info on hunting cacti in Oregon?

[Bram_]

Does anyone have any info on hunting cacti in Oregon?  Perhaps books, etc.  I have found various cacti in central Oregon.  Great little succulents they are, as I have yet to find any cacti over one feet tall!  Thanks.

JLS

[JRL]

Oregon is not known for cacti i don't think. Sure you don't mean mushroomS

[Bram_]

Actually there is some cacti in Central Oregon.  Central Oregon is different from any other place in Oregon.  They call Central Oregon "the high desert".  It is actually a desert that snows in the winter time.  I have found some minature tricho type cactus in Central Oregon.  These cactusus were about 3" long.  I had the oppurtunity to eat some of these minature tricho type cactus.  It was a very mescal cactus type of trip (very cool).  So actually there is some cactus in Central Oregon but they are "little" cacti.  Thanks.

JLS

[Amomynous]

Actually there is some cacti in Central Oregon.  Central Oregon is different from any other place in Oregon.  They call Central Oregon "the high desert".  It is actually a desert that snows in the winter time.  I have found some minature tricho type cactus in Central Oregon.  These cactusus were about 3" long.  I had the oppurtunity to eat some of these minature tricho type cactus.  It was a very mescal cactus type of trip (very cool).  So actually there is some cactus in Central Oregon but they are "little" cacti.  Thanks.  

You get "mescal type trips" from eating random cacti, and cannabis type trips from drinking tea. Damiana gets you high.

Must be fun to be you!

(In general, don't eat random cactus. Some are poisonous, and some are endangered.)

[Bram_]

hahahaha!  Thats right anonymous!

 :tea:

[dogbane26]

Trichocereus spp. are not native to the United States.

Only if they were introduced you might find them growing in oregon.  

Echinocereus spp. are native to the USA and not native to South America.

Trichocereus spp. look like Echinocereus.  It is parallel evolution.   Not convergent evolution since they are closely related.

Echinocereus are probably more cold hardy than Trichocereus.  

Trichocereus I believe many are more tolerant of subtropical and humid climates than Echinocereus which prefer deserts.

[nicechrisman]

I could be mistaken, but have heard from some that trichocereus has been reclassified as echinocereus by botanists.

I would be surprised to learn of anyone finding mescaline containing cacti in E oregon though. Hardiest ones I know of are hardy only to zone 9. If there are any that hardy, I wanna know more!

[amrad]

I know which  cactus your referring to, but I'll have to look up the name.  I believe its in the  trichocereus  family.  It a rather small cactus, with beatiful red flowers, and tends to grow in clumps.  Its found in N. Cali so should also extend into Oregon.  I'll see if I can find a description and post it.

[amrad]

The cactus I think your referring to is Echinocereus triglochidiatus or hedge hog cactus.  I'v heard that it can be psycoactive if enough is eaten.  It would be interesting to do a extraction with this cactus just to see what alkaloids come out.  LOts of pictures if you do a google image search. Hope this helps.

[Amomynous]

The cactus I think your referring to is Echinocereus triglochidiatus or hedge hog cactus.  I'v heard that it can be psycoactive if enough is eaten.  It would be interesting to do a extraction with this cactus just to see what alkaloids come out.  LOts of pictures if you do a google image search. Hope this helps.

According to M. Smith's book (and he's something of an authority -- wish he still came around here) Echinocereus triglochidia contains only N,N-Dimethylhistamine, which is not, I believe, psychoactive in any strong way. Quoting from the book:

E. triglochidiatus, in addition to its ethnobotanical similarities to E.  salm-dyckianus, was once thought to carry a "tryptamine derivative," possibly 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) (Bye 1979). This alkaloid is the source of the hallucinogenic powers of the South American hallucinogens known as "ebena" and "cohoba," and that are made respectively from the bark of a number of Virola species and the seeds of a few Anadenanthera species.

To date, other published chemical studies of E. triglochidiatus have confirmed only N,N-dimethylhistamine. The variations neomexicanus and paucispinus have also been found to contain only this same single alkaloid. K. Trout, the author of Sacred Cacti, has indicated that the means of chemical testing used to support a "tryptamine derivative" can mistakenly read N,N-dimethylhistamine as 5-MeO-DMT.

No tryptamines have been confirmed within the Cactaceae, but two other references to tryptamines in cacti have been made (see Trichocereus terscheckii and T. grandiflorus). Unfortunately this questionable alkaloid information regarding E. triglochidiatus continues to be spread through a number of publications and by a number of ethnobotanical suppliers, possibly as an enticing sales taciic.

[amrad]

Humm okay so I guess we can rule that one out.  I think that some species of Pediocactus and optunia fragilis live there but dont know if they contain alkaloids.   peace

[Andy the Great Something]

Yeah seen tons of these in central Oregon.  Pretty little buggers.  Not a trich that I am aware of.

[IOPan]

From what I remember reading up on peyote, it's growth range is from mid-east Mexico all the way up to and even into Canada. So, I don't doubt that others would if near some limestone out croppings in valleys forming microclimates. Also peyote are cold tollerant, maybe not a hard freeze, read some where they germinate under a couple of inches slow melting snow. Just saying.. so keep your eyes peeled for those limestone mountains. peace pan