Phytolacca dioica, commonly known as ombú, is a massive evergreen tree native to the Pampa of South America. It has an umbrella-like canopy that spreads to a girth of 12 to 15 meters (40 to 50 feet) and can attain a height of 12 to 18 meters (40 to 60 feet). Because it is derived from herbaceous ancestors, its trunk consists of anomalous secondary thickening rather than true wood. As a result, the ombú grows fast but its wood is soft and spongy enough to be cut with a knife. These properties have led it to be used in the art of bonsai, as it is easily manipulated to create the desired effect. Since the sap is poisonous, the ombú is not grazed by cattle and is immune to locusts and other pests. For similar reasons, the leaves are sometimes used as a laxative or purgant. It is a symbol of Uruguay and Argentina, and of Gaucho culture, as its canopy is quite distinguishable from afar and provides comfort and shelter from sun and rain.

The herb is categorized in the same genus as the North American pokeweed. The species is also cultivated in Southern California as a shade tree.

Jorge Bucay (born 1949) is a gestalt psychotherapist, psychodramatist, and writer from Argentina. His books have sold more than 2 million copies around the world, and have been translated into more than seventeen languages.

He was born in the Floresta neighborhood of Buenos Aires in 1949 to a modest family. He started working at the age of thirteen. In the course of his life, he has worked as a traveling salesman selling socks, books and sports clothing, as well as an insurance agent, taxi driver, clown, warehouseman, educator, actor, doctor on duty, host of children's parties, psychiatrist, group coordinator, radio collaborator, and television host.

In 1973, he graduated as a doctor from the University of Buenos Aires, and specialized in mental illnesses at the Buenos Aires Pirovano Hospital and at the Santa Mónica clinic.

He currently defines his job as professional helper. He divides his attention between attending therapeutic teaching conferences, which have taken him around the world, and the writing of his books, which he considers therapeutic tools.