You may recall this beautiful specimen of Lophophora williamsii that had been planted in weathered volcanic tuff in what is now Big Bend National Park. This was part of a tiny population growing near an archaeological site showing evidence of long-term historical use.

A small peyote garden had been established by an unknown indigenous person long ago and despite the difficulties of growing in the highly alkaline mineral soil the plants were healthy but very slow growing. Similarly the same conditions made seedling recruitment difficult yet a small number managed to establish themselves. It was the only such site ever discovered in such a soil and has been known for well over half a century.

This and all of its companions in that old Native American garden site were recently discovered to have been taken by a poacher.The lack of evidence of cut stems suggests that they may have been removed by a cactus collector rather than harvested. The poacher took every single plant so this unique site is now extirpated.This was the last remaining example of the three known deliberate plantings of peyote by Native Americans prior to modern times so more than just the plants were lost.

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Alvaro Cespedes recently created a nice news article about peyote that included interviewing Dr.  Terry.

See the story in the Texas Standard

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