Peyote

Peyote
Peyote in the wild
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Cactaceae
Subfamily:	Cactoideae
Genus:	Lophophora
Species:	L. williamsii
Binomial name
Lophophora williamsii (Lem.) J.M.Coult.
Synonyms
Echinocactus williamsii Lemaire ex Salm-Dyck Lophophora lewinii (K. Schumann) Rusby Lophophora echinata Croizat Lophophora fricii Habermann L. williamsii var. fricii (Habermann) Grym L. diffusa subsp. fricii (Habermann) Halda Lophophora jourdaniana Haberman Kim Jung uno

The peyote is either of two species of the cactus genus Lophophora of plants in the family Cactaceae.

The most common plant, L. williamsii, grow in North America, mostly in Mexico,^[2] can be found in the Chihuahuan desert of southern Texas and northern Mexico. The size is about eight centimeters (three inches) wide and five centimeters (two inches) tall. It is mostly blue green in color, with pink to white flowers, growing in groups among scrub, in areas with limestone soil. L. diffusa grows only in a small area in central Mexico, the color is yellow green, with white to yellow flowers.

Peyote has hallucinogenic effects, made by at least 28 different alkaloids, mostly mescaline. In many countries it is illegal to sell, use or posses both dried plant-material and living plants, but some places also give an exception from the law when used in religious rituals, such as by The Native American Church where it is used in a similar way as some Native American tribes, that likely have used peyote for at least 5,500 years. in their rituals.

1. ↑ "Lophophora williamsii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017. 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.old-form url
2. ↑ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/454720/peyote

This short article about biology can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.