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 Hallucinogenic plants in Chinese herbals For over two millennia, texts in Chinese herbology and traditional Chinese medicine have recorded medicinal plants that are also hallucinogens and psychedelics. Some are familiar psychoactive plants in Western herbal medicine (e.g., "làngdàng" 莨菪 ""Hyoscyamus niger", black henbane"), but several Chinese plants have not been noted as hallucinogens in modern works (e.g., "yúnshí" 雲實 ""Caesalpinia decapetala", cat's claw" flowers). Chinese herbals are an important resource for the history of botany, for instance, Zhang Hua's c. 290 "Bowuzhi" is the earliest record of the psilocybin mushroom "xiàojùn" 笑菌 (lit. "laughing mushroom", ""Gymnopilus junonius", laughing gym"). There