''Pelecyphora'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

, comprising 2 species. They originate from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. ''Pelecyphora'' is known for its medicinal properties and may have been utilized as a psychoactive in the same way as ''

Lophophora williamsii The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to gl ...

''. It is known as "Peyotillo".

Taxonomy

The two accepted species are:

Synonymy

At genus level *The genus ''Encephalocarpus'' A.Berger has been brought into

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Pelecyphora''. At species level The following are synonyms of species now placed outside of ''Pelecyphora'': *''Pelecyphora aselliformis var. pectinata'' (= '' Mammillaria pectinifera'') *''Pelecyphora pectinata'' (= '' Mammillaria pectinifera'') *''Pelecyphora pseudopectinata'' (= ''

Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus ''Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus'' is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas states in northeastern Mexico. Its natural habitats are temperate forest A for ...

'') *''Pelecyphora valdeziana'' (= '' Turbinicarpus valdezianus'') *''Pelecyphora plumosa'' (= '' Turbinicarpus valdezianus'') *''Pelecyphora pulcherrima'' (= ''

'')

Psychoactivity

* Pelecyphora aselliformis:

Mescaline Mescaline or mescalin (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a naturally occurring psychedelic protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. Biological sou ...

(Less than 0.00002% in dry weight) Neal ''et al.'' 1972

Conservation status

Both
P. aselliformis
' and
P. strobiliformis
' are classified as being of Least Concern on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, however both species ar
contained in Appendix 1
of

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

species (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) as at June 2013.

References

Cactoideae Cactoideae genera {{Cactus-stub