PliRESKlA. 



9 



Type species: 



pcreskia Linnaeus 



names 



that year, Karl Schumann accepted only 1 1 species. Several new ones have been proposed 



The 



ion of Schumann's monograph. 



are native in Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, 



South 



America. Some of the species are much 



Epipl 

 grandifoHa 



cacti requiring this 



P 



Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals in 

 tropical regions; they do not flower freely under glass in northern latitudes. All species 



studied by us in the Hving state grow readily from cuttings. 



Europe from the West 



Indies in the latter part of the sixteenth century. A straight-spined species was first 



L 



by Commerson as an apple {Mains). In 1703 C. Plumicr described the genus Pcreskia, 

 basing it upon a single species. The genus was repeatedly recognized by Linnaeus in his 



some ore-Lmnacan botanists, but m 1753 unnaeus merge 



into Cactus along with 



number 



well-established genera; but it was 



Miller in 1754 in the fourth edition (abridged) of his Gardeners' Dic- 

 tionary and has since been generally recognized as a genus by botanical and horticultural 

 authors. 



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name 



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Key to Species. 



Climbing vines, the twigs with a shflrt pair of rcflexed spines from each areole, the stem with 



acicular spines (Scries i. Typicae) I. P. pereskta 



Shrub or trees with slender straight spines (Series 2. GrandifoHac). 



Petals toothed or fimbriate. p n..f.,.^^nh\ 



Petals somewhat toothed 



''"^"tetm- Mexico ; ovary turbinate 3. ^. '.^*««^J<.™ 



Species from Costa Rica; ovary pynforni 4- ^- mcoyana 



Petals entire, at least not fimbriate. ^ , , • e P r^h«f«rrl 



Branches and leaves very easily detached 5- ^ • zeimmcn 



Branches and leaves not easily detached. 



Axils of sepals bearing long hairs and bristles. ^^A,nrn,n 



Leaves lanceolate ^- ^^ TJ'rA 



Leaves orbicular • • • ' 



Axils of sepals not bearing long hairs and bristles. ^ ^ iceheriana 



Flowers white • 



Flowers not white. 



Leaves Ian eolate to oblong or obovate 9- P- guamacho 



Leaves orbicular or broadly ovate ^o. P. colombiana 



Petals red or Purpje. . _ p fampicana 



Spmes few or none ^ 



Very spiny, at least on old branches. 

 Flowers terminal. 



Flowers panicled. _ , , 



Fruit naked, broadly truncate J2. r. bleo 



Fruit leaf-bearing, not truncate. » . l ■ • 



Leaves of ovary cuneate at base 13- P- bahtensis 



Leaves of ovary broad at base H- -P- grandif,jia 



Flowers sohtary '5- P- zmmacflora 



Flowers usually axillary and sohtary. 



Leaves i cm. long or longer, obtuse or acute r n i ■ j 



Flowers 2 to 5 together, i cm. long; South American species. ... 16. P. horrida 

 Flowers solitary, 1.5 cm. long; petals elliptic -obovate; Cuban 



species '7- P- cuhensis 



I caves emarginate. i cm. long or less, petals obovate 18. P. portulacijolta 



, „ .^ , 19. P. conzatltt 



Affinity unknown 



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