fyzygy

You don't have to read between the lines to know which article law enforcement is reading. Psycho0 gets a mention, for some reason. Please excuse me if the article I suggested doesn't provide any relevant context or background.

Another paper that may be of interest: https://booksc.org/book/76188872/41b6a4 An Efficient Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometric Approach to Detection and Quantification of the Mescaline Content of Commonly Abused Cacti from the Echinopsis Genus. Journal of Forensic Sciences (2019)

Foliage and bark reminiscent of Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) or one of its close relatives, e.g. A. deanei, A. decurrens. You might narrow down by geographic range. There's an ID app, but requires familiarity with botanical terminology: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/wattle/identify/key.html Pl@ntNet Identify (photo-based web app) suggests: A. mearnsii (among others). Beautiful trees.

I don't have much experience with pere. I've kept all of my grafts outdoors during winters in suburban Melbourne (mostly grafted to trichocereus and occasionally opuntia spp.) without issues. Grafting itself is probably best done towards the end of the growing season; warm temperatures seem to accelerate plant growth. Indoors could work just as well, though in a greenhouse I would be wary of too much humidity. Cling wrap method that seems to work best for me, means that the new graft is well humidified locally for the first few days while the bond forms. After that it seems tough as any other cactus in my garden. I don't leave my newly cling-wrapped grafts in a dark place, but somewhere they will be exposed to bright, indirect light. I will try some pere grafts next, and let you know how that goes...

Your name and email address will be added to the politician's mailing list. They may cooperate if your request is concrete and specific (e.g., data from Medicare or another government agency), but will typically ignore appeals to abstract principles such as justice, human rights etc. Often you will be referred to another government department or jurisdiction ("fobbed off"). There's actually very little that a politician can (or will) do on your behalf, in most circumstances. A sympathetic ear (extremely rare) is no guarantee of action, other than the shuffling of your correspondence to the formidable "too hard" basket. Still, it's good to raise awareness of marginal issues among political elites; one has to hope in the prospect of longer-term (cultural) change.

aka apple-bearing sage. Buy or trade.

Back in my days of fiendish behaviour, I noticed with my dispenser (for whipped cream bulbs) very fine particulate matter, dark greyish in colour. Looks like filth to be putting in one's lungs. I'm not sure if the substance was residue from the cream bulbs or the interior of the aluminium dispenser. I wouldn't recommend imbibing directly from a whipped cream dispenser; use a balloon or similar as an intermediary container. I never got to try automotive or hospital grade. N20 rigs in hospitals always include a second canister, containing oxygen, with which it is mixed for safety. I had an intense -- ultimately, horrific -- experience combining N20 with something believed (at the time) to be LSD. It was a very potent combination that led me to abandon psychedelics for at least 10 years. The last thing I remember is throwing the dispenser as far as I could throw.

According to Wikipedia entry for "Khat" (note #127) -- there was an Australian Government document named "Import restrictions: Kava and Khat | Office of Drug Control" dated 7 December 2016. The ODC document has been updated in light of the recent Kava reversal; but interesting that these two substances in particular -- long imbibed by (non-white) ethnic communities -- should have suddenly been banned from importation.

Close to what I was thinking. Colours remind me of Matucana peruvianoids (like roseii); spines remind me of pachanoi. My first impression, whenever I consult the pics, is "short-spined peruvianus" (similar to a variety I have) but probably a hybrid peruvianus x pachanoi. It's terribly hard to be more specific in the case of lost labels. To my eye, spacing between aureoles looks wider than on most pachanoi I've seen. I'm certainly no expert.

I recently inherited a TurboKlone T24 and have no idea what to do with it. I know what most people do with theirs, but I'm not interested in black-marketeering. Apart from cactus and succulents, just about anything I want to grow from cutting can be done in a glass of water on a windowsill (etc.). This machinery seems like overkill to me, in terms of cost and energy inputs. For low-cost plants like (legal) herbs, it hardly seems worth the expense of a fresh propagating collar per plant. I think I was initially interested to clone acacias from cutting, which are notoriously slow. Anyone with experience of aeroponic propagators to share?

PM if you can help out, preferably with a pic -- there seems to be at least 2 different plants in circulation going by this name.

De Feo and Capasso (1996, 2002) studied the pharmacological effects on the central nervous system of rats, noting probable psychotropic effects. It has been ascribed to "black magic" practices among traditional healers in Peru (as an adjunct to San Pedro). Scientists have isolated various interesting compounds including novel viroids and isoflavones. https://booksc.org/s/iresine herbstii Christian Rätsch reports, in The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: "Various species of this genus are used in South America as ayahuasca additives. Some species, under the name cimora or timora, are added to San Pedro drinks... Iresine species also are said to be the main ingredient or at least one of the main ingredients in the mysterious South American magical drink cimora (Ott 1993, 409*). Unfortunately, chemical studies are lacking. Betacyanin has been detected in the herbage of the Caribbean Iresine herbstii Hook. f. (Wong 1976, 119*)."

By the same token, showing therapeutic properties in an animal model ... doesn't necessarily translate to tangible medical benefits if consumed by humans. "Modern" doesn't mean safe either -- as per my previous post. What was the question? If neither safety nor efficacy are the absolute benchmarks for regulatory approval, then the answer must lie elsewhere ... in political economy, and ideology.

If it's safe for germinating seeds, raising seedlings and rooting cuttings, then cinnamon probably won't harm an established plant. I hope it helps.

Not sure about the faded yellow section -- could just be from excessive sun exposure? The black spots I'd dust with cinnamon as a precaution against pathogens. The yellow/brown bits too, wouldn't hurt any, IMO.* Exposed wounds in plant tissue can potentially benefit from the application of cinnamon or cassia bark, either powdered or in aqueous solution, as an anti-fungal precaution. I've used it a lot, over more than 5 years, without any ill effects. Fungal infections are easier to prevent, than cure. * Not everyone on this forum shares my high opinion of Cassia spp. as an organic horticultural input. Hence my reluctance to respond to your post more promptly. But since no-one else has chipped in with any advice, I offer this in lieu. https://growplants.info/plant-care/cinnamon-for-plants/ https://luv2garden.com/cinnamon_fungicide.html https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423818301316 https://treehozz.com/does-cinnamon-kill-fungus https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15607195/

A few years ago I bought a cut off an eBay seller who was donating the profits to some charity or another. The cut I purchased was supposed to have been (from memory) a macrogonus x bridgesii cross, sourced from some historic Peruvian expedition in the 1930s. When the cutting arrived, it looked nothing like the advertised item, but a whole lot like PC pachanoi. The seller assured me I had received the correct item. Still looks like PC to me -- a bit thinner on the whole than regular PC, but other than that ... indistinguishable?

Aloe Vera (yellow flower) doesn't have spotted leaves. The orange-flowering Aloe Vera var. chinensis does have spotted leaves, but also a bitter taste. This one doesn't taste bitter (or soapy, like A. maculata, another lookalike). There are a few obscure spotted (maculate) varieties documented, but none of them seem to be the "Japanese Aloe" of urban (YouTube) legend. Aloes have amazing medicinal properties, yes. Just not sure about this non-bitter variety.

I don't know the variety, but it's non-bitter, and strongly resembles one being sold online as (edible) "Japanese aloe" ... could just as well be some form of hybrid as a particular maculate species. The gel it produces is on the watery side, lacking the soapiness or bitterness of my other spotted varieties, A. maculata (soap aloe) and A. chinensis. I've eaten this one in small quantities only, without adverse effects. I have read that numerous "maculate" Aloes are used in traditional African healing, but few details were disclosed. This plant's lack of bitterness suggests limited medicinal value. Fresh young leaves are essentially palatable, skin and all. None of Aloe vera's exudate or latex in evidence. Makes a pretty stunning house plant IMO. Free offsets if you can cover the cost of postage. Mostly a bit smaller than the ones pictured, some a bit larger. Trades also welcome (seeds of edible and medicinal plants, etc.). Send a message if you'd like to add this to your garden. Post below if you can help ID this variety.

I think many prescription drugs are borderline ineffective too -- not to mention a leading cause of death and disability, alongside "unsafe patient care." Sometimes placebo works wonders, yet science can't explain it. There's a lot of ideology to unpack in the regulation of (angelic) western pharmaceuticals versus (demonic) traditional medicines. Follow the money, I dare say.

I don't think he was trying to rip me off. Probably just a tad confused, got labels mixed up, whatever. I bought several other specimens from him, no issues. I think he offered a refund but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, just in case. But yeah, I don't see a trace of bridgesii there either.

How to conserve Acacia genetics without preserving native habitat, strikes me as a major conundrum. Conceivably, even an endangered Acacia could become an environmental weed, outcompeting endemic species, if carelessly distributed. Hybridisation must also pose some kind of threat -- escalated by the random proliferation of (native and exotic) Acacia spp. in cultivation and beyond. "Growing and planting more Acacias" could ultimately prove counter-productive to the goal of Acacia conservation. Unless planted wisely.

The orange slime is the one I've encountered most frequently around Melbourne, anywhere a San Pedro has been cut and then left to fend off more than a day or two of heavy rain. In larger specimens it doesn't seem to pose much of a threat, but in smaller cut sections (e.g. root stock) it has a tendency to dominate. Overcrowding in the greenhouse will promote plant pathogens. Sun and wind dry out exposed surfaces, helping the plant's natural immunity. But the graft needs high humidity those first few days. After 2 or 3 days under cling film I expose the graft to plenty of (indirect) UV light and ventilation, I don't keep them in a greenhouse. I don't usually apply fungicides to my grafts, though I dare say it wouldn't hurt.

"widescale personal and corporate cultivation of the Peyote plant threatens the historical and cultural biological integrity of the plant by potentially exposing the population to hybridization, genetic modification, and sterilization" -- the what now? I doubt that ill-defined notions of cultural or biological purity are all that helpful in terms of conservation strategy (whether we're talking about endangered plants or traditional cultural practices). I would have thought that plants, like cultures, and indeed religions, maintain their "integrity" by adapting to changing environmental circumstances, historical contingencies. I'm sure there are far more pressing material threats to peyote's existence than cultivation and propagation of peyote. Is the land itself not sacred? Why peyote rights, but not land rights for Native Americans? Clearing out some ranchers and property developers would surely deliver a maximal boon to wild peyote populations. Determined poachers will be even more determined, not deterred, by criminalisation. The bounty on peyote buttons will only increase. Outside of the USA, or even within it, how would a ban on peyote cultivation be enforced?

Yage (also known as yaje, hoasca, ayahuasca, caapi, pinde, or natema) consists of one or more hallucinogenic plants combined, but most importantly Banisteriopsis caapi or B. inebrians (Schultes and Hofman 1980, 1992) (figure 9.7). Other plants commonly added are Psychotria viridis, P. carthagenensis, or B. rusbyana. Banisteriopsis are lianas (thick woody vines) with dark ovate leaves and grow in Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. [...] The primary hallucinogenic constituents of B. caapi are the β-carbolines. These include harmaline, tetrahydroharmine, harmol, harmic acid methyl ester, harmic amide, acetyl norharmine, harmine N-oxide, harmalinic acid, and ketotetrahydronorharmine (figure 9.8). B. rusbyana also contains DMT, as well as N-methyltryptamine, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, and 5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (bufotenin). N-methyltetrahydro-β-carboline is found in trace amounts. * I too would like to grow this plant, B. rusbyana. Many websites (including Wikipedia redirects) suggest synonymous with Diplopterys cabrerana. The above source I've quoted -- Marcello Spinella. The Psychopharmacology of Herbal Medicine (MIT Press, 2001) -- doesn't reference Diplopterys spp. at all. Which is odd, since Rätsch (1998) points to Gates (1982) as having cleared up the "confusion" regarding names, D. cabrerana being the new name for B. rusbyana. Like B. caapi "rarely flowers ... commonly propagated by cuttings"