156 



Illustrations: Gaertri.'loc. cit.pl. 28. f. 1 ; Hook. Exot. Fl. 

 I : pi. 2 ; Lodd. Bot. Cab. pi 863 ; Hot. Mag. pi. joyp, 3080 ; 

 DC. PI. Grasses, //. 3p. 



Distribution: Cuba: Matanzas (Rugel 767; Britton & 

 Shafer 430) ; Madruga {Britton & Shofer ySS) ; Calicita near 

 Cienfuegos [Combs 470) ; vicinity of San Luis, Oriente [Pollard 

 & Palmer 336 ; Maxon 4012). Haiti: Port Margot to Corneil 

 (Nash 22S) ; La Brande to Mt. Balance (Nash & Taylor 1660). 

 Porto Rico: Yauco (Garter 63 ; Sintems 3823); between 

 Aibonito and Cayey (Heller 3 16) ; near Aibonito (Underwood & 

 Griggs 488). Jamaica : near Rio Grande Ford, Cuna Cuna 

 Trail (FreJholm 3207); Belvidere (Harris 7646); vicinity of 

 Castleton (Maxon 836); Moneague (E. G. Britton 2936). San 

 Luis Potosi, Mexico, to Costa Rica, Colombia, Bolivia, Vene- 

 zuela, and Brazil. Tropical Africa. Mauritius. Ceylon. 



The young shoots are often quite bristly, but the mature plant 

 becomes smooth ; flowers are sometimes developed before the 

 bristles fall away. In the West Indies the plant has not been 

 observed by me at a greater altitude than about 500 meters. 



2. Rhipsalis alata (S\v.) Sclium. Fl. Bras. 4 2 : 288. 1890 



Cactus alatus Sw. Prodr. 77 . 1788. 

 Cereus alatus DC. Prodr. 3 : 470. 1828. 

 Rhipsalis Swartziqua Pfeiff. Enum. 131. 1837. 

 Hariota alata Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 262. 1891. 

 Rhipsalis H arrisii Giirke, Monats. Kakt. 18: 180. 1908. 



Pendent from trees and on rocks, sometimes 5 meters long, 

 with several long branches ; joints broadly linear, lanceolate or 

 linear-oblong, often constricted at the middle or above it, bluntish 

 at the apex, decurrent below into a stipe- like base, rather fleshy, 

 bright green, about 1 mm. thick, 2-4 dm. long, 4-6 cm. wide, 

 the midvein prominent and stout, the margins crenate-undulate, 

 the lower crenations 1-2 cm. long, the upper ones 4-8 mm. long, 

 the main lateral veins ending in the suiuscs ; flowers yellowish- 

 white, about 15 mm. long; petals 10, lanceolate, acutish, the 

 outer slightly longer than the- inner, erect and nearly parallel ; 

 stamens numerous, about one half as long as the petals ; style 

 slender, about three times as long as the five linear stigmas ; 

 erry ovoid, rounded at both ends, yellow-gieen, 1 cm. long. 

 [Figure 2.] 



