Lophophora williamsii (peyote) populations have diminished in
large areas of South Texas where peyoteros harvest the cactus
for ceremonial use by the Native American Church. Habitat
destruction caused by urban development, rootplowing, etc.,
account for much of the reduction, but the regulated commercial
harvest of peyote is also taking its toll. Some harvesters cut
the peyote too low (it can be very hard to tell where the shoot
ends and the root begin) - consequently many of the decapitated
plants will not regenerate new stems and are left to die. To
address this problem Martin Terry and James D. Mauseth have
investigated the proper technique for harvesting peyote, and
found that the cactus must be cut off at or immediately below
its base, leaving the subterranean portion of the plant
(including all or most of the subterranean part of the stem) in
the ground to regenerate new crowns. Their harvesting technique
is outlined below. Plant about to be cut transversely at the
base of the crown (the photosynthetic