Mescaline Mexico. Europeans noted use of peyote in Native American religious ceremonies upon early contact, notably by the Huichols in Mexico. Other mescaline-containing cacti such as the San Pedro have a long history of use in South America, from Peru to Ecuador. In traditional peyote preparations, the top of the cactus is cut off, leaving the large tap root along with a ring of green photosynthesizing area to grow new heads. These heads are then dried to make disc-shaped buttons. Buttons are chewed to produce the effects or soaked in water to drink. However, the taste of the cactus is bitter,
Hallucinogenic plants in Chinese herbals English herbal, pharmacopoeia, or materia medica. This word compounds "ben" "(plant) root/stem; basis, origin; foundation; book" and "cao" "grass; herb; straw". Although "bencao" is sometimes misinterpreted as "roots and herbs", the approximate meaning is "[pharmaceutics whose] basis ["ben"] [is] herbs ["cao"]" (Unschuld 1986: 14). These works deal with drugs of all origins, mainly vegetable but also mineral, animal, and even the human body. The Chinese botanist, academic, and researcher Hui-lin Li (1911-2002) wrote seminal articles about the history and use of hallucinogenic plants in China. Li cites a story in Li Shizhen's 1596 magnum opus "Bencao gangmu" as the first