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,
Dendrobium christyanum Dendrobium christyanum Dendrobium christyanum is a species of orchid (Orchidaceae) endemic to the Chinese island of Hainan. It produces a volatile organic compound that is unrecorded in other plant species. The flowers of this orchid produce a bee pheromone which attracts its pollinator, "Vespa bicolor", a species of hornet. The novel feature, first reported in 2009, is supposed to mimic the distress pheromone of the indigenous Asian honey bee "Apis cerana" (the same chemical as in the European "Apis mellifera", which does not occur naturally on Hainan). The chemical compound, (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol, can be detected by the hornet and is it