In yet another ethnobotanical collection made by Spruce more than 100 years ago, it has been possible to identify alkaloidal material by the use of modern analytical techniques never dreamed of by this intrepid plant exporer. Of several alkaloids found in freshly collected reference material, only one remained in the Spruce collection: bufotenine (5-OH-DMT). Storage of freshly collected material for two years resulted in the disappearance of all alkaloidss except 5-OH-DMT. This may raise speculation as to whether or not they were originally contained in the Spruce material. Our observation stresses the importance of storage-time in addition to knowledge of plant part, soil, season and climatic conditions, when alkaloid analysis is carried out on seeds and on the snuffs prepared from them.