Griffiths — Xew Species of Opuntia. 11 



to 7 mm. long, and tips lic^hter colored, nearly uniformly scattered 

 thronj?hout the areoles, the tips of the tufts measuring 10 to 12 mm. in 

 spread ; spines very few, only an occasional one on an occasional areola, 

 brown, sloping down, 1 to 2 cm. long; flowers yellow with greenish centre 

 9 cm. in diameter, filaments greenish tinged, style white, stigma dark 

 green, subglobose, 8 to 10-parted; fruit pyriform, deep purplish-red all 

 the way through, having a little bloom up to early maturity. 



The type is preserved under my inventory number 10,300, and was col- 

 lected near Laredo, Texas, June 26, 1911. The description was drawn 

 from cultivated plants grown at Chico, California, May 21, 1914. The 

 distinguishing characters of the species are prominent, brown, abundant 

 spicules, pointed joints, and remarkably few spines. It differs from 

 Opuntia tardospina in being smaller in stature throughout, in being 

 almost spineless even in age, and in having differently shaped joints. 



Opuntia cretochaeta sp. nov. 



Plants tall, arborescent, open-branched, 4 m. high or more in nature, 

 with a distinct cylindrical trunk a meter or more long; joints obovate, 

 17 by 32 cm., widest at or aV)ove the middle, usually broadly rounded 

 above and narrowed below, yellowish-green at maturity, but dark green 

 when young, especially in shaded portions, smooth; areoles obovate, 

 about 4 by 5 mm. and 3 to ?>% cm. apart, at first prominent, turning 

 gray; leaves conical, 4 mm. long, cuspidate; spicules light-yellow, not 

 conspicuous until toward close of growing season but then becoming for- 

 midable in a large compact tuft, 5 mm. long in the upper portion of 

 areoles, increasing greatly in length and numbers in age; spines white, 

 at first, single porrect, then 2 and spreading, but at 1 year of age 3 to 5 

 spreading, the longest 4 or 5 cm. in length, the others shorter, flattened, 

 twisted, and variously bent, increasing greatly in length and numbers in 

 age, often becoming 6 or 7 cm. in length, and 12 to 18 in number, often 

 in transversely elongated areoles a cm. in width at 4 years of age; flowers 

 deep orange-red when opened, dark greenish red with tinge of purple in 

 bud, b% cm. in diameter when fully opened; filaments greenish below 

 and white with very faint reddish tinge above, style bright glossy red, 

 with tinge of purple at top, stigma very light greenish with slight purplish 

 tinge on side of dorsal groove, 6-parted; ovary obovate to clavate, 28 by 

 50 mm., tubercular-raised at areoles, with small brown areoles 1% mm. 

 in diameter, 8 mm. apart ; fruit light purplish-red, the entire surface areo- 

 lated, bearing commonly 1 white spine in upper areole, obovate, about 

 ^% by 5 cm. 



This species was collected originally near Dublan, Mexico, August 31, 

 1906, under my inventory number 8465. It has been grown at Chico, 

 California, as well as at Brownsville and San Antonio, Texas. 



Opuntia eocarpa sp. nov. 



A reclining to ascending, spreading shrub, 75 cm. high and 150 cm. or 

 more in spread, the main branches commonly resting on their edges and 



