''Echinopsis peruviana'' (syn. ''Trichocereus peruvianus''), the Peruvian torch cactus, is a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the western slope of the Andes in Peru, between about above sea level.

Description

The plant is bluish-green in color, with frosted stems, and 6-9 broadly rounded ribs; it has large, white flowers. It can grow up to tall, with stems up to in diameter; it is fully erect to begin with, but later possibly arching over, or even becoming prostrate. Groups of 6-8 honey-colored to brown rigid spines, up to in length, with most about , are located at the nodes, which are evenly spaced along the ribs, up to approximately apart.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

''Echinopsis peruviana'' ssp. ''puquiensis'' (

Rauh Werner Rauh (16 May 1913 in Niemegk (district Bitterfeld), Niemegk – 7 April 2000 in Heidelberg) was an internationally renowned German biologist, botanist and author. Biography Born in the town of Niemegk (district Bitterfeld), Niemegk near Bit ...

Backeb. Curt Backeberg (2 August 1894 in Lüneburg, Germany – 14 January 1966) was a German horticulturist especially known for the collection and classification of cactus, cacti. Biography He travelled extensively through Central and South America, an ...

) Ostolaza

Varieties

Some varieties, with scientifically invalid names, of ''Echinopsis peruviana'' are: * var. ''ancash'' (KK1688), San Marcos, Ancash, northwest Peru. * var. ''ayacuchensis'' (KK2151), southwestern Peru. * var. ''cuzcoensis'' (KK340), Huachac, Cuzco, southeastern Peru. * var. (H14192), Huntington, USA. * var. ''huancabamba'',

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

, northwest Peru. * var. ''huancavelica'' (KK242a), west central Peru. * var. ''huancayo'' (KK338), west central Peru. * var. ''huaraz'' (KK2152), Ancash, northwestern Peru. * var. ''matucana'' (KK242) Lima, central west Peru. * var. ''puquiensis'' (KK1689), Puquio, Apurímac Region, southwestern Peru. * var. ''Rio Lurin'' (KK2147), Rio Rimac, Lima, west central Peru. * var. ''tarmensis'' (KK2148), Tarma, Junín, west central Peru. * var. ''trujilloensis'', Trujillo, La Libertad, northwestern Peru.

Mescaline content

''Echinopsis peruviana'' is one of a number of ''Echinopsis'' species native to the Andes that have been reported to contain the psychoactive alkaloid

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 ...

. Others include '' E. pachanoi'', '' E. lageniformis'', '' E. scopulicola'', '' E. santaensis'' and '' E. puquiensis''. All those columnar species thought to be psychoactive have been called "San Pedro" in Spanish. Reported concentrations of mescaline vary widely, with causes suggested to include: taxonomic uncertainty leading to difficulties in identification; genetic differences between species and within populations; environmental factors, such as temperature and water availability, affecting plants during growth; and variations in laboratory techniques. Some studies have reported no mescaline content in wild-harvested Peruvian specimens of ''E. peruviana'', and in plants grown in Europe. In those studies that have compared different species and cultivars, when mescaline has been found, it has been at very much lower concentrations than in the highest yielding forms of other species; for example 0.24% of dry weight for ''E. peruviana'' KK242 compared to 4.7% for a strain of ''E. pachanoi'' on sale in traditional Peruvian shamans' markets, a factor of almost 20 times less.

Notes

References

James D. Mauseth James D. Mauseth is an American botanist and botanical author. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Born in 1948 in Washington, he did his undergraduate and PhD studies at the Un ...

, Roberto Kiesling, ''Cactus and Succulent Journal (US)'' 70 (1): 32-39 * Michael S. Smith, ''The Narcotic and Hallucinogenic Cacti of the New World'' * William Rafti, "KK242 Notes and photos" ASIN: B001EHF2BU Library of Congress Number: 2008902776

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q290382 peruviana Cacti of South America Endemic flora of Peru Entheogens Herbal and fungal hallucinogens Medicinal plants of South America Psychedelic phenethylamine carriers Psychoactive cacti