Ariocarpus fissuratus
Ariocarpus fissuratus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Cactaceae |
Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
Genus: | Ariocarpus |
Species: | A. fissuratus
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Binomial name | |
Ariocarpus fissuratus (Engelm.) K.Schum.[3]
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Synonyms[3] | |
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Ariocarpus fissuratus (formerly known as Anhalonium fissuratus) is a species of cactus found in small numbers in northern Mexico and Texas in the United States. Common names include living rock cactus, false peyote, chautle,[3] dry whiskey and star cactus.[4]
Description
This cactus, flattened to spherical bodies 1.5 to 10 cm high and up to 10 (rarely up to 15) cm in diameter, consists of many small
In its natural habitat, the flattened and yellowish form in particular can hardly be recognized as a plant due to its semi-subterranean growth and the jagged warts (mimesis).
The chromosome count is 2n=22.[5][6]
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Plant growing in habitat
Distribution
Ariocarpus fissuratus is widespread in southwest Texas from Big Bend National Park to the Pecos River and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.
Taxonomy
The first description as Mammillaria fissurata was by George Engelmann in 1856. Karl Moritz Schumann placed the species in the genus Ariocarpus in 1894.[7] Further nomenclature synonyms are Anhalonium fissuratum (Engelm.) Engelm. (1856) and Roseocactus fissuratus (Engelm.) A. Berger (1925).[8]
Cultivation
In cultivation, Ariocarpus fissuratus is often grafted to a faster-growing columnar cactus to speed growth, as they would generally take at least a decade to reach maturity on their own. They require very little water and fertilizer, a good amount of light, and a loose sandy soil with good drainage.
Poaching
Tens of thousands of this protected Texas cacti are annually removed Illegally.[9] Poaching has even extended to Big Bend National Park. Smugglers have taken entire populations of A. fissuratus, primarily for collectors, mainly in Europe and Asia. Loss of such a wide range of genetic variation weakens the species' chances of future survival.[10] According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the cactus is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).[11]
Psychoactivity
Ariocarpus fissuratus is a unique species in that it has been used by Native American tribes as a mind-altering substance, usually only as a substitute for peyote.[12] While it does not contain mescaline like species such as peyote, it has been found to contain other centrally active substances, such as N-methyltyramine, N-Methyl-3,4-Dimethoxy-β-Phenethylamin , and hordenine,[12] albeit in doses too small to be active.
References
- .
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ a b c "Ariocarpus fissuratus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ OCLC 80359503.
- JSTOR 2442586. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- JSTOR 2439437. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ISSN 0199-9818. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ISSN 0006-8152. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ^ Walker, R, "Texas's cactus cops battle to save rare desert beauty from smuggling gangs" [1], The Guardian , 20 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Barrus, A. "Special Agents and Partners Strike Major Blow to Cactus Black Market" [2], U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ U.S. Attorney's Office [" El Paso Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Scheme to Sell Protected Cacti" https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/el-paso-man-pleads-guilty-role-scheme-sell-protected-cacti], ' Department of Justice , June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ a b Ratsch, C: "The Sun", page 67. Park Street Press, 2005
- Ratsch, C. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmocology and its Applications, Vermont: Park Street Press. ISBN 0-89281-978-2
External links
- Media related to Ariocarpus fissuratus at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Ariocarpus fissuratus at Wikispecies
- Living-rocks.com
- Living-rocks.com
- Desert-tropicals.com