n00b who is confused by this "pachanoi vs. pachanot" debate

[Nathaniel]

hello everyone. i am a n00b to the Nexus and also to the world of cactus cultivation. i recently acquired a couple san pedro cuttings and after having read the Tricho ID thread i am wholesomely confused. here are some pics of my cacti, which were sold as trichocereus pachanoi. i got them straight from a cactus grower (not an online retailer per se) who has been growing cacti for 20 years and says that their mother plant came straight from peru. i thought these pictures would be sharper... i must have not had the right setting on the camera. anyway...

please enlighten me, someone. i went through that whole trout page concerning the matter and couldn't figure out what the differences are that i am supposed to be seeing. what's more confounding is that i searched the internet and couldn't find any information other than what has already been linked on here. if anyone could shed some light on the subject it would be greatly appreciated. i really don't know what to believe. it looks like a san pedro to me...

 

[cker]

Trichocereus pachanoi is the botanist's name for san pedro. You have two nice ones. Maybe give each of them their own pot for best growth? Also, the tips of your plants have been light starved a bit (that's the reason for the white color). Don't put these girls in direct sunlight for a while or else you will damage the growth tip. I think you might need at least a few weeks of bright but indirect lighting before they can take prolonged direct sunlight. Let it grow!

 

[komet]

Yup, same thing and +1 on putting them in separate pots.

If you are interested in mescaline content, start looking for Achuma (t.Bridgesii). More predictable results IMO. You will find some great pedros, you will also find some duds in terms of mescaline content.

 

[Nathaniel]

thank you kindly, folks!

yea, i literally got them just this past week and potted them 2 days ago. i just got this pot and cactus soil so whenever they root then i'll switch their container. haven't had direct sunlight but have been soaking up what they can in the shade of my back porch.

also i have read a few differing ideas as to which tricho has the most mescaline. i think i just read earlier that peruvian torch has the most, but so does bridgesii, but so does a good pedro... etc. i mean, i know that every cactus will have its particulars, but in the short time i've researched these cacti i have read a lot of conflicting information. by no means am i discounting your reply to me, i am just stating that i really don't know what's what. although i am interested in mescaline (i've never had it before) i am also interested in the alkaloids and seeing how they contribute to the overall experience. i think eventually i'll have some other species of cacti, but this is my starting point for now

 

[drnocturne]

This is the standard PC, or "Predominant Clone" of San Pedro that everyone has.
It's not really what you want, it is fine for landscaping or as a grafting stock but is a weak to inactive entheogen.
The grower in question spreads a lot of misinformation on San Pedro.

 

[bezevo]

Welcome Nathaniel ....I am new here also .

ok there are a lot of internet experts...ha

This whole "PC" thing started as a Pissing Match between a vendor who gave Trout a bad review on his book.

Both sides spreading nasty .SAD

There is a "common cultivator" in America that's weak ...yes,.......But it's difficult to really tell these PC cactus apart from non-PC at a glance ,they are very similar to cactuses that are much more active .

Please read the info in the bellow link for an objective thorough scientific explanation of this subject if you want an accurate explanation .

Read all they way to bottom of page lots of good photos .

The history of the PC Trichocereus clone - Predominant cultivar

The history of the PC Trichocereus is complex and a little bit stupid. It´s a very common clone that is also the subject of...

trichocereus.net

Take note of the difference in the color of the hair/fibers that surround the flower buds.

 

[entheogenic-gnosis]

Welcome Nathaniel ....I am new here also .

ok there are a lot of internet experts...ha

This whole "PC" thing started as a Pissing Match between a vendor who gave Trout a bad review on his book.

Both sides spreading nasty .SAD

There is a "common cultivator" in America that's weak ...yes,.......But it's difficult to really tell these PC cactus apart from non-PC at a glance ,they are very similar to cactuses that are much more active .

Please read the info in the bellow link for an objective thorough scientific explanation of this subject if you want an accurate explanation .

Read all they way to bottom of page lots of good photos .

The history of the PC Trichocereus clone - Predominant cultivar

The history of the PC Trichocereus is complex and a little bit stupid. It´s a very common clone that is also the subject of...

trichocereus.net

Take note of the difference in the color of the hair/fibers that surround the flower buds.

I remember reading some of that feud between keeper trout and the other individual, it made things quite difficult and confusing from the point of view of a non-associated bystander who is simply trying to get his facts straight...

The flowers do appear to be the key distinguishing physical feature, the south American trichocereus pachanoi have short brown/black hairs, or little to no hairs surrounding the base of the flower, where the common north American variety will have long white bushy hairs surrounding the base of the flower...

Trichocereus Pachanoi are highly variable in alkaloid content as it is...


I've been reading into this technique to increase 3,4,5-trimethoxy-phenethylamine quantity in species of cacti which produce such alkaloids, as well as increasing production of macromerine in Coryphantha macromersis using nor-epinephrine, even though Coryphantha macromersis cactus can be psychedelic, the quantity of macromerine and nor-macromerine appears to be too low to be a major factor in this when consuming the cactus itself, and total alkaloid extracts of Coryphantha macromersis also require a large amount of plant biomass, so there would be every reason to investigate methods for increasing production of alkaloids in this species as well, ( macromerine and nor-macromerine are also unscheduled. )

Chemical doping - There has been some pioneering work in this area done by Adam Gottlieb.

Increasing the levels of the precursors that lead to mescaline has proven to be a relatively quick and effective way to significantly increase the level of mescaline in a Cactus. There are three major precursors to mescaline, namely dopa, tyramine and dopamine. During mescaline synthesis in the plant, tyrosine is broken down into tyramine and dopa. These then combine to form dopamine, which is later converted to nor-mescaline, and of course mescaline.

It is possible to take advantage of this synthesis route, and use it to vastly increase the mescaline content of the Cactus that will be harvested.

This method can be used successfully on any mescaline bearing Cacti. The steps are as follows:

1. Withhold water from the plant 2 weeks prior to doping. This helps the plant to absorb any injected material more readily.

2. Prepare a saturated solution of free-base dopamine in a .05 N solution of HCL. If dopamine is not available a second best alternative is to use a mixture of tyramine and dopa.

3. Inject approximately 5cc of the solution, half towards the bottom of the plant by the roots. Inject the other half into the green tissue at the base of the plant, and in several other spots up the stem. Do this slowly ,carefully, leaving the needle in place for a few seconds to allow absorption.

4. Wait 4 to 8 weeks before harvest to let the additives metabolize and convert to mescaline. I would not stress the plant during this period, as an actively growing plant is necessary for efficient metabolism.

5. The harvest can be delayed further and a series of booster injections can be given every 6 - 8 weeks to bolster alkaloid levels even more.

Unfortunately many of these precursor compounds are hard to come by or controlled.

Donana ( Coryphantha macromersis ) can be processed in a similar manner to increase its levels of macromerine. Injections of nor-epinephrine can be given in a similar manner about a month prior to harvest.

Has anybody here actually attempted this? Was it effective enough to be worth the effort?

Have there there been any studies which quantify alkaloids in a series of cactus clones, then inject half of the cacti with precursors or intermediates in mescaline's biosynthetic pathway, then re-quantifying the alkaloids produced by all the cacti at various stages before harvest determining the effectiveness of the method by measuring the quantity of increase in alkaloids on the samples which were injected versus the samples which received no chemical injection?

-eg