24 
ECHINOCACTUS Scopa. 
The Broom Cactus. 
fi QUERIA ERE 
ICOSANDRIA POLYGYNIA. 
Nat. ord. CACTACER. 
ECHINOCACTUS. DeCand. Prodr. 3. 461. Revue des Cactées, 
p. 35. 
E. Scopa ; caule oblongo multicostato, fasciculis spinarum approximatis basi lana- 
tis, subulis extimis 30 40-debilibus albis centralibus 3-4 purpurascentibus 
rigidis, petalis biseriatis luteis apice serratis. 
Cactus Scopa. Link enum. plant. hort. berol. ii. 21. 
Cereus Scopa. Princeps Salm- Dyck in DeCand. prodr. iii. 464. 
Echinocactus Scopa. Hort. Berol. fide Pfeiffer Cact. p. 66. 
A native of Brazil, whence it was many years since sent 
to Prussia, and thence distributed through other parts of 
Europe. It derives its name of the Broom Cactus from 
having the hairs of its stem so long and stiff as to resemble 
that instrument. Dr. Pfeiffer mentions two varieties, one 
with all the hairs white, the other with the central ones 
purple, as in the accompanying figure. 
The latter was taken from a specimen which flowered in 
the valuable collection of Thomas Harris, Esq. of Kingsbury. 
Some explanation of my having placed this plant and the 
two species formerly represented in this work, in the same 
genus, seems to be required. After eliminating the Melo- 
cacti because of their producing their flowers in the woolly 
receptacle peculiar to those plants, the Mammillarias on 
account of their tubercles not being confluent into ridges, 
and the Opuntias because of their rotate flowers and leafy 
spiny sepals, there remains a considerable number of species 
formerly included under the old genus Cactus, which modern 
writers have divided between the two genera Cereus and 
Echinocactus. Now this partition may be effected in two 
May, 1839. K 
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