eccles

depends what is used. when I dreamed I did an extract on phalaris recently I used chloroform... this has a powerful and distinctive smell, and a low boiling point. it will usually all be totally gone (unless you use a higher boiling point solvent)... however I do believe that DMT itself is very harsh on the lungs... so I wouldn't be too worried. 'burning plastic' is the popular analogy, so that's something to go on take care!

in my readings I just came across a reference to the seeds of a West African plant called Griffonia simplicifolia. They apparently contain not less than 95% 5-HTP by dry weight. I find this most interesting, and would like to know more about this plant, the availability of seeds and whether we could grow it here. The 5-HTP can be extracted in alchohol and then recrystalized to purify it. If it was possible to grow this plant then that would be a nice source for a useful (and legal) compound. It is not listed in 'Species Data', but I am sure I would not be alone in my desire to see it offered by SAB... (I realise it is probably not a shamanically used plant - although I do not know this for sure, but if we can have non-assayed Acacia's listed then we can have a 5-HTP bearing plant listed too Anyway, I am off to try to find out more about this... In the meantime - does anyone know anything about it? Would there be regulations prohibiting its import? lots of interesting plants are banned imports... see you all at EB

I just re-read my post, and decided that it sounded too negative regarding Torsten, and over-focussed on it as well... rather than retype it, I'd like you all to tone it down a bit in your minds... All I was trying to say was, a lot of peole got a bad first impression of him, but they owe him a hell of a lot regardless. Also, like Reville, I do not find it difficult to maintain friendships with people who hate each others guts... I am not interested in other peoples squabbles, I judge them on their own merits. I was happy to hear Reville express some of the sentiments that he did, rather than be like some of the other people who instantly polarised one way or the other. Thankyou Reville for bringing some even-handedness into this thread. On the subject of Reville - I was very excited by his seed network, and I think that this is something that we must give all the support that we can. I am very keen to see it succeed. (email me Revile - [email protected], when you have something for me to do, especially if you need assistance with the website). so yeah... anyway, a lot of good came out of the weekened, and we owe much of it to Torsten's organisation, and its a shame that events conspired to prevent him from getting the credit that he deserved. peace, -Eccles [This message has been edited by eccles (edited 19 February 2002).]

I too had an absolutely wonderful time, and met some truly wonderful people who I have no doubt I will keep in contact with. I was actually surprised by the fact that I met far fewer people from the forums than I had expected (possibly due to them wearing tags with their non-forum names on them) and met many people who do not use the forums. In that respect it went far better than expected. Many of the speakers were wonderful to listen to, especially Robert - who spoke on san pedro and ayahuasca shamanism - his talk was a real highlight for me. One thing though that I was surprised and disapointed by was Torsten. I had really been looking forward to meeting him, and perhaps, if he had a chance, to have a really good chat, and learn more about him and what his ideas and plans are - as I was immesuarably inspired by the things he has posted about in the forums (specifically how he has bought a property to live on, set up a research center on and plant a rainforest (!) on). I did not know him well and hoped that by the end of the conference I would. I am sure many people went there with that as one of their intentions. As it turned out the only exposure I had to him was to witness what has been described here, and elsewhere, as irrational, inapropriate, ov-er-emotional, uncompromising and divisive behaviour. Without knowing the full story I can't really say whether he was justified in this - but I think that's the whole point isn't it? just about no-one there would have known the whole story, and since Torsten didn't show the inclination to tell us why he acted why he did whilst he was there, most people _will_ just have his behaviour to go on. And there have been a lot of harsh judgements. He didn't talk to people about it, so what are they to think? I have a feeling that many people will have gone away a bit disillusioned about Torsten due to this. Many people were upset by the confrontations and didn't see why a compromise couldn't be reached, the reactionary attitude displayed just seemed so disproportionate. And Torsten can post all he likes, now that it is over, justifying what he did, but the fact is that a lot of people went to the conference who don't use the forums, and many will leave with that as their first and only exposure to Torsten as a person. That is not a good thing. My judgement is suspended however. I was not impressed at all, and who can blame me? Unlke some people I have not known Torsten before this. But I am also unwilling to go all out to attack him for reacting to an unknown quantity (I have no experience of Mulge either - if he had not turned up at the conference I would never have heard of him). But I guess the point I am trying to make is that the person he has done the most damage to is himself. The actual attendees, and the presenters mostly acted like nothing had happened, and this is a wonderful tribute to the spirit of our community. it was as though there was a storm raging on the surface of the ocean, but the 99% below that was as calm and warm as ever. The people were lovely, the treated each other in a far more open and accepting and friendly way than any group I have ever encountered before. I am sure that many _many_ friends were made over the weekend by everyone, and nothing can take that away - not Torsten, not Mulga. And to have something so unbelivably positive as this being subjected to potential damage by other peoples squabbles is a real shame. Torsten himself has now stated that he knows who are his friends and who are 'scumbags', but I suggest that, regardless of how much he might hate mulga, and regardless of how much he may have felt backstabbed by some of the other organisers, he himself would have come away with many more friends, and perceiving far fewer people as 'scumbags', if he had just not risen to the bait, and shown us his true colours. As it is, many people believe what they saw were his true colours, and whether they are or not, that is the way things are. I would still like an opportunity to get to know him well (I did take the opportunity to meet the guy that turned up with mulga - nick?, and ended up spending far more time talking to him than to torsten - an utterly ridiculous situation when you think about it...) but I am sure that many people left not caring whether they ever do or not, and that is a real shame when you look at what Torsten is doing for the community. Anyway, regardless of what went on at the conference itself, Torsten undoubtedly put more effort than anyone else into getting the thing off the ground, and he woked _so_ hard for it that it is a terrible shame to think that so many people will not even think of that side of things when they decide to criticise him. So please people, just remember, when you go to say 'it was a great conference - except for Torsten' that without Torsten, you would have had no conference. We don't really know what happened, so we shouldn't be too quick to judge. He may have handled the situation badly, and I personally think that it was definitely less than satisfactory, but fuck, what would we have done in his shoes? it's all very well to say he 'should have' done this or that, but lets face it, it was in relation to a person who we have no personal experience of... so how can we know we would have acted any differently? so... yeah, I have been rambling, but... basically, it was a shame, but lets suspend judgement a bit... It's just a pitty that Torsten didn't do anything to inform people of what was going on at the time - if he had actually informed us about who it was, and why it was a problem, he would have ended up with far more support than he did, rather than people just being baffled by this persons behaviour. -Eccles

This is a list I made for my own information (so I could work out which Trichocerei has the highest alkaloid content). It is the result of a very brief skimming of chapter 4 of Trout's Notes on Sacred Cacti. I am postinf it to share the info. Please add to it if you are able! 25mg+ / 100g ------------ Trichocereus bridgesii Trichocereus pachanoi (Mesc. ~ 2% dry weight; ~93.5% water by weight) Trichocereus peruvianus Trichocereus scopulicolus Trichocereus validus 5 – 25mg+ / 100g ---------------- Trichocereus macrogonus (5 – 25mg / 100g) Trichocereus taquimbalensis Trichocereus terscheckii Trichocereus werdermannianus Successfully bioassayed (but no chemical data) --------------------------------------------- Trichocereus pallarensis

ahh, sorry Torsten (and co)! I didn't realise. I have only been reading the forums regularly for a couple of months now (or even less maybe). It would be good to discover what the situation with that species is though. See you at EB

ahh, sorry Torsten (and co)! I didn't realise. I have only been reading the forums regularly for a couple of months now (or even less maybe). It would be good to discover what the situation with that species is though. See you at EB

thanks for your additions Wira. I am very interested in cacti that apparently do give psychoactive but not mescaline-like effects! The ones that you speak of as being bio-assyed, did the sources that you heard this from mention whether it was used in pachanoi type quantities (say 1-1.5kg wet)? On a completely different note, quite a few months ago I went on a trip to the botanical gardens in sydney... when I was wandering around in the cactus and succulent garden (this is BEFORE I decided to stroke the incredible looking redish fruit of a prickly pear ...) I was totally entranced by a particular plant... it was a succulent and it had the most INCREDIBLE purple flowers. I sat in front of it for AGES, I was *so* drawn to it. well, the next time I went to a cactus nursery to buy some more baby cacti I discovered these plants in pots and they were the ones I had seen at the gardens! so I bought one, and took it home and planted it near my cacti. A few nights back I was flicking through my Trouts Notes and in the succulents section I suddenly came across a picture of this very plant!!! It is called Delosperma cooperi and it turns out that it contains DMT and 5-Meo-DMT (as TLC'ed by Johnny Appleseed from memory). So that was a pretty amazing discovery Another off topic, but very interesting thing, is that a couple of texan (?) Acacias apparently contain various amphetamines and phenethylamines. This is incredibly interesting if it is true, simply because most of them had never been encountered in nature before. Yet there does not seem to have been any further attempts at testing done! (I remember that there was a question regarding this on the 'Ask Dr Shulgin' site - but the answer was not really any help as far as extra info went)... This really is a very exciting area of research and experimentation that we are involved in. And whilst bio-assaying is very important, there is a LOT of analytical chemistry that still needs to be done. [This message has been edited by eccles (edited 09 February 2002).]

tantra - yes you should buy the book. it's very good - get it from promind.com. wira - I do agree with you that of course this is the case, however this is a better starting point than nothing, and when you are faced with a list of 59 trichocereus species at a cactus seed vendor you need SOME way to differentiate between them... That is unless you want to spend well over $100 on seed, and THEN have room to grow it all out... that is why I made this list, and I posted it here so that other people would be able to use it in the same way. Of course alkaloid content varies... but if something is ON this list, then chances are it will be worth cultivating (please don't take this to mean that I do not consider non-mescaline bearing cacti worth cultivating, but when you have limited space it is a must to specialise). do you have any species to add, Wira, that I have not listed here, that would be worth getting for one reason or another? (the fact is I can't see myself at any point in the near future actually attempting to harvest mescaline from any of my plants...) thanks!

Hi there... I am a bit worried about my bridgesii... when I got it I put it in the ground, but it looks like it is being attacked by something. in fact none of the cacti I put in the ground together look totally free of... damage from one thing or another. The ones I kept in pots are fine! can someone please give me their comments on the damage seen in this picture please? it is actually also wet from the rain... I read the other day in Trout's Notes on Sacred Cacti that bridgesii doesn't like water that much (I think), and I am not that happy being with it in the ground. so I guess what I am looking for is a good reason to pot it, and put it with my other potted cacti that seem nice and healthy! (it would also get to go in cactus mix, rather than dodgy soil with sand mixed in / I also took this pic, that shows some older damage of some kind that has scabbed over (I think): My pachanoi (not totally sure that this IS a pachanoi as the lady in the shop was hazy about that... it could be a peruvianus (although it is very short spined) or a Scopulicola (sp?)) is also damaged: so... I am hoping someone, on looking at these pics will see what my prob is, and be able to suggest a course of action! thanks in advance

Hello! I was wondering about casing mixtures for colonised rye grain. I was thinking along the lines of the peat + perlite + lime mixture that is used in the method on www.mushmush.nl - they give relative proportions, but don't really say how much to use. So if someone had several bottles of colonised rye grain, and some aluminium BBQ 'drip trays', what would be a good thickness for a layer of grain? and thickness for the casing? I am assuming that perhaps 1/2 - 1 inch would be ok... but I suppose you wouldn't want to put too much grain in there, because it might get wasted? (I assume you don't need a thick layer just to colonise the casing?), and would a thin or thick casing layer be better?? Also, I'd like to know about sterilisation of the casing. I have been reading through the archives and discovered that Dutchie microwaves on high for 5 mins and has no probs. this sounds like an excellent method to me could anyone imagine any probs with that? Also, can anyone imagine any mixtures being better than that peat+lime+perlite one? thanks!

Hi there, I was wondering how similar this species is to cubensis when it comes to propagation? eg, would you be able to follow a rye grain procedure pretty much the same as for cubensis? The Greenhouse at Earthpod seems to be offering the only spores around atm and they are not cubensis, so I thought I'd better find out before ordering them. I do have cubensis prints, but as I made them myself and have never used them I am not certain about how 'clean' they are. So if anyone could tell me how easy these are compared to cubensis, and whether they are more suceptible to contams, or take longer then the info'd be most welcome! Or perhaps someone would be willing to part with some spores? or even prepare a spore syringe? (for trade or cash?) thanks [This message has been edited by eccles (edited 21 January 2002).]

"No studies have been done as far as I know, nor comparitive human bioassays, but based on what has been said of variegated Phalaris arundinacea, I would guess that variegated Arundo might be a waste of time..." - Wira does 'variegated' refer to the ones with white streaks on the grass blades? (alternating white and green). what is said of this type? from what you are saying it sounds like they are low in alkaloid content? any info on this? thanks!

woah... ok - I'd *really* like to here Torsten's opinion on this then (I can post more pics too if needed (and I assume they would be)... so... any more ideas on what has attacked them and what I should do about it people? thanks (thanks for all your replies so far!)

REALLY??? well if it's that easy to tell the difference I'd love to know how you do it what are the main features to look for when differentiating between pachanoi and scopulicola (argh I can't even remember what it's called)??? snails huh... hmmmm... or slugs?

ok, thanks for all your replies so how does this sound? in a large plastic tub (with relatively tight fitting lid), put an inch and a half of perlite on the bottom, and wet (with 1/4-1/2 inch of water? although I have read to have no excess water - any of you guys used perlite to humidify?). then put in the aluminium trays. empty two bottles of 5-brothers spawn into each one, then add a THIN layer of vermiculite - cover with foil and put into a cupboard until the vermiculite is colonised (is this how it works with verm?), then once that is done, put the trays on top of the perlite (OOOPS! ok obviously I wouldn't put the perlite in until the trays were ready to go in) and then put the lid on, and keep in a weak, indirect source of light... how does that sound? anything I said here sound particularly disasterous? I was not intending to sterilise either the perlite or verm, but I was going to put some H2O2 into the water. any comments? thanks again!

Hi guys, thought you might like this. it shows non-soaked, and soaked acacia seeds side by side - to give you some idea of the size difference to expect when they are ready to be planted!

Hi guys, thought you might like this. it shows non-soaked, and soaked acacia seeds side by side - to give you some idea of the size difference to expect when they are ready to be planted!

hehe I just did a search on google for Acacia maidenii and it turned up a map of the location of the plants in the very garden of which you speak http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/maps/acacia/...A-maidenii.html by the way - any reason why all you guys have been ignoring my A. phlebophylla thread? I am ghenuinely interested to learn about this plant, and it's current cultivation status, but no-one seems willing to talk.

hehe I just did a search on google for Acacia maidenii and it turned up a map of the location of the plants in the very garden of which you speak http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/maps/acacia/...A-maidenii.html by the way - any reason why all you guys have been ignoring my A. phlebophylla thread? I am ghenuinely interested to learn about this plant, and it's current cultivation status, but no-one seems willing to talk.

Hi Reville - I'd like some of those seeds too please. can you email me about it? [email protected]

Hi Reville - I'd like some of those seeds too please. can you email me about it? [email protected]

That sounds fantastic. We can't let plants like this die out! especially if irresponsible members of our own community are the ones doing the damage! I'd be really interested to know what exactly this group is doing. This plant sounds like it needs our help to save it.

Hi I have been wondering about this plant. It sounds like something that would be wonderful to grow, and have around. I have an Acacia maidenii and I really like it (and couldn't imagine ever stripping off any of its bark to get at the alkaloids in it...). So my question is, given the rarity of this plant, does anyone know whether it is around? ie whether anyone grows it? I read on the species page that no mature specimens are known to exist outside of the endangered ones on Mt Buffalo, but what is the reason for this? are they particularly hard to grow? if seed is illegally harvested then it stands to reason that people must be growing this plant. Yes? if so, does anyone know if it is available in any form? I really would like to grow it - especially since it is endangered. thanks!

oh! I just found this in the 'Addendum & Errata' for the book: 'Acacia longifolia On the subject of DMT reports from this species: Daniel Siebert reported detected trace amounts of DMT in a California roadside population but never published this material.' Does anyone know any any other info? preferably more specific.