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Lophophora williamsii
Also called Indian Dope, Cactus Pudding, Devil's Root, Diabolic Root, Divine Cactus, Dry Whiskey, Dumpling Cactus
Peyote is a small, spineless, slow-growing cactus native to the Chihuahuan Desert of southern Texas and northern Mexico, valued for its mescaline alkaloids. It needs full sun, very well-drained soil and little water, and takes many years to mature.
Peyote, also known as Lophophora williamsii, is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. Peyote is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl peyōtl, meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root peyōni, "to glisten".
It is native to southern North America, primarily found in desert scrub and limestone-rich areas of northern Mexico and south Texas, particularly in the Chihuahuan Desert at elevations of 100–1,500 m (330–4,920 ft). It flowers from March to May, and sometimes as late as September. Its flowers are pink or white, with thigmotactic anthers (like Opuntia). It is a small, spineless cactus that grows in clusters, produces edible fruits, and contains psychoactive alkaloids—primarily mescaline—at concentrations of about 0.4% when fresh and up to 6% when dried.
Peyote grows slowly and can take up to ten years to mature. Grafting can accelerate growth and crown production and can be performed on both seedlings and mature plants. Growers commonly use Pereskiopsis for seedlings, while larger plants can be grafted onto columnar cacti such as San Pedro, Peruvian torch, and Bolivian torch. When grafted to Pereskiopsis, seedlings can flower and produce seed within two years. Wild peyote experiences long periods of drought and heat stress. In one experiment, six months of drought stress increased the mescaline concentration of cultivated plants; the review authors noted that potency may depend on growing conditions rather than simply on whether a plant is wild or cultivated. The top of the above-ground part of the cactus, the crown, consists of disc-shaped buttons. These are cut above the roots and sometimes dried. When done properly, the top of the root forms a callus and the root does not rot. When poor harvesting techniques are used, however, the entire plant dies.
L. williamsii is native to southern North America, mainly distributed in Mexico. In the United States, it grows in southern Texas. A 1970 field study described a population about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Shafter, in Presidio County, as the northernmost and westernmost known occurrence. A later survey treated the Shafter population as the northwestern limit of the documented range and recorded vouchers in three herbaria. In Mexico, it grows in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in the north to San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas. It is primarily found at elevations of 100 to 1,500 m (330 to 4,920 ft) and exceptionally up to 1,900 m (6,200 ft) in the Chihuahuan Desert, but is also present in the milder climate of Tamaulipas. Its habitat is primarily in desert scrub, particularly thorn scrub in Tamaulipas. It is common on or near limestone hills.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Peyote by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
