I02 



THE CACTACEAE:. 



7 



1909. 



Cereus dumortieri Schcidweiler, Hort. Beige 4: 220. 1837. 



Often tree-like, 6 to 15 meters high, the trunk proper short, 6 to 10 dm. long, 3 dm. in diameter 

 or more, woody; branches many, erect almost from the first, with numerous constrictions, very 



green 



gray 



and in length, 10 to 20 radials, i central or more, the longer ones often 4 cm. long, all at first straw- 

 colored but in age blackened; flowers 5 cm. long, the tube and ovary bearing small ovate scales with 

 bunches of felt and occasionally bristles in their axils, the limb about 2.5 cm. broad; fruit oblong, 

 small, 3 to 4 cm. long, reddish within, not spiny, its areoles nearly contiguous, felted; seeds brown- 

 ish, 1.5 mm. long, dull, roughened. 



Type locality: Incorrectly given as Buenos Aires (see note below). 



ral Mexico. 



drawn from numerous specimens 



Mexico 



from 



description alone one can hardly be certain. It ranges over a considerable territory, but is 

 never abundant, being found generally as large iso- 

 lated individuals on the sides of rocky hills and cliffs. 



Greenhouse plants much resemble Pachycereus 

 marginatuSy and both species have small flowers; 



but the wild plants are very unlike and the fruit 

 and seeds differ widely. 



Although Schcidweiler in his original descrip- 

 tion of this species referred it to *' Buenos Ayres," 

 he doubtless made a mistake, as he must have done 

 in his reference of Mammillaria obconella in the 

 same publication. The original description does 

 not correspond to any known South American 

 cactus, but does represent fairly well our central 



name 



In 1845 the species was listed by Salm-Dyck (Cact. 

 Hort. Dyck. 1844. 30) as from the Belgian Gar- 

 dens (H. Belg.). In 1850 (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 

 1849. 210) he published an original description 

 apparently based on the Belgian specimens; but 

 evidently he had forgotten the older publication. 

 Schumann and most writers since 1850 have 



assigned Prince Salm-Dyck 

 as the author of this spe- 

 cies. Weber (Diet. Hort. 

 Bois 279. 1895) seems to 



Fig. 153. — Lemaireocereus dumortieri. 



Fk;. 152. — Fruit of Lemaire- 

 ocereus dumortieri. X0.8. 



17: 116. 1828) is doubtfully referred here 



ies to Mexico 

 (Mem. Mus. Hist. ^ 



Schumann 



If it 



should prove to be 



name 



same, it would, of course, supplant the 



Mem 



Its two varieties, ortholophus and suhspiralis (De 



here also. 



determine 



sometimes 



very small 



Illustration: Hort. Beige 4: pi. 15, as Cereus dumortieri. 



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