OPUNTIA. 



159 



OPUNTIA ASSUMPTIONS Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 9: 153. 1899. 



Erect, i meter high; joints obovate, narrowed at base, thickish; spines at areoles on the faces 

 of the joints none, but on the edges i or 2, stout, subulate, the upper one stouter, 3 to 4.5 cm. long; 

 flower 3.5 cm. long, lemon-yellow; fruit pear-shaped, with a deep umbilicus; seeds densely villous. 



Type locality: Ascuncion, Paraguay. 

 Distribution: Known only from the type locality. 



OPUNTIA CANTERAI Arechavaleta, Anal. Mus. Nac. Montevideo 3: 278. 1905. 



Stems erect, branching, 5 to 10 dm. high; joints elongated, shining green, attenuate below, 

 15 to 20 cm. long, 4 to 6 cm. broad; areoles orbicular, when young each surrounded by a violet 

 spot, mostly spineless, about 4 cm. apart; spines, when present, i or 2 from an areole, 1.5 to 2 cm. 

 long, whitish, with brownish tips; flowers orange-colored, 4 to 4.5 cm. broad; stigma-lobes 6 or 7, 

 light flesh-colored; fruit somewhat pear-shaped, 5 cm. long; seeds flattened. 



Type locality: In Uruguay. 

 Distribution: Along the coast of Uruguay. 

 In Uruguay this species flowers in January and Feb- 

 ruary. 



Series 14. SCHEERIANAE. 



A single bushy species, with broad, thin, persistent joints, the 

 areoles close together, each bearing several yellow, acicular 

 spines and long white or yellow hairs. Its. home is unknown. 



170. Opuntia scheeri Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 895. 1898. 



About i meter high, branching at base, the lower branches 

 sprawling over the ground; joints oblong to orbicular, 1.5 to 3 

 dm. long, bluish green; areoles circular, elevated, filled with 

 short brown wool; spines 10 to 12, yellow, acicular, each sur- 

 rounded by a row of long white or yellow hairs; flowers large, 

 pale yellow, but in age salmon-colored; stigma-lobes deep 

 green; fruit globular, red, juicy, truncate; seed small, 4 mm. 

 broad, with a broad irregular margin. 



Type locality: In Mexico. 



Distribution: Mexico, but known to us only from 

 cultivated specimens. 



This is a very beautiful species, covered as it is by yellow spines and long hairs. A 

 fine plant is growing in the open at La Mortola, Italy. The seedlings produce a long mass 

 of soft white hairs almost covering the joints and giving an appearance very different from 

 the adult plant. In this young stage, according to Mr. Alwin Berger, they readily pass 

 for Opuntia scnilis (O. crinifera). 



Figure 198 represents a joint from a specimen sent from I/a Mortola, Italy, in 1912. 



Series 15. DILLENIANAE. 



Mostly bushy or tall species, with large, flat, persistent joints, and yellow spines which are 

 sometimes brown at base, some species spineless or nearly so. We recognize thirteen species as 

 composing the series, but many more have been described. The plants inhabit the southern United 

 States, the West Indies, Mexico, and northern .South America. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



Spines nearly setaceous, most of them reflexed 171. 0. chlorotica 



Spines, when present, acicular to subulate. 



Joints spineless, or with only i or 2 spines at some of the areoles, or spines very short. 

 Corolla rotate; petals yellow. 



Plant tall; spines, when present, 2 cm. long or less 172. O. laevis 



Plant depressed, bushy or spreading; spines, when present, up to 7 cm. long .... 173. O. stricta 



Corolla cup-shaped; petals salmon 1730. O. keyensis 



Joints usually manifestly spiny ; spines mostly 2 or more at the areoles. 



Spines mostly stout, commonly flattened 174. O. dillenii 



Spines acicular to subulate, terete, or slightly flattened at the base. 





FIG. 198. Opuntia scheeri. Xo.5. 



