Peyote

Description:

Is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.[2] It is known by many English common names including cactus pudding,[3] devil's-root,[3] diabolic-root,[3] divine cactus,[3] dry-whiskey,[3] dumpling cactus,[3] Indian-dope,[3] mescal-buttons,[3] turnip cactus[3], whiskey cactus,[3] and white-mule.[3] The Spanish common name is peyote[3] (play /pəˈjoʊti/; from the Nahuatl word peyotl). It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico. It is found primarily in the Chihuahuan desert and in the states of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi among scrub, especially where there is limestone. Known for its psychoactive properties when ingested, peyote is used world wide as an entheogen and supplement to various transcendence practices, including meditation, psychonautics, and psychedelic psychotherapy. Peyote has a long history of ritualistic and medicinal use by indigenous Americans. It flowers from March through May, and sometimes as late as September. The flowers are pink, with thigmotactic anthers (like Opuntia).

Habitat:

L. williamsii is native to southern North America, mainly distributed in Mexico. In the United States it grows in southern Texas. In Mexico it grows in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in the north to San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas.[7] It is primarily found at elevations of 100–1,500 m (330–4,900 ft) and exceptionally up to 1,900 m (6,200 ft) in the Chihuahuan desert, but is also present in the more mild climate of the state of Tamaulipas. Its habitat is primarily in desert scrub, particularly thorn scrub in Tamaulipas. It is common on or near limestone hills.[8]