Ariocarpus fissuratus

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,[2] dry whiskey and star cactus.[3]

Ariocarpus fissuratus
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Ariocarpus
Species:
A. fissuratus
Binomial name
Ariocarpus fissuratus
(Engelm.) K.Schum.[2]
Synonyms[2]

Mammillaria fissurata Engelm.
Roseocactus fissuratus (Engelm.) A.Berger
Roseocactus intermedius Backeb. & Kilian

Description

This cactus consists of many small tubercles growing from a large tap root. They are usually solitary, rarely giving rise to side shoots from old areoles. The plant is greyish-green in color, sometimes taking on a yellowish tint with age. Its growth rate is extremely slow. A. fissuratus is naturally camouflaged in its habitat, making it difficult to spot.[3] When they are found, it is usually due to their pinkish flowers which bloom in October and early November.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5] 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).[6]

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.[7] 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 and hordenine,[7] albeit in doses too small to be active.

Notes
  1. Fitz Maurice, B.; Sotomayor, M.; Terry, M.; Heil, K.; Fitz Maurice, W.A.; Hernández, H.M. & Corral-Díaz, R. (2017). "Ariocarpus fissuratus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 208. e.T152093A121435805. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T152093A121435805.en.
  2. "Ariocarpus fissuratus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  3. Morey, Roy (2008). Little Big Bend : Common, Uncommon, and Rare Plants of Big Bend National Park. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780896726130. OCLC 80359503.
  4. Walker, R, “Texas’s cactus cops battle to save rare desert beauty from smuggling gangs” , The Guardian , 20 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  5. Barrus, A. “Special Agents and Partners Strike Major Blow to Cactus Black Market” , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. 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.
  7. Ratsch, C: "The Sun", page 67. Park Street Press, 2005

References

Ratsch, C. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmocology and its Applications, Vermont: Park Street Press. ISBN 0-89281-978-2

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