356 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
Chihuahua, and occurs also in the hot canyons cutting the west side of the Sierra Madre 
in adjoining parts of southern Sonora. The species is much less abundant, even within 
its restricted range in the Peninsula, than P. calvus. It differs from calvus conspicu- 
ously in the stems, being more cylindrical, less contracted near the base, and less 
expanded toward the tops. It varies in height from 4.5 to 7.5 meters or more. Unlike 
calvus, which is more generally distributed, it is found mainly along arroyos, or on the 
lower more sandy land. Palmer, who collected the type material, stated that the 
Indians grind the seed to mix with their meal, and use the bristly covering of the fruit 
aga hair brush. Specimens were collected by us in fruit on the road from San Pedro 
to Tres Pachitas, December 24, and in flower near Cape San Lucas, December 29, 
Pachycereus orcutti(K. Brandeg.) Britt. & Rose. 
Described from a plant obtained by Mr. C. R. Orcutt near Rosario in May, 1886. A 
few giant cactuses noted by us at 900 meters elevation on warm southwest slopes of 
the San Pedro Martir Mountains between Santo Tomas and San Antonio were probably 
of this species and approach the northern limit of the range of the genus on the western 
slope. A few others were seen along the road from Socorro to Rosario, very near the 
type locality. No specimens of this little known species were collected by us, its 
close resemblance to P. pringlei in the field leading us to assume that the two were the 
same. Giant cactuses of several species range in the area from near Rosario to Cape 
San Lucas, and the southern limit of orcutti has not been determined. 
Pereskiopsis brandegei (Schum.) Britt. & Rose. ALCAJER, 
The “alcajer,’’ as this peculiar cactus is locally called, was first noted by us near 
Mantancita and was seen a few times at low elevations between this point and the 
type locality, Cape San Lucas, and on Espfritu Santo Island. No fruit or flowers were 
seen until January 30, when a fine plant in fruit was found on the road near El Triunfo. 
This plant had a somewhat sinuous basal stem, perhaps an inch in diameter, which 
extended from the ground into the lower branches of a small tree and there subdivided 
into 6 main branches, which ramified throuzh the top of the tree. The tips of the 
branches are rather heavy and show a tendency to hang downward. The height of 
the plant was that of the tree, about 6 meters. The fruit is said to be edible, but very 
sour. Allied species occur in Sinaloa and other parts of Mexico and in Guatemala. 
Wilcoxia striata (T. S. Brandeg.) Britt. & Rose. 
JARRAMATRACA. RACAMATRACA. 
Under various local names this slender little cactus is well known to the people in 
southern Lower California. It occurs also in Sonora. We first noticed it on the 
Vizcaino Desert, near the eastern base of the Santa Clara Mountains, where our men 
called it “‘jarramatraca.’’ It was noted in a number of places on the plains near the 
Pacific coast from this point southward to San José del Cabo, the type locality. At 
Matancita it was called ‘“racamatraca,” and here, during our visit in the middle of 
November, many of the plants were bearing bright red and fully ripe fruit. The fruit 
is large for so small a species. North of La Paz this cactus was seen only on the coastal 
plains, but near the Cape it grows also at the lower elevations on the basal slope of 
hills, The plants are inconspicuous, the slender stems usually rising from the ground 
near the base of some shrub and finding partial support upon the branches. Three or 
four tubers resembling sweet potatoes radiate from the base of each plant 3 or 4 inches 
below the surface of the ground. In one instance these tubers were examined a few 
days after a rain, when the soil surrounding them had already become thoroughly dry. 
Their tenderness made removal difficult without breakage. On being bruised or 
broken water stored in them flowed very freely. Near San Ignacio we were told that 
the tubers are sometimes crushed and a cloth saturated with the juice applied to the 
chest for lung troubles. 
