I am by no means a qualified horticulturalist or even a very successful backyard gardener, but when I saw this little Peyote plant for sale and I learned of its sad story, I was compelled to buy it.
Peyote (also known in various strains and species such as Mescaline, or Ayahuasca); is of course infamous for its hallucinogenic properties. It is famed for hundreds of years of ongoing usage by Native American tribes and communities. Often times the purpose of consuming cultural 'awakening' and enlightenment usage by Native American tribes and communities.
So when I saw this tiny little plant (no bigger than a small coin) for sale in amongst all of the other beautiful and large succulents, cactus, and other durable and hardy plants, I had to ask what it was.
The lady running the market stall was ever so friendly, but upon my asking she leaned in close and said; 'well, actually it is not allowed in Australia, because it is Peyote'.
I chuckled at that moment, thinking she was just a hippy-type of market vendor who spends her time getting high on Peyote. But when she began explaining the story of how she came to be in possession of this plant, it really moved me.
As a qualified horticulturalist she spoke of her travels to northern Mexico and southern Texas (places where many cactus and other hardy species grow), with the intent of studying and collecting other kinds of plant species. But when she met some local indigenous northern-Mexicans on her travels, they shared stories of the Peyote plant going out of extinction.
See, the plant I bought, as small as it is, will take about five years to grow to just the size of a golf ball. That's it. That's how slow it grows. Yet tourists, modern hipsters, and greedy folks drive into the deserts with a machete and hack as much of the plant as they can possibly find.
So, the replenishment rate is so poor for this very slow growing species that it is in fact dying out. She mentioned one reserve where the plants are protected, but other than this, people are taking advantage of this tough little cactus, and all the while it is dying a quick death.
At that moment I knew I had to buy the little plant. Not to consume it and get high; but to protect something special that could be one day become so scarce; we may never see it in the wild again.
Who knows, maybe in a few years' time I'll be able to re-plant any offshoots and grow more plants to protect!