Some mention of the potential of Desmanthus leptolobus has been made here and elsewhere. From what I can tell, it's similarly resilient in terms of climate compared to it's cousin, but easier to grow. I do wonder about the resilience, however, considering where it's found:

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=DELE2


Besides the relative ease of cultivation, it's said to have a higher and more consistent alkaloid content. What I foresee--assuming this info is fairly accurate--is that a large number of plants could be brought to some level of maturity indoors rather quickly through use of hydroponics, then be planted outdoors to give the roots some room.

I'm of the opinion that all the common sources would take too long and be too troublesome for most people to grow, considering space and climate. I also think that the various grasses contain too little alkaloid content or yield too inconsistently to be feasible except in terms of wild-growth and as a sort of last-ditch effort--worthwhile to research long-term, but probably not suitable for current concerns.

If hydroponic methods are suitable, it could make a great companion for Trichocereus, allowing the same sort of setup to be used in cultivating sources for two of the most relevant entheogens of our time, thus securing their future. The keys to the success of this are high yields (number of plants, speed of growth, alkaloid content) and accessible/reproducible cultivation teks.

As a start, anyone with access to live samples should either make them available and/or test them to ensure that it's a viable source, as this would save a hell of a lot of time and possible disappointment for the whole community.

There should still be some seeds floating around.

Nearly all of the seed originates from a single collector!
I am interested in this species as well, I have the illinoensis growing, but no lepto.
I have heard that the two may form a hybrid, a certain university in the middle west was researching such a hybrid for seed production, I wonder if they ever looked at alkaloid for the hybrid?

Found this thread over at mycotopia:

Dooby trys growing desmanthus leptolobus
http://forums.mycotopia....smanthus-leptolobus.html


Someone mentions what I think is another mimosa, Albizia julibrissin, persian silk tree or "Tree
of heaven". (Tree of heaven sounds very interesting)

According to wikipedia it has antidepressant properties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...sin#Cultivation_and_uses

"Albizzia julibrissin has been found to possess antidepressant properties, most likely mediated through 5-HT1A receptors."

I'm germinating some seeds right now. I plan to grow in doors untill this spring and then plant them outside.

There are some techniques for the growth of a single, larger taproot I want to use on some of them when I replant them to see if I can promote the growth of more root-bark on a single, easy to harvest, root.

I took a nail file and filed off the pointy little nipple on the seed and then put them in a little jar with some water last night to germinate. They now have little roots the size of the seed itself poking out!

Hello,

What's the latest on DMT% (root, bark, leaves) and thermal death point of Desmanthus leptolobus?



Does that mean that the DMT% in the root is at or above 0.34%?
(Reading here I see from 0.02% - 0.34% DMT in roots) Were most reports closer to 0.34% or 0.14%?


WIKI - Botanicals - Desmanthus leptolobus


I'm doing the same; how did it work out for you?

It grows well in zone 6, had some nice sprawling ground cover leptolobus below the D. ill. bushes years back. Germinate as you would D. ill., never noticed it to be any more difficult than illinoensis with fresh seed. It's a slower grower than D. ill., though and harder to mow back to promote root growth since it hugs the ground.

Although D. lepto. still requires somewhat moderate temperatures, it's much more cold tolerant than Acacia species I tried out. Seedlings survived zone 6 winters that hardened, years old small Acacia obtusifolia trees couldn't. Years back K. Trout and individual netizens reported much more consistent and reliable alkaloid profiles from D. lepto. compared with illinoensis. Legume family seeds tend to retain viability for many years too, though folks might want to consider the use of GA treatment for years old seed to increase germination rates.

I finally have some D.Lepto seeds, going to germinate them tonight, and hope for the best.

I got some desmanthus illinoensis seeds, don't know when I'm going to germinate them but you'll have to let me know how you get on