CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Seed Plants
Class: Dicotyledon
Order:Cactales
Cactales Family:Cactaceae
Subfamily:Cactoideae
Tribe:Cacteae
Species:Lophophora williamsii
Common Name:Peyote
Other Common Names:
Peote, piotl, challote, mescal,rais diabolica,
dry whiskey, dumpling cactus, tunade tierra
Significance of Name:
Greek lophos - crest or plume
phorein - to carry
Description of Plant:
Lophophora williamsii isa cactus plant that grows to about 3 inches wide and 2 inches tall. Ithas a pink or white flower, daisy-like in appearance. The plant itselfis a bluish-green, spineless (when mature), globular, cactus with tuberclesand a turnip-like taproot. Lophophora williamsii is found in SouthernTexas, New Mexico, and Mexico.
Other Species in Lophophora:
Lophophora diffusa is theonly other species in the Lophophora genus. It is similar in appearanceto the L. diffusa plant. Thisplant is ribless, soft, yellowish-green in color and has less of the hallucinogenicalkaloid, mescaline, than does L. williamsii.
Source used for this page:
Cullmann, Willy, and Dr. Erich Gotz,and Dr. Gerhard Groner. The Encyclopedia of Cacti. Portland: TimberPress, 1984.