CACTEÆ. VI. Opuntia. VII. PERESKIA. 
Unarmed Indian-fig. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1796. Sh. 2 to 3 ft. 
38 O. Amycræ'a (Tenore, fl. neap. append. 5. p. 15.) joints . 
orbicular or elliptic, very broad, flat, compressed; prickles 
strong, diverging, white, without any wool at their base. . F. 
Native of the kingdom of Naples, near Amyclea, and at Monticelli 
and Portella, on calcareous rocks. Joints 10 inches broad, and 
15 inches long. Prickles 6-18 lines long, but sometimes want- 
ing altogether. Flowers yellow. Fruit reddish yellow. Per- 
haps the same as O. maxima, Salm-Dyck. 
Amyclea Indian-fig. Shrub 2 to 4 feet. 
39 O. ruBE'scens (Salm-Dyck in litt. 1827. ex D.C. prod. 
8. p. 474.) plant erect; joints elongated, compressed, reddish 
green, somewhat tuberculately areolate, unarmed ; leaves small, 
reddish, at the base of the white tomentum. h.-D.S. Native 
of Brazil. This ‘plant is very showy when young, being of a 
reddish-colour, and the stem flat and elongated, nearly as in O. 
spinosissima, but absolutely without spines. 
Reddish Indian-fig. Shrub 1 to 2 feet. 
40 O. cra’ssa (Haw. suppl. p. 81.) plant erect ; joints ovate or 
oblong, very thick, full of a fleshy substance ; fascicles of bris- 
tles minute, unarmed, yellowish. }.D.S. Native of Mexico. 
Thick Indian-fig. Clt. 1817. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 
41 O. vutea‘ris (Mill. dict. ed. 8. no. 1. Haw. syn. 190.) 
plant diffusely prostrate, rooting; joints ovate; prickles un- 
equal, very short, and very numerous. %.H. Native of North 
America, in the southern states; plentiful in the neighbourhood 
of New York, &c.; and now frequent in the south of Europe. 
Hook. bot. mag. 2393. Cactus Opantia, Lin. spec. 669. Cactus 
Opintia vulgaris et nana, D. C. pl. grass. no. 138. with a table. 
—Mill. fig. t.191. Flowers yellow, spreading. 
Common Indian-fig or Prickly-pear. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1596. 
Shrub 4 to 1 foot, but usually prostrate and rooting. 
42 O. Hernanpe'zu (D.C. diss. t. 16.) plant erect; joints 
thick, roundish-obovate, nearly unarmed; flowers expanded ; 
stamens shorter than the style and petals. k.D.S. Native of 
Mexico. Cactus cochinillifera, Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. icon. 
ined. Nopal Nochatzli, Hern. mex. 78. with a figure, and 489. 
f. 1. Nopal sylvéstre, Thierry-Menonv. voy. Guax. 2. p. 277. 
with a figure. According to Thierry, the flowers on the same 
plant vary from purplish to rose-colour, and greyish lilac. The 
cochineal thrives well on this species. 
Hernandez’s Indian-fig. Clt. 1827. 
Secr. V. TenuíLosæ (from tenuis, thin, and lobus, a lobe ; 
lobes of plant flat and thin). D.C. prod. 3. p. 474. Stems 
terete, when young. Joints flat, membranous. 
43 O. Brasitie'nsis (Willd. enum. suppl. 33. under Cactus) 
stem terete: joints of branches compressed, flat, ovate ; spines 
strong, solitary. h. D. S. Native of Brazil. Cactus para- 
dóxus, Horn. hort. hafn. 2. p. 443.—Hoffims. verz. 1826. p. 72. 
Pis. bras. p. 100. f. 2. Flowers yellow. 
Brasilian Indian-fig. Fl. Jul. Aug. Clt.1816. 
+ The following species are only known by name, not having 
been described. 
1 O. leucdntha, Hort. berol. 
Shrub 1 foot. 
Sh. 4 to 6 ft. 
2 O. alata, Hort. berol. 
4 O. subinérmis, Link. 5 O. 
6 O. sericea, Gill. (under 
The species of Indian-fig are of very easy culture: 
the soil recommended for Mammillaria will suit them; and in 
order to propagate them, the branches should be separated at 
the joints, and allowed to lie a few days to dry after being so se~ 
parated, and when stuck into the earth they will soon strike root. 
VII. PERE’SKIA (named by Plumier in honour of Nicholus 
Fabr. Peiresk, senator of Aix in Provence, who collected a con- 
175 
siderable library and herbarium, but published nothing). Plum. 
gen. p. 35. t. 26. Lin. gen. ed. 1. no. 402. Mill. dict. Haw. 
syn. 197. D. C. prod. 3. p. 474. 
Lin. syst. IJcosdndria, Monogiynia. Sepals numerous, ad- 
nate to the ovarium, and often remaining on the fruit, leaf- 
formed. Corolla rotate, nearly as in Opintia. Stamens nu- 
merous, much shorter than the petals. Style filiform; stigmas 
collected, in a spiral manner. Berry globose or ovate. Seeds 
imbedded in the pulp.—Shrubs or trees. Branches terete. 
Prickles solitary at the axils of the leaves, and in fascicles on the 
stem. Leaves distinct, flat, larger than those of any other 
genus in the present order. Flowers somewhat panicled, soli- 
tary, terminating the branches, or rather lateral.—Peréschia, 
Thierry Menonvy. voy. guax. 2. p. 275. is probably a species of 
Opintia. 
1 P. acurza‘ta (Mill. dict. Haw. syn. 198.) leaves elliptic ; 
prickles solitary, in the axils of the leaves, but becoming at 
length in fascicles on the stems; flowers rather panicled ; fruit 
globose, bearing the foliaceous sepals. h.D.S. Native of 
the West Indies, where it is called American or Barbadoes 
Gooseberry by the inhabitants, and by the Dutch Blood-apple. 
Plum. gen. t. 26.—Dill. hort. elth. t. 227. f. 294. Cactus 
Peréskia, Lin. spec. 671. Prickles half an inch long. Buds 
rather woolly. Flowers white. Fruit yellowish, edible. 
Prickly Barbadoes-gooseberry. Fl. Oct. Nov. Clt. 1696. 
Shrub 5 to 7 feet. 
2 P. roneispina (Haw. syn. 178.) leaves elliptic; prickles 
twin, an inch and a half long, very woolly. k.D. S. Native 
of South America. P. aculeata 6, longispina, D. C. prod. 3. 
p. 475. 
Long-spined Barbadoes-gooseberry. Shrub 4 to 6 feet. 
3 P. Breo (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 69.) leaves 
oblong, acuminated ; prickles axillary, 5-6 in a fascicle; flowers 
2-4 together at the tops of the branches, each on a short pedun- 
cle ; petals obovate, retuse. h. D. S. Native of New Gra- 
nada, on the banks of the river Magdalena, near Badilla, where 
it is called Bleo by the inhabitants. Lindl. bot. reg. 1473. 
Flowers pale red. Stamens also red, but white at the base. 
Stigma 5-7-cleft. 
Bleo Barbadoes-gooseberry. 
8 to 10 feet. 
4 P. nórrIDa (H. B. et Kunth, l. p. 70.) leaves oblong, acute 
at both ends; spines 1-3 together, subulate, in the woolly axils 
of the leaves ; flowers 2-5 together, axillary, pedunculate, rising 
above the spines. h. D.S. Native of South America, in the 
province of Jaen de Bracamoros, on the banks of the Amazon. 
Flowers small, red. Stigma 3-4-cleft. 
Horrid Barbadoes-gooseberry. Shrub or tree. 
5 P. porTULACÆFÒLIA (Haw. syn. 199. in a note) leaves obo- 
vate-cuneated ; prickles solitary, under the leaves, but at length 
coming in fascicles on the stem; flowers solitary; petals emar- 
ginate ; fruit globose, retuse, naked. h. D.S. Native of the 
West Indies.—Plum. ed. Burm. 197. f. 1. Cactus portulaci- 
folius, Lin. spec. 671. Lun. hort. jam. 2. p. 256. About the 
size of an apple-tree. Prickles blackish. Flowers terminal, 
purple; petals roundish. Fruit umbilicate, greenish, with white 
flesh, and numerous black seeds. 
Purslane-leaved Barbadoes-gooseberry. Clt. 
20 to 30 feet. 
6 P. zinnizriora (D. C. diss. t. 17.) leaves ovate, acute, 
undulated ; prickles axillary, twin: but at length somewhat fas- 
ciculate on the stem, about the cicatrices occasioned by the 
falling of the leaves; flowers solitary, terminal; petals obcor- 
date; ovarium bearing the sepals. kh. D. S. Native of 
Mexico. Cactus zinnizefldrus, Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. icon. 
ined. Flowers of a deep reddish-violet colour, greenish on the 
Fl- Oct. Jan. | Cht: 1827. = Pl: 
1820. Tree 
