Tas. 4562. 
ECHINOCACTUS srrerrocauton. 
Spiral-stemmed Echinocactus. 
Nat. Ord. Cactem.—Icosanpria Monoeynia. 
Gen. Char, (Vide supra, Tas. 4124.) 
Ecutnocactus streptocaulon; erectus (sesquipedalis) columnari-cylindraceus 
12~14-sulcatus spiraliter tortus (nune proliferus), angulis suleisque acutis, 
areolis approximatis nudis (lana nulla) 8-aculeatis, aculeis fuscis rectis 7 
patenti-radiatis mediocribus, unico centrali triplo majore verticali, floribus 
3~4 terminalibus vix spinas superantibus flavis, petalis spathulato-lanceo- 
latis, stigmatibus 9—-12-linearibus staminibus longioribus. 
A very distinct species of the genus Hchinocactus, if we judge 
from the flowers ; but almost a Cereus in the elongated habit of 
the plant, which we purchased from Mr. Bridges, who had 
brought it from Bolivia. We find nothing like it anywhere 
described, and have named it from the remarkably spirally 
twisted character of the stem, without, however, holding our- 
selves responsible that this is a constant or permanent mark of 
distinction. It flowered in the Cactus-house of the Royal 
Gardens, in August 1845. 
Descr. Our plant is a foot and a half high, erect, columnar, 
cylindrical or a little contracted towards the base, occasionally 
proliferous, obtuse and woolly at the top, the sides fluted with 
twelve to fourteen spirally twisted, rather acute rds, the furrows 
also acute. _Areole densely crowded, often almost touching one 
another, and forming a nearly orbicular dark-coloured disc, free 
from wool, and bearing generally eight straight, palish brown 
spines : of these, seven outer are nearly equal, half an inch long, 
forming a spreading ray, while from the centre, one spine, twice 
or thrice the size of the rest, stands out vertically. From the 
woolly crown on the summit appear three or four yellow flowers, 
scarcely rising above the wool and not so long as the ve an 
inch or an inch and a quarter in diameter, entirely of a sulphur- 
FEBRUARY Ist, 1851. 
