Hey! I went hiking in my mountains and found a prickly pear cactus. In the winter here it can get as cold as -5 degrees Fahrenheit (sometimes lower) especially in the mountains. So I took a "pear" and brought it home. It is green, but it has purple spots, so I'm wondering if it is some undiscovered species that can produce mescaline? :shrug:
there are prickly pear cactus all over here in MI. I have some in my flower garden. They have very nice yellow flowers. and as far as I know, you can't make mescaline with it.
Deserts get to below 0 temps, especially in the winter, as deserts lack an insulating cloud layer due to the very low moisture in the air.
Wrong genus for psycho-actives. Prickly Pears [aka Beaver Tails] are the genus Opuntia. I found a species of Opuntia growing in eastern Long Island, NY, in a cemetery, about half way between Manhattan/Brooklyn and the far eastern end of the island; where the grape vineyards are. It carpeted the ground, with the beaver-tail growing flat on the ground, rather than upright as is typical for most species. It was difficult at first to recognize what kind of plant it was, as it was growing as a complete ground-cover, excluding other species of plants [grasses, etc.] that would normally grow as a ground cover. It was only about 1/2 inch above the ground that it carpeted, and the beaver-tail blades were typically about 2 inches long by 1 inch wide, by 1/4 inch thick. It was essentially the only plant around, and apparently had been growing there for centuries [the tombstones were from the 1700s to 1800s]. In the event it was an undiscovered species, I gave it the name Opuntia cemeterius, though it's likely to be already known and described elsewhere.
yeah they grow in Appalachian mountains in NY upstate...on the hills that are sunny on the rocks mostly.
I believe the one you are describing is Opuntia fragilis, which hugs the ground and grows on the south-facing slopes [in the sun] of rocky hills in the north-eastern states. They have blades that easily break free [hence, 'fragilis'] and can then root elsewhere, allowing for ease of spreading/propagation. It is low growing, but the blades don't lie flat on the ground. The one I described has the blade lying flat on the ground, where it roots from several of the nodes on the bottom side of the blade. This serves to expose only the other side of the blade to the sun. [The 'blade' is actually a flattened stem with numerous nodes, as is true for all Opuntia]. It forms a carpet of such blades lying flat on the ground. I was literally walking all over those Opuntia blades as I examined the headstones. It was only on close inspection that I recognized it for being an Opuntia species. Also, the blades were essentially spineless [very diminutive], and the plant appeared designed for walking upon without harming the critter walking on it, and very cold-tolerant [allowing it to be buried by snow for weeks/months].
Yep. Many people forget the desert is an extreme of both hot and cold. Solar gain in the day, and thermal loss at night.
Makes things fun doesn't it? Gotta turn on the air conditioner in the day and the heater in the night, if you leave one on at the wrong time.... Apparently they have a pretty good range on them. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
There are some phenylethylamine alkaloids in opuntias. You might get some effect from a gallon or so of vile tasting sticky gloop.
