Lophophora
Genus of cacti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lophophora (/ləˈfɒfərə/)[citation needed] is a genus of spineless, button-like cacti.[2] Its native range covers Texas through Mexico to southwestern Mexico.[1] The species are extremely slow growing, sometimes taking up to 30 years to reach flowering age (at the size of about a golf ball, excluding the root) in the wild.[citation needed] Cultivated specimens grow considerably faster, usually taking between three and ten years to reach from seedling to mature flowering adult.[citation needed] The slow rate of reproduction and over-harvesting by collectors render the species under threat in the wild.[citation needed]
| Lophophora | |
|---|---|
| |
| Lophophora williamsii cluster | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
| Tribe: | Cacteae |
| Genus: | Lophophora J.M.Coult. |
| Species | |
 | |
| Lophophora range | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Taxonomy
Lophophora means "crest-bearing", referring to the tufts of trichomes that adorn each tubercle. Lophophora has been reported to have two species, L. diffusa and L. williamsii. Another three species have been proposed[by whom?]: L. fricii, L. koehresii, and L. alberto-vojtechii.[3] Recent DNA sequencing studies (Butterworth et al. 2002) have shown that L. diffusa and L. williamsii indeed are distinct species. DNA evidence from the alleged species L. fricii and L. koehresii would allow for more accurate classification.[4]
Species
As of 2018, only about six species of Lophophora are known.[2][5]
| Image | Scientific name | Description | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Lophophora alberto-vojtechii Bohata, Myšák & Šnicer | Plants have gray green stems, typically reaching up to 2 cm in diameter | Mexico (San Luis Potosí) |
 | Lophophora diffusa (Croizat) Bravo | 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. This species contains zero to trace amounts of mescaline; pellotine is the principal alkaloid. | south end of the range of the genus in Querétaro state, Mexico |
 | Lophophora fricii Haberm. | Mexico Northeast | |
 | Lophophora williamsii (Lemaire ex Salm-Dyck) J.M.Coult. | 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. The mescaline content in dried "Peyote" can reach almost 7%.[citation needed] | the full range of the genus except in Querétaro state, Mexico |
Two other species, Lophophora koehresii and Lophophora jourdaniana, have also been described and named.[2]
Cultivation
Lophophora species easily adapt to cultivation, requiring warm conditions and a free-draining substrate, and to be kept dry in winter.[citation needed]
Constituents and effects
Lophophora williamsii (peyote) is the only known species with large amounts of the psychedelic drug mescaline (~30% of total alkaloid content), whereas other species have only trace amounts of mescaline (e.g., 1%) and instead contain large amounts of other alkaloids such as pellotine and anhalonidine.[6][5] Due to their low mescaline content, other Lophophora species besides peyote are said to have little or no hallucinogenic activity.[7]
History
Lophophora williamsii (peyote), as Echinocactus williamsii, was first described and named by the French horticulturist Jean François Cels in 1842.[8] Its naming is often erroneously attributed to German amateur botanist Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck in 1845.[8] The French botanist Charles Antoine Lemaire also described and named the species as Echinocactus williamsianus in 1843.[8] German botanist Paul Christoph Hennings named the species Anhalonium lewinii, in honor of Louis Lewin who provided him with his specimens, in 1888 as well.[9] The species was renamed to its present-day accepted name Lophophora williamsii by American botanist John Merle Coulter in 1894.[8][9]
Lophophora diffusa was first described and named in 1967, Lophophora fricii in 1975, and Lophophora alberto-vojtechii in 2008 or 2009.[7][6][10] Lophophora diffusa was confused with Lophophora williamsii for many decades and this caused significant scientific confusion.[9][11] A couple of other species, Lophophora koehresii and Lophophora jourdaniana, have also been described and named.[2]
