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TH^ CACTACEAE. 



Santo Domingo, this is the dominant cactus, forming dense, im 



thickets on th^ low coastal plain. In the wild state the Azua plant has the joints often 

 Ironzed or purple. On Tortola and St. Thomas it occurs with O. dillenu and 0. repens, 



and is there called bull suckers. . * o i. 



Figure 143 is from a photograph taken by Paul G. Russell m 1913 near Azua, Santo 



Domingo; figure 144 represents joints of the type plant. 

 103a. Opuntia caracasana Salm-Dyck. (See Appendix, p. 219.) 



104. Opuntia wentiana 



300 



1 9 13. Not O. tunoidea 



Plant erect, much branched, i to 2 meters high- jomts obovate to eliptic rather thm. up^ to 

 2S cm long, usually rounded at apex, pale green, slightly glaucous; termmal joints somewhat fragile 

 leaves smaU and subulate; spines on young joints usually 3, afterwards 4 or 5, when young pale yellow 

 but soon white ; flowers small, 6 to 7 cm. long including the ovary; petals pale yellow, 3 cm. long. 



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obovate, acute; style cream-colored; fruit small, red. 



Type locality: Curasao. 



Margarita 



and Aruba. \, . r - c ■^^ \t 



Dr Rose found this plant repeatedly in Venezuela and writes of it as follows: Very 



common not only on the savannas along the coast but also on the neighboring hills along 

 with Lemaireocereus, Cephalocerens, and other cactus genera; its more or less fragile joints, 

 yellowish spines, bushy stature, and structure of flowers ally it with the Tunae. 



This species has been confused with the Jamaican Opuntia tuna (Lmnaeus) Miller, 

 which it resembles. Named in honor of Professor F. A. F. C. Went, distinguished 

 Dutch botanist. , 



104a. Opuntia aequatorialis sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 219.) 

 105. Opuntia decumbens Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 361. 1834. 



Opunlia puberula Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 156. 1837. 



Stems low, often creeping or trailing, rarely over 4 dm. high ; joints i to 2 dm. long, oval to 

 oblong, covered with a short, soft pubescence; areole usually small, surrounded by a purple blotch, 

 bearing yellow glochids and wool, the wool cobweb-like on very young joints; spines often wanting, 

 usually solitary but sometimes numerous, slender or rather stout, 4 cm. long and yellow; flowers 

 numerous, small, including the ovary about 4 cm. long; petals dark yellow; fruit deep purple, very 

 juicy; seeds about 4 mm. broad. 



Type locality: In Mexico. 



Distribution: Guatemala and Mexico as far north as Mazatlan aiid Tamaulipas. 



Opuntia repens Karwinsky (Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 361. 1834) and O. irrorata Mar- 

 tins are usually given as synonyms of this species, but as they were printed without 

 descriptions, they should hardly be referred to synonymy. 



The species has long been in cultivation, a colored illustration having been published 

 in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1841. It grows luxuriously in greenhouses, flowering 



profusely in the spring. 



We have referred here Opuntia puberula Pfeiffer, which seems to be different from the 



Pfeiffer's original description, based upon 

 iws: Joints thick, obovate, 7.5 to 12.5 cm. 



name 



may 



cm. broad, puberulent, green; areoles somewhat remote 



slender 



mm. lone : leaves 4. mm 



Labouret's description of 1853, of O. puberula Pfeiffer, is very similar 



cm 



very 



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