call it by a name which cannot be spoken by humans which roughly translates as “Dream Mountain.” It’s near Machu Picchu, of course, but it’s not the same mountain peak. Of course, the name has been changed and translated a number of times and the current designation really has very little to do with the original name of the place. But that’s another issue.

The point is, there’s a frog on this mountain top that produces a hallucinogenic drug that the TI use in certain ceremonies. It is secreted from a gland at the top of the frog’s mouth, near the incisive foramen. Which is the darker spot in left center of the presented image.

UT: Y’know, this explains a lot. I mean, a LOT.

What are you trying to say, Dr. D?