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Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens
    #20816093 -

Some Trichocereus species are psychoactive cacti that are completely legal in most places, so many people have taken to buying and selling them online. These species are more typically propagated from cuttings as opposed to seedlings, which leads to less genetic diversity among the sources. These factors can make it somewhat of a challenge to find good sources among all the poor quality ones.

Discussion of vendors is not allowed on this forum, which makes it hard for newbies like myself to find good sources for cacti when they're starting out. But I'm hoping together we can identify some useful general guidelines to finding active specimens no matter the vendor. I hope this thread can help others and myself identify useful specimens on their own with as little trial and error as possible.

What general characteristics do you know of that are red flags/green lights when buying a new specimen?

For instance, I have heard terrible things about the "Cactus Kate" variety of T. pachanoi (San Pedro) which is one of the more common sources for specimens found online. This variety is characterized by massively large circumference and lime-green coloration as opposed to the wild-type darker and perhaps blueish coloration, as well as a serrated side-profile. Although I have not tried them myself, many people claim this variety to be weak to the point of practical inactivity. I have some samples myself which I may use to test that theory sometime soon. Another tip I've been given is that T. bridgesii is a very good species to start with if you're interested in activity, as there is comparatively little variation in strength among sources.

Can you identify any more negative/positive characteristics of Trichocereus specimens (with regards to activity)?

Edited by WChef (11/10/14 01:10 AM)

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: WChef]
    #20817149 -

You could just get some bridgesii

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: Kazak]
    #20817323 -

Right. I have heard there's less variation in strength among bridgesii. However, I also suspect all bridgesii are not created equally, and of course not all "bridgesii" are correctly identified by their seller. So there's still a lot I'd like to learn about finding good specimens.

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: WChef]
    #20817333 -

WChef said:
Right. I have heard there's less variation in strength among bridgesii. However, I also suspect all bridgesii are not created equally, and of course not all "bridgesii" are correctly identified by their seller. So there's still a lot I'd like to learn about finding good specimens.



Truth, you speak it

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: Kazak]
    #20817368 -

For starters, if you plan on working with San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi), give this a good read-through: Keeper Trout's "Pachanoi or Pachanot?"
It gives the reader the ability to more accurately identify the infamous PC (primary cultivar) pachanoi, which includes the vast majority of T. pachanoi specimens on the market, at least in North America. The mescaline content of PC pachanoi varies tremendously from specimen to specimen, with the majority of them falling on the low end of the spectrum.

I agree that for the beginner, Trichocereus bridgesii or "Bolivian Torch" is probably the safest route. My experience and research suggests that the mescaline content of T. bridgesii varies significantly less, from specimen to specimen, than that of T. pachanoi and T. peruvianus. It is also has a relatively unique appearance, making it much easier to accurately identify.

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: Entheogenerator]
    #20822528 -

I thought it easy to find legitimate Bridgesii by searching on google. As an alternate, there is someone on ebay who sells astounding San Pedro. The few of his specimens that I have purchased are in pristine condition, growing at a miraculous rate and the single cutting that was used in a tea had awe inspiring potency. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for.

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: Soul-Shine]
    #20823745 -

Has anyone ever heard of PC San Pedros being sold from South America? Like a PC being passed off as a native specimen? Is an Ecuadorian/Peruvian/etc. origin a safe bet for a native (and presumably more potent) specimen?

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: WChef]
    #20825631 -

WChef said:
Has anyone ever heard of PC San Pedros being sold from South America? Like a PC being passed off as a native specimen? Is an Ecuadorian/Peruvian/etc. origin a safe bet for a native (and presumably more potent) specimen?



All non-hybrid cacti were, at some point, native (or rather its ancestry, but you get the point). If the infamous PC pachanoi is not a hybrid then it is native to some part of south-america, and it may very well be that someone is selling plants from the same origin.

Another thing to consider is that some less scrupulous vendor may push plants of, let's say, lesser quality in order to make a fast dollar. Bottom line, if a deal seems too good it probably is. You will be better off finding a dealer that delivers and sticking to it.


--------------------
Z. in sunny Lisbon, Portugal
Cactus grower particularly fond of north american miniatures.
http://jardineiroazelha.blogspot.pt/

Sowing cacti - my way!
Random pictures of my collection.
Photographing cacti, Z's way.

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: LSoares]
    #20828215 -

Quote:
If the infamous PC pachanoi is not a hybrid then it is native to some part of south-america, and it may very well be that someone is selling plants from the same origin.




The PC pachanoi has yet to be found in the wild, this doesn't mean it never did, just that populations don't exist anymore or never did. It was thought of once as the 'Backeberg Clone' that Curt Backeberg originally described and brought back to Germany but the picture and description of T.pachanoi in Die Cactaceae doesn't match that cutting. To this day nobody knows its origins, and it could be a cultivated hybrid. :shrug:


:clusterfuck:

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Re: Tips for finding active Trichocereus specimens [Re: karode13]
    #20830036 -

It's very interesting to learn about those things. Only recently have some of the best known cactus species been re-found in nature, and a few stubbornly remain of unknown origin. Back in the glory days botanists were rather sparse in their location descriptions.

Thanks for clearing that out, Karode. :thumbup:


--------------------
Z. in sunny Lisbon, Portugal
Cactus grower particularly fond of north american miniatures.
http://jardineiroazelha.blogspot.pt/

Sowing cacti - my way!
Random pictures of my collection.
Photographing cacti, Z's way.

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