OPUNTIA. 



97 





spiny ovary, about 6 cm. long; petals about 3 cm. long, drying reddish or reddish green; arcolcs of 



tips; fruit not known. 



below and with more or less yellowish 



Collected near Lake Buenos Aires, Territory of Santa Cruz, Argentina, December 12, 

 1908, by Carl Skottsberg (No. 675); and again on the Rio Fenix, north of the locality 

 above given, December 10, 1908 (No. 625, type). 



This species belongs to the subgenus Tephrocactus, but is not closely related to any of 

 the described species. The flower resembles very much the one figured by Ilenslow 

 as O. darwinii, and it is possible that he may have had some of this species in his 0. dar- 

 winii; the plant bodies, however, are so different that one could hardly confuse the two. 



Figure 1 14 is copied from a photograph of the type specimen above cited. 



72. Opuntia nigrispina Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 695. 1898. 



Opuntia purpurea R. E- Fries, Nov. Act. Soc. vSci. Upsal. IV. i^: 123. 1905. 



Described as a shrub, i to 2 dm. high and much branched, the branches upright; joints dull 

 green or reddish violet, 2 to 4 cm. long, i to 2 cm. in diameter, oblong-ellipsoid, terete, when young 

 bearing decurrent, spirally arranged tubercles; areoles 2 to 3 mm. in diameter, bearing abundant 



Fig. 114. — Opuntia skottsbcrgii. Fig. i 15.— Opuntia nigrispina. Xo.8. 



Fig. 116. — Opunlia pcntlandii. X0.4. 



wool and glochids; spines 3 to 5 from upper areoles, 2.5 to 3 cm. long, straight, spreading, subterete 

 weak, purplish black; flowers small, purple, 2.2 to 2.5 cm. long; petals spatulate, 1.5 cm. long, 6 



ovary 



Type 

 Distr 



of Humahuaca, Bolivia, 

 mountains, altitude 3,500 meters, J 



J. A. Shafer at La Q 



1845. 



southern Bolivia. 



Figure 115 represents a fruiting joint collected by 



tina, February 2, 19 17 (No. 79). 



73. Opuntia pentlandu Salm-Dyck, Allg. Gartenz. 13 : 387- 



Opunlia holiviana Salm-Dyck, Allg. Gartenz. 13:388. 1845. 



Opuntia pyrrhacantha Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 694- i89»- 



Opuntia dactylifera Vaupel, Bot. Jahrb. Engler Beibl. m: 29. '9i3- Ho^rintion ) 



opuntia cucumiformis Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43 : 524- >9i6. (From the description.} 



Plant much branched, forming low. rounded, compact "^"""^s somedmesameter bro^d^i^^^ 

 hundreds of short stubby branches; joints obovoid to oblong-cyhndnc pl""^p, 2 to io/^«^^Jon?: 



sometimes 4 dm. in diameter, more or less pointed, pale green or ^«";f J^^^^^^P^^P'^^^J^J^^^f^^^^^^ 

 ar^^ioo .^^^^ ^:.^..i.^ l^^^^A \.ri^u cTi,.rt wool and vellow dochids, the upper ones sometimes also 



upper 



havmg spines; spines sometimes wantmg, when present mu^uy """Z;"^ "f^^r" "; , ' i^n^'. flo^^^rs 

 usually bright yellow, sometimes brownish becommg dull brown, the longest one 7 cm. long, nosers 



