Animals, especially cattle, injure the plants mainly by trampling;. 

 Apparently, no animal species depends on the Peyote plant as a 

 major part of its diet. Peyoterosh'dVQ noticed a variety of animals, 

 such as rattlesnakes, javelinas, rats, mice, wild dogs, and Mexican 

 eagles, eating limited amounts of the plant, 



Indians and Peyoteros harvesting Peyote injure the plant by 

 cutting and removing its chlorophyllous crown, thus intention- 

 ally stimulating its vegetative growth. The practice of cutting only 

 plant tops and the foreknowledge that asexual clonal growth 

 would result may be an ancient practice. A Cree Indian from 

 Montana stated that for every plant he cuts "five more will grov^ 

 back" (Denny, 1974). One Peyotero indicated that the growth of 

 Peyote averages two inches in diameter within six months (Lau- 

 rel, 1974). Peyoteros indicated that proper cutting — cutting onh^ 

 the larger plants, infrequent harvests, and rain — bring an abun- 

 dance of growth. Measurements every six months for a period o\ 

 two years indicated a substantial growth three times greater 

 among cut plants than among uncut ones. Cut plants produced 

 additional crowns at the end of each six-month period whereas 

 uncut plants produced none. 



Peyoteros refer to clonal clumps of Peyote as plamhas 

 (Spanish, plates). Until the 1940s, south Texas had man> 

 plamhas, but today they are rare. Instead, planchitas (small 

 plamhas) are occasionally found. Harvesting accounts for the 

 absence of planchas in south Texas today. 



Harvesting alters the life form of Peyote plants; previously cut 

 plants develop a thick, fibrous outer-layer at the root top. This 

 fibrous, wood-like layer develops most where the plant had for- 

 merly been cut, and thus it may be a kind of scar tissue. Thicker 

 layers of root fiber indicate more than one previous harvest. 

 Peyoteros recognize this, since more effort is required to cut 

 through the plant's fibrous layers. Furthermore, owing to pre- 

 vious cuts, sometimes new plant-crowns assume bizarre shapes. 



In many areas of south Texas, the density of Peyote has 

 decreased substantially within recent decades. One rancher from 

 southern Starr County indicated that, in 1945, there were so 



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81 



