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ILLUSTRATED STUDIES IN THE GENUS OPUNTIA. 263 



I 



variable In spine characters, some plants being nearly spine- 

 less, but usually the spicules are never absent. 



The original description was drawn at Estansuela in 

 western Jalisco, Mexico, from plants in bloom. This was 

 subsequently compared with plants at Guadalajara, and still 

 further amended by a second visit to the latter place during 

 maturity of the fruit. A name indicating a sooty appear- 

 ance is preferred for this species on account of its prevalence, 

 although this condition is evidently not normal. 



The type is no. 7715 D, G., collected near Guadalajara, 



Mexico, April, 1905 —Plate 25. 



Opuntia Cochinera sp. nov. 



A low, rather compactly branched, turgid species, 8 to 12 dm. high, 

 with broadly obovatc, thick, turgid joints commonly 20 by 28 cm., but 

 sometimes 25 by 40 cm., dull green when young, glaucous waxy when 

 mature, and turning to a scurfy brown with age; areoles 1.5 to 4 cm. 

 apart, circular to obovate, 3 to 6 mm. by 3 to 5 mm. in young joints, 

 but increasing to nearly one cm. in diameter in age, reddish brown when 

 young, but turning to a dirty gray, slightly convex; spicules very rare on 

 the joints, an occasional areole with a bunch of long yellow ones, 3 mm. long, 

 with remainder of joint devoid of them; spines white becoming mottled 

 gray with age, flattened and often twisted, erect-divergent, but often 

 with a strong tendency to be recurved, 3 to 6 on this and last years' joints, 

 but often 15 to 20 on older wood, about 2 cm. long on younger joints, and 

 3.5 to 4 cm. long on older wood; flowers yellow; fruit red, subglobose, 

 5 to 6 cm. in diameter, with thick, heavy rind, circular areoles 3 mm. in 

 diameter and 8 to 12 mm. apart, bearing short, yellow spicules about 2 mm. 

 long and a few longer, delicate fugacious spines; seeds large, strongly 

 angular, with heavy, irregular mar^nal thickening. 



This species has characters resembling those of very widely 

 differing species. Outwardly the fruit resembles that of 

 nopal aiion, a large robust species closely related to Opuntia 

 streptacantha. In form the joints resemble that species also, 

 but in color and texture they resemble those of nopal tapon, 

 0. rohusta. The spines and spicules resemble those of tapon 

 quite closely, except in numbers and size. On the herbarium 

 sheet the joint looks like a short, stout, white spined form of 



tapon. 



The description was drawn beside the plant in the field. 



Tho snecific name is considered by the Mexicans to be de- 



