Lonchocarpus nicou is a cultigen whose root is used primarily as a fish poison. When found in the forest (as in the picture above) the plant is a clear sign that the location is an old home or garden site. According to tradition Lonchocarpus nicou, called Timiu in the Shuar language, was once a human man who had a brother named Masu. These two brothers became transformed into the two plants most commonly used as fish poisons. Timiu, the older brother was transformed into a the powerful fish poison plant Lonchocarpus nicou while Masu, the younger brother was transformed in the “weaker” fish poison plant Clibadium surinamense. A brief examination of this story will show that the relative weakness of Clibadium surinamense when compared to Lonchcarpus is due to a difference in the moral character of the two brothers when they were human. The weakness of Clibadium surinamense is due to a moral fault called killa (quilla) in Kichwa.