What does «curare» mean in Spanish?
- Poison extracted by South American Indians from the root of the maracure (among others) to poison their hunting or war arrows. It is a black, resinous substance with a bitter taste, highly poisonous and extracted from some plant species, especially members of the Menispermaceae and Loganiaceae, abundant in the Amazon basin. This poison paralyzes the muscles, including the respiratory muscles, and can cause death.