lO 



THE CACTACEAK. 



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Series LTYPICAE. 



Consists of only the typical species, which is widely distributed, and much cultivated through- 

 out tropical America. Schumann regarded it as a subgenus under the name Eupereskia. 



1. Pereskia pereskia (Linnaeus) Karsten, Deutsch. Flora 888. 1882. 



Cactus pereskia Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 469. 1753. - » 

 ^Pereskia aculeala Miller, Gard. Diet. ed. 8. 1768, / 

 < Cactus lucidus Salisbury, Prodr. 349. 1796. 

 ^Pereskia hngispina Haworth. Syn. PL Succ. 178. 1812. 



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Pereskia aculeata hngispina De CandoUe, Prodr. 3: 475. 1828. 

 Pereskia fragrans Lemaire, Hort. Univ. 2: 40. 1841. 

 Pereskia undulata Lemaire, Illustr. Hort. 5: Misc. 11. 1858. 

 Pereskia Joetens Spegazzini in Weingart, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 14: 134. 

 Pereskia godseffiana Sander, Gard. Chron. III. 43: 257. 1908. 



1904 



Shrub, at first erect, but the branches often long, clambering, and forming vines 3 to 10 

 meters long; spines on lower part of stem solitary or 2 or 3 together, slender and straight; spines 

 in the axils of the leaves paired, rarely in threes, short, recurved ; leaves short-petioled, lanceolate 

 to oblong, or ovate, short-acuminate at the apex, tapering or rounded at base, 7 cm. long or less; 

 flowers in panicles or corymbs, white, pale yellow, or pinkish, 2.5 to 4.5 cm. broad; ovary leafy and 

 often spiny; fruit light yellow, 1.5 to 2 cm. in diameter, when mature quite smooth; seeds black, 

 somewhat flattened, 4 to 5 mm. in diameter; hilum basal, circular, depressed, or crater-shaped. 



The plant and fruit have several common names, one of which, blade apple, was in use 

 as early as 1697. Lemon vine, Barbados gooseberry, and West Indian gooseberry are three 



modifications. In Argentina it is called sacharosa, 



Hooker 



Joseph Hooker (Curtis's Bot. Mag. 116: pi. 7147), but this name 

 ' to the P. sacharosa of Grisebach 



The berries are eaten throughout the West Indies and the leaves are used as a pot herb 

 in Brazil. The species was in cultivation in the Royal Gardens of Hampton Court in 1696 

 and has been at Kew ever since its estabhshment in 1760, but did not flower until 1889. 

 In Washington we have one plant among a dozen which flowers abundantly each year ; 

 three plants at New York bloom annually. 



In tropical America the plant climbs over walls, rocks, and trees, and at flowerine time 



blossoms 



almost 



•h 



In La Plata it is grown sometimes for hedges (see fig. i), but its strong, 

 odor makes it objectionable for growing near habitations. 



Type locality: Tropical America. 



pistribution: West Indies and along the east and north coasts of South America; found 

 also in Florida and Mexico, but perhaps only as an escape; widely grown for its fruit. ^ 



. 1 f !i!^^^'''^' ''''"'''^' ""^ '^"^^'^^ ^^^^'' differing in shape and size of the leaves and in 

 color of the flowers. One of these races, with ovate-orbicular leaves rounded at the base, 



int et" : r^^^^^ Z'^ '^ ,^"l^-^^--' b-t in October 1916, while collecting 



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Puerto Cabello. 



form common 



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Enum 



-rcsha lauceolata Forster, Handb. Cact. 513. ,846), P. acardia Parmentier (Pfeiffer, 

 (.act. 176. 1837) and P. brasiliensis Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. 176. 1837), usually 



TW„,7"°"^'"" °f- "["'"""■ ""^ ""' f°™^"y published in the places above cited 

 .Itoi Pf Jff"^ varieties based on the shape of the leaves, are recorded under P. aculeala: 



(Enum 



176. 



name only) ; rohmdijolia Pfeiffer (Enum Cac 

 Nicholson 589. 1901) is perhaps the same as 7 



Peresha aculeata rubescens Pfeiffer (Enum 

 green leaves above, tinged with red beneath 



Near the last belongs Pereskia godseffiai 

 Chronicle m 1908. It is a very attractive 



'Jolia Salm-Dyck (Hort. Dyck 



i834» 



176. 1837); rotunda (Suppl. Diet. Gard. 



tundif 



1837) is described with glaucous- 



sport in the Gardeners' 

 often forming a round, 



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