Lophophora
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Lophophora (John M. Coulter, 1894) is a genus of spineless, button-like cacti native to the southwestern United States (Texas and New Mexico) through Northeast Mexico and South to Querétaro.
The species are extremely slow growing, sometimes taking up to thirty years to reach flowering age (at the size of about a golf ball, not including the root) in the wild. Cultivated specimens grow considerably faster, usually taking between three to ten years to reach from seedling to mature flowering adult. Due to this slow growth and over-harvesting by collectors, the species are considered to be in danger of extinction in the wild.
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Species
Lophophora has been reported to be comprised of everything from one species, L. williamsii with varieties, to the four species L. diffusa, L. fricii, L. viridescens, and L. williamsii. Most modern authorities consider Lophophora to be a genus of two species, L. diffusa and L. williamsii. Recent DNA sequencing studies (Butterworth et al. 2002) have shown that L. diffusa and L. williamsii indeed are distinct species. It would be interesting with similar studies on the alleged species L. fricii and L. viridescens.
Below is given a key for the currently accepted species along with the "species" and varieties that must be considered synonymous. Detailed arguments for this classification can be found in Peyote: The Divine Cactus (Anderson 1996, pp. 210-219).
Lophophora diffusa (Croizat) Bravo 1967
The plants are yellow-green, usually lacking well-defined ribs and furrows. The podaria are rarely elevated, but are broad and flat. The tufts of hair are usually spread unequally on the prominent podaria. The flowers are commonly whitish to yellowish-white. L. diffusa occurs at the south end of the range of the genus in Querétaro state, Mexico.
L. diffusa contains trace amounts of mescaline; pellotine is the principal alkaloid.
Synonyms
Lophophora echinata var. diffusa Croizat 1944
Lophophora williamsii var. diffusa (Croizat) Rowley 1979
Lophophora diffusa var. koehresii Riha 1996, L. williamsii var. koehresii (Riha) Grym 1997
Lophophora diffusa subsp. viridescens Halda 1997, L. viridescens (Halda) Halda 1997
Lophophora williamsii (Lemaire ex Salm-Dyck) J. M. Coulter
The plants are blue-green, usually with well-defined ribs and furrows. The tufts of hair are usually equally spaced on the ribs. The flowers are pinkish or rarely whitish. L. williamsii occurs in the full range of the genus except in Querétaro state, Mexico.
The mescaline content in dried L. williamsii can reach 6%.
Synonyms
Echinocactus williamsii Lemaire ex Salm-Dyck 1845
Lophophora lewinii (K. Schumann) Rusby 1894
Lophophora echinata Croizat 1944
Lophophora fricii Habermann 1974, L. williamsii var. fricii (Habermann) Grym 1997, L. diffusa subsp. fricii (Habermann) Halda 1997
Lophophora jourdaniana Habermann 1975
Ethnobotany and Entheogen Use
Lophophora williamsii, commonly known as peyote, is noted for its psychotropic alkaloids; see peyote for further details.
These alkaloids are absent or only found in extremely small amounts in the other species Lophophora diffusa. While L. diffusa is known for having psychoactive effects, these effects are described not so much as "visionary", like peyote, but rather a delirious high such as those associated with the use of Datura and Belladonna.
Etymology
Lophophora means "crest-bearing", referring to the tufts of trichomes that adorn each tubercle. The name is derived from the two Greek words λοφος (lophos, the crest of a hill or helmet) and φορεω (phoreo, to carry).
References
- Edward F. Anderson, The Cactus Family (Timber Press, 2001) ISBN 0-88192-498-9, pp. 396-397
- Edward F. Anderson, Peyote: The Divine Cactus (University of Arizona Press; 2nd edition, 1996) ISBN 0-8165-1654-5
- Lyman Benson, Cacti of the United States and Canada (Stanford University Press, 1983) ISBN 0-8047-0863-0, pp. 680-683
- C. A. Butterworth & J. H. Cota-Sanchez, & R. S. Wallace (2002), ”Molecular systematics of Tribe Cacteae (Cactaceae: Cactoideae): A phylogeny based on rpl16 intron sequence variation”, Systematic Botany 27 (2), 257-270.
- John M. Coulter, Preliminary revision of the North American species of Cactus, Anhalonium, and Lophophora (Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium 3(2), 1894)
- Rudolf Grym, Rod/Die Gattung Lophophora (Vydavateľstvo Igor Dráb, 1997) ISBN 80-85441-11-X
