Peyote plants for sale

Peyote plant with flower and fruit

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Kevin who has lost the time for his collection of peyote plants and now would like to sell them on. Kevin lives in the UK and has around 40 peyote plants for sale, mostly between 4 and 6 cm wide and many flowering every year. I asked Kevin for photos of the plants and as you can see from the handful of pictures accompanying this post his plants look healthy and well tended to.

If you are interested in buying some of the plants you will need to contact Kevin directly to agree on a price and arrange for shipping.

As always when you are looking to buy peyote plants or seeds, please check your local laws before doing so. All parts of peyote (Lophophora williamsii) plants and the seeds thereof are classified as Schedule I substances in the United States. Also, peyote is illegal to posses in France, Russia, and possibly more countries (if you have information on other countries where peyote has been illegalized please let me know; preferably with references)

Update, October 4, 2010
Kevin just informed me that all plants are sold. You might want to check this list of cactus vendors instead.


Peyote with seeds scattered in the tufts of trichomes


Mature peyote plant

Pavlovsk Experimental Station, world's first seed bank, faces destruction – part two

As mentioned in the previous post the Pavlovsk Experimental Station (part of the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry), one of the biggest and most important seed banks in the world, is at risk of being replaced by a private housing development. Fortunately international attention has started to focus on the looming disaster. Al Jazeera’s Neave Barker reports from Pavlovsk in the St Petersburg Region:

“[The Pavlovsk seed bank] is one of the biggest and oldest of its kind anywhere in the world. It has one of the largest collections of fruit – a thousand different types of strawberry from 40 different nations, 900 different types of blackcurrant and 300 different strains of cherry; and most of them are unique to Pavlovsk […] Scientists warn that if important genotypes are destroyed the world’s food security will be weakened. A case in point: Russian food supplies for example are already under serious strain following the worst drought in living memory.”

You can watch Neave Barker’s video reportage below.



The National Public Radio also reports on the importance of the Pavlovsk collection:

The collection is rare, scientists say, one in a handful of places around the world where scientists carefully study fruit that could sustain through future generations even if temperatures warm and the world’s food supply is threatened […] the research station has collected fruit and berry varieties from around the world, stayed in touch with scientists abroad and cataloged everything.

"Like [what is] winter-resistant, resistant to different kind of fungi, diseases or bacteria," Burmistrov says. "What is the quality? What is the taste? And so, so on."

Russian plum (Prunus rossica) growing at Pavlovsk (photo by Global Crop Diversity Trust via Flickr)

The Farming Futures blog also has a say on this topic:

Both seed banks and wild populations are crucial resources to maintain genetic variety and traits that could be crucial to maintaining robust and productive harvests. Examples from history support this: grassy stunt virus decimated the Indian rice crop in the 1970s, and genetic resistance was found in just one of 6200 species. Again in the 1970s, when corn blight destroyed 15% of the US maize crop, resistance was found in the last remaining wildtype in an endangered Mexican habitat.

The loss of biodiversity therefore represents not only a significant business risk to the agricultural industry but a genuine threat to future food security – how will we create new varieties for our changing climate if we have only a handful of types to work with? Whilst stopping the loss of biodiversity in the wild is the ideal option, seed banks represent an important resource or ‘back-up plan’. Pavlovsk contains specimens of over 5,000 varieties of seeds and berries from a multitude of countries, and more than 90% of them cannot be found in any other research collection.

On an even more sinister note RIA Novosti recently reported that scientists were denied access to the Pavlovsk Experimental Station by the housing construction development fund.

A few days ago the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry wrote on their website that the Pavlovsk Experimental Station had had an unscheduled inspection on 31st of August 2010 – the station was visited by representatives of the government as well as representatives of the development fund. After visiting two plots the commission was convinced that, indeed, the disputed plots harbor plants that must be considered valuable genetic resources and the auctioning off of the land was postponed (this is definitely a step in the right direction, but saving Pavlovsk is far from a done deal – so it’s still too early to celebrate).

There is a certain irony in the fact that this is happening in 2010, the year the United Nations declared to be the International Year of Biodiversity!

Help save the Pavlovsk Experiment Station: Sign the Global Crop Diversity Trust’s petition to tell President Medvedev to stop the closure of Pavlovsk.

Or tweet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on behalf of Pavlovsk Station:

@KremlinRussia_E Mr. President, protect the future of food - save #Pavlovsk Station! http://bit.ly/d2H96s

Pavlovsk Experimental Station, world's first seed bank, faces destruction

The Guardian recently wrote: “Twelve Russian scientists famously chose to starve to death rather than eat the unique collection of seeds and plants they were protecting for humanity during the 900-day siege of Leningrad in the second world war. But the world’s first global seed bank now faces destruction once more, to make way for a private housing estate.”

Sadly, a few days ago a court in Moscow ruled in favor of the Russian Federal Fund of Residential Real Estate Development, recognizing the legitimate transfer of the land housing the Pavlovsk Station for the construction of residential properties. That being said, President Medvedev has announced on Twitter that this issue needs to be “scrutinised” so the valuable field genebank is not lost yet. You can help save the Pavlovsk Station by signing the Global Crop Diversity Trust’s petition to the President of Russia to stop the destruction of the future of food or you can tweet Dmitry Medvedev on behalf of Pavlovsk Station:

@KremlinRussia_E Mr. President, protect the future of food - save #Pavlovsk Station! http://bit.ly/d2H96s


Redcurrant berries (Ribes rubrum)

The Pavlovsk Experimental Station was established in 1926 by Nikolai Vavilov, the botanist who conceived the idea of creating seed banks as repositories of plant diversity that could be used to breed new improved varieties of food crops.

You might ask why it is important to save the Pavlovsk genebank – the Guardian article puts it this way: “At stake, say Russian and British campaigners for the station, is not just scientific history but one of the world’s largest collection of strawberries, blackcurrants, apples and cherries. Pavlovsk contains more than 5,000 varieties of seeds and berries from dozens of countries, including more than 100 varieties each of gooseberries and raspberries.

More than 90% of the plants are found in no other research collection or seed bank. Its seeds and berries are thought to possess traits that could be crucial to maintaining productive fruit harvests in many parts of the world as climate change and a rising tide of disease, pests and drought weaken the varieties farmers now grow. As it is predominantly a field collection, Pavlovsk cannot be moved. Experts estimate that even if another site were available nearby, it would take many years to relocate the plants.”

In a weirdly twisted, almost tragicomical, logic the property developers have argued that the collection at the Pavlovsk Station is “priceless” and since no monetary value can be assigned to it the collection must consequently be worthless! The Russian Federal Fund of Residential Real Estate Development has applied a similar distorted “logic” by saying that the collection doesn’t really exist as it was never officially registered. Let’s hope that the ongoing campaigns can convince the Russian authorities that this important genebank needs to be preserved.


Half a strawberry

The strawberry and redcurrant photos are taken from Wikipedia and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license and the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 respectively.


Read more on the Pavlovsk situation in this post.

An expanded description of Lophophora alberto-vojtechii

Šnicer, Bohata and Myšák recently expanded on their original description of the miniature peyote, Lophophora alberto-vojtechii, in the article The Littlest Lophophora – an article that also proposes a new key to the classification of Lophophora.

The hallmark of the new peyote species is its minuscule size, rarely exceeding 2.5 cm (~ 1'') in diameter. The Lilliputian stature is eminently illustrated by the following picture of Vojtěch Myšák (one of the persons for whom the plant is named) photographing a specimen in northern Zacatecas.


Lophophora alberto-vojtechii being photographed by Vojtěch Myšák

The expanded description of Lophophora alberto-vojtechii reads:

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The stem is grayish green with a touch of mauve and is for the most part concealed below ground. The aboveground part (the crown) is flat to slightly convex and 10–50 mm wide in adult plants (average 18 mm, well under an inch). The subterranean part of the stem is cylindrical, extending 25 mm down from the base of the crown (the depth in adult plants increasing with age). The stem is distinctively small and divided into five ribs, or eight in exceptional cases. Trichomes (fine epidermal outgrowths which might be called fuzz or hair) are visible only near the growing point and drop off early, leaving the areoles inconspicuous.

The root is thick and bulbous, up to 30 mm long, and typically 16 mm in diameter where it joins the subterranean stem. It is smooth and a dirty white to creamy yellow color.

The flower is 15–35 mm (average 23 mm) wide. The style is longer than anthers and overtops them, and the petals are long relative to their width, both traits in accord with other members of the Diffusae. Filaments are white, anthers a yellowish orange. The style is white and topped by a white to yellowish or pinkish stigma. Tepals are white to dirty pink, rarely creamy yellowish, and bear a lengthwise stripe in a brownish, salmon, or darker pink shade.

The fruit, dirty white, yellowish, or pinkish, is round to slightly claviform and dries out over time.

Seeds are black, round, 1.15–1.45 mm long × 1.0–1.45 mm wide with the hilum compressed into a broad V–shape. The perimeter of the hilum consists of a pronounced edge. The testa is nodulated, and individual cells of the testa are clearly demarcated.

Type locality: northern San Luis Potosí, Mexico, 1700 meters above sea level. The type specimen was collected by GS Hinton on 1 August 2007 and is kept at the GB Hinton herbarium filed under number 28642.

We have named the plant Lophophora alberto-vojtechii in honor of two people: the late prominent Czech traveler and cactus-hunter Alberto Vojtěch Frič and the living lophophora enthusiast Vojtěch Myšák.

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Lophophora alberto-vojtechii flower visited by an unidentified diptera

Three insects (two kinds of bees, one large and one small, and an unidentified diptera) have been observed visiting flowers of Lophophora alberto-vojtechii. The plant being visited by a fly in the above picture is from the second known locality in San Luis Potosí and has exceptionally numerous tepals.

The mini-peyote grows in flat, alluvial sediments that transform into greasy mud flats during rain periods. L. alberto-vojtechii has a distinctively geophytic lifestyle, in dry periods it withers and withdraws into small cavities below ground where it is covered with dust and dry leaves by the wind, effectively protecting the plant from the harsh environment. When rains arrive, the plants absorb water and swell, pushing the photosynthetic crown back up above ground level.


Zacatecan Lophophora alberto-vojtechii plant hidden by its flower

In Zacatecas L. alberto-vojtechii flowers can on rare occasions reach over 3 cm in diameter, totally obscuring the plant below - specimens of L. alberto-vojtechii from the plains of northern Zacatecas are lighter flowered than those at the type locality.


Lophophora alberto-vojtechii growing in mud flat


All pictures are taken from the article The Littlest Lophophora.

Key to the genus Lophophora sensu Šnicer et al.

In the article The Littlest Lophophora Šnicer, Bohata and Myšák detail the discovery of the new species Lophophora alberto-vojtechii and expand on the description originally given in the June 2008 issue of Cactus & Co.

The article also gives a key to the species of Lophophora which are divided into two sections Lophophora and Diffusae. These sections were originally introduced by the same authors in the booklet Genus Lophophora Coulter - Kaktusy special 2, 2005 and the division was based primarily on chemical composition but also on other factors like habitat, incompatibility of the species, rib numbers and morphology. Members of the Lophophora section are characterized by having concentrations of the psychotropic (mind-altering) alkaloid mescaline ranging from 15–30% of the total alkaloid content, while members of the Diffusae section contain a maximum of 1.3% mescaline. Šnicer et al. recognize five species of Lophophora.

SECTION LOPHOPHORA
L. williamsii (Salm-Dyck) Coulter

SECTION DIFFUSAE
L. diffusa (Croizat) Bravo
L. fricii Habermann
L. koehresii (J. Ríha) Bohata, Myšák & Šnicer
L. alberto-vojtechii J. Bohata, V. Myšák & J. Šnicer

The following key to the species of Lophophora assumes that L. alberto-vojtechii is allied with the non-mescaline-prevalent species, i.e. it is placed in the Diffusae section.

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF LOPHOPHORA
1	15–30% mescaline in total alkaloids, epidermis tough and thick	Section Lophophora, L. williamsii
1	Maximum 1.3% mescaline in total alkaloids; thin, fine epidermis	Section Diffusae, 2
2	Seed hilum wide (almost circular), testa not nodulated but reticulated	L. koehresii
2	Seed hilum V–shaped, testa nodulated (outer cell walls protruding), individual testa cells clearly demarcated	3
3	Usually five (rarely eight) ribs, stem solitary in nature, miniature (rarely exceeding 25 mm in diameter)	L. alberto-vojtechii
3	Up to 21 ribs, stem solitary or branching in nature	4
4	Flowers dirty white with touch of yellow (rarely pinkish); fruits white to dark pink, usually pale pink; occurring in Queretaro, Mexico	L. diffusa
4	Flowers usually light pink to dark purple-pink, also white; fruits pink to dark purple-pink (when flower is white the fruit is always dark purple-pink); Coahuila, Mexico	L. fricii

Seed morphology is an important factor in the above key. In their original publication on Lophophora alberto-vojtechii Šnicer et al. included SEM images illustrating the differences between the seeds of the various Lophophora species, these images along with their description are included below (Šnicer et al. attribute the SEM images to Gerhard Köhres; the images below are not scanned from the article but based on the ones included in the online French version of the article - just to make sure that credit is given where credit is due ;-)

Lophophora koehresii seed SEM images
L. koehresii has a seed testa structure that is completely different from the other lophophoras. The hilum is wide open, and is almost circular. The testa is not nodulated (the outer cell walls do not protrude above the surface of the seed), but is reticulated [characterized by or having the form of a grid or network], and the cell walls are flat to even. The individual cells of the testa almost merge together. The seed in the pictures is from San Francisco in San Luís Potosí.

Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seed SEM images
L. alberto-vojtechii has round black seeds, 1.15 to 1.45 mm long and 1.0 to 1.45 mm wide. The hilum is compressed into a broad V shape. The perimeter of the hilum consists of a pronounced edge. The testa is nodulated with the outer cell walls protruding. The individual cells of the testa are clearly demarcated. The seed in the pictures is from the type location in San Luís Potosí.

Lophophora fricii seed SEM images
L. fricii has oval seeds, 1.5 mm long and 1.2 mm wide with the hilum compressed into a V shape. The testa is black, relatively coarsely nodulated, with an oval tubercle structure; the tubercles get smaller near the hilum. The individual cells of the testa are clearly demarcated. The seed in the pictures is from El Amparo in Coahuila.

Lophophora diffusa seed SEM images
L. diffusa has seeds which vary greatly in terms of shape and size. The hilum is compressed into a broad V shape. The testa is coarsely nodulated with the outer cell walls protruding. The individual cells of the testa are clearly demarcated. The seed in the pictures is from Niñas Las Palmas in Querétaro.

Lophophora williamsii seed SEM images
L. williamsii has seeds that are 1-1.5 mm long and black. The hilum is compressed into a broad V shape. The testa is nodulated with the outer cell walls protruding. The individual cells of the testa are clearly demarcated. The seed in the pictures is from Mazapil in Zacatecas.

Trans-Pecos peyote with fruit – it’s an echinata!

It’s that time of year again. Most of my peyote plants have flowered freely all through summer and now the eagerly awaited results, the fruits, are appearing (many of my plants are still flowering so I’m hoping for a good seed harvest this year ;-)

Fortunately the majority of my coldhouse grown Trans-Pecos peyote plants (Lophophora williamsii var. echinata) survived this winter’s harsh frost (contrary to my “regular” Lophophora williamsii growing in the same unheated greenhouse – most of these plants succumbed to the frost).


Trans-Pecos peyote with fruit

The first fruit appeared on one of the surviving Trans-Pecos peyote plants only a few days ago. I’m looking forward to growing these seeds as the parent has a proven record of frost hardiness and I expect this trait to be inherited by its offspring (I’m using the singular “parent” as I assume this fruit to be the result of selfing; it only contained two seeds). Hopefully many of the cold grown Lophophora williamsii var. echinata plants will set fruit during the next couple of months ;-)


Trans-Pecos peyote with fruit, top view

I’ve been made aware that my use of the echinata epithet is not entirely clear. To clarify, I’m using it in the sense of Del Weniger – others, e.g. Backeberg, are incorrectly (IMHO) using echinata to describe what seems to be diffusa.

In his book Cacti of the Southwest Del Weniger describes L. williamsii var. echinata as being a larger, tougher form of the species, having heavier and larger stems and not clustering to any marked degree (possibly with a higher mescaline content also). Furthermore the echinata variety is described as being much more tolerant to extreme temperatures, both hot and cold (Weniger writes: “This form is found growing on dry, exposed hillsides of the Big Bend where the lower Rio Grande Valley form would be burned to a crisp. It can also survive the much more severe cold of the Big Bend. I have several times had the smaller form from south Texas freeze in San Antonio, while this form growing in the same bed showed no ill effects”). The range of the echinata variety is given as “Northern Mexico, extending from Chihuahua and Coahuila into the Texas Big Bend in lower Brewster County”.


Trans-Pecos peyote fruit, close-up

I have to admit that I find it rather difficult to clearly distinguish the echinata and regular williamsii forms based on morphology alone, especially young cultivated plants. So I rely heavily on locality information when buying seeds and to play it safe I prefer material originating from the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, the northernmost extreme of the Lophophora genus’ range.

But as my horrible experience this winter showed the echinata variety (in this case Lophophora williamsii var. echinata JJH 8608293; Pecos River area, Val Verde County, Texas) definitely seems to be more frost hardy than the regular williamsii variety.

Echinocactus horizonthalonius seedling pictures

Late May I started 20 Echinocactus horizonthalonius seeds (SB 409; Shafter, Texas) and for several weeks nothing happened. But lately it has been extremely hot in Denmark and these weather conditions seem conducive to the germination of E. horizonthalonius.


Echinocactus horizonthalonius seedling, close-up

Two days ago 5 Echinocactus horizonthalonius seedlings had germinated – 25% is not an impressive germination rate, I know, but still I'm quite satisfied as these seeds seem notoriously difficult to germinate (in my meager experience with Echinocactus anyway ;-)


Echinocactus horizonthalonius seedling

I look forward to growing these plants and hope they with time will grow to look like the beautiful Echinocactus horizonthalonius specimen pictured below ;-)


Echinocactus horizonthalonius, San Luis Potosí

The above habitat photo is by Kauderwelsch and is licensed under the “Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike” license. The original picture can be found at the Wikimedia Commons.

Lophophora alberto-vojtechii grafted on Selenicereus grandiflorus stock

Shortly after posting on my lone Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling I was contacted by Jacopo who is also growing L. alberto-vojtechii. Jacopo started his seeds in three different batches and had germination rates ranging from 10% (like mine) to 45%; several plants were lost to fungal infections and algae, including a variegated L. alberto-vojtechii seedling, so Jacopo decided to graft some of the plants on Selenicereus grandiflorus stock for safekeeping. Below you can find a few pictures of his plants – all photos in this post are courtesy of Jacopo Simonetto, Valencia, Spain.


Lophophora alberto-vojtechii grafted on Selenicereus grandiflorus

Jacopo has five L. alberto-vojtechii plants in total – 3 grafted on Selenicereus grandiflorus stock plants and 2 on their own roots. He hopes that his two largest plants reach flowering size this summer (they are already 1 and 1.5 cm in diameter) so he can test the germination rate of verifiable fresh seeds ;-)


Two Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedlings grafted on Selenicereus grandiflorus stock plants

As an aside, I really like the carnivorous plants in the pictures – especially the Dionaea muscipula (Venus Flytrap) in the first photo that seems just about ready to gulp down the defenseless Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling ;-) Also, the Drosera (Sundew) in the second image reminded me that I need to get a few of these plants to help me control the fungus gnats that are having a feast in some of my (non-cactus) plants.


Grafted Lophophora alberto-vojtechii, top view

Jacopo’s plants were started from seed 4-5 months ago and the grafts are 3 months old at the time of writing. I hope to be able to follow the plants as they (with a bit of luck ;-) flower and set fruits in the near future.

For comparison a picture is included below showing one of the seedlings still growing on its own roots – it’s relatively small but Jacopo told me that he grafted the biggest seedlings.


Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling

Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling pictures

This spring I started my “virgin batch” of Lophophora alberto-vojtechii (San Luis Potosí) seeds. L. alberto-vojtechii is a recently recognized species that is not yet commonly cultivated, consequently the seeds are sold at rather steep prices – I bought my 10 seeds for 16 euro (~20 USD) from Köhres-Kakteen.


Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling

Unfortunately the germination rate of the L. alberto-vojtechii seeds was rather bad - only one seed in ten germinated. The seeds were sown at the same time and have been growing under exactly the same conditions as the peyote seedlings described in the previous post (which had a good germination rate by the way). So either the quality of the Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seeds were not optimal or they have different germination requirements than L. williamsii (I have to say that in general my experience with Köhres’s seed is good)


Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling, top view

The seedling looks exactly like a regular peyote seedling except that it is lacking the tiny, plumose spines, but given the fact that I only have one seedling it’s too early to say if this is a general trait or not.

As mentioned above the species was only recently described and there are some doubts if it’s a good species or not - it’s going to be interesting to see more plants appear in cultivation. That being said, several authorities are vouching for Lophophora alberto-vojtechii as the fifth species of Lophophora: George Hinton collected the type specimen (and keeps it in the G. B. Hinton herbarium filed under number 28642) and in a recent presentation on Lophophora population genetics Martin Terry also treats L. alberto-vojtechii separately from the other species.


Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling with spent seed

In the above picture the spent seed can be seen at the foot of the seedling (which is also at the very limit of my macro lens’s capacity ;-)

The plant was started from seed April 5, 2010 and the pictures were taken June 14, 2010 – exactly 10 weeks later (approximately two months after the lone seed had germinated).

Expecting more seedlings to have germinated, I had planned to graft some of them but now I’m having second thoughts, not wanting to risk my sole L. alberto-vojtechii seedling.

Peyote seedlings – Big Bend, Texas and Camargo, Chihuahua varieties

Late last year I ordered my first seed ever from Köhres-Kakteen (coinciding with ordering my first ever Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seeds ;-)


Dichotomous peyote seedling (var. Big Bend, Texas)

After this winter’s freezing disaster I’m glad I decided to order seeds of the northernmost form of peyote as this “strain” (a.k.a. Lophophora williamsii var. echinata) is known to be more frost tolerant than other varieties of peyote. For growing in my coldhouse I ordered Lophophora williamsii v Big Bend, Texas and Lophophora williamsii v Camargo, Chihuahua seeds from Köhres’s list – I’m not entirely sure if the Camargo variety classifies as echinata but it originates from the western extremity of peyote’s range, pretty far to the north, so I expect it to be able to “rough it out” in my unheated greenhouse.


Dichotomous peyote seedling (var. Big Bend, Texas), close-up

One of the “Big Bend” peyote seedlings turned out as dichotomous (branching, two-headed). The first time I experienced a dichotomous seedling I was really excited and expected it to continue branching and develop into a crest. Today I know that in a few years I will probably not be able to distinguish it from the other seedlings in the (by then) crowded seedling pot ;-)


Peyote seedling (var. Camargo, Chihuahua) with spent seed husk

The small, feathery spines are typical for Lophophora williamsii seedlings – according to Boke and Anderson seedling tubercles bear three to six plumose spines, numbers that correspond well with what I observe in my seedlings (the odd areole having seven spines). With age these spines are gone, replaced by tufts of trichomes.

The plants pictured above were started from seed April 5, 2010 and the pictures were taken June 14, 2010 – exactly 10 weeks later (approximately two months after most of the seed had germinated).