Addisonia 41 



(Plate 245) 



ECHINOCEREUS BAILEYI 

 Bailey's Hedgehog-Cereus 



Native of Oklahoma 



Family Cactaceae Cactus Family 



Echinocereus Baileyi Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 403. 1909. 



The genus Echinocereus is one of the most interesting in the 

 Cactus family. The species, of which we recognize 60, show a wide 

 range in the size and color of the flowers, in the form of the stem, 

 and in the arrangement of the spines in clusters. Some of the 

 species are simple while others are cespitose, often forming clumps 

 or mounds with hundreds of branches or heads. 



In spite of these differences there are certain characters which 

 they have in common, which bring the species together into a rather 

 consistent group or genus. For instance, they are all comparatively 

 low, one- jointed plants, with the spines arranged on ribs while the 

 flowers come from the upper part of old spine-areoles, the ovary is 

 spiny, and the fruit is a juicy berry, while the stigma-lobes are 

 always green. 



The plant here illustrated was described some years ago; it was 

 discovered by James H. Gaut in 1904 and re-collected in 1906 by 

 Vernon Bailey of the Biological Survey at Washington in the 

 Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma far out of the known range of 

 the genus. One of his specimens soon flowered and then died, 

 and for years we were unable to get other specimens. In 1921 

 Major E. A. Goldman reported seeing this plant in the Wichita 

 Forest Reserve and through his efforts we obtained from the forest 

 ranger a simple plant and also one large cluster with 25 heads. 



One of these heads flowered in the New York Botanical Garden 

 May 1922. It is about four inches and one-half in diameter; it 

 has about thirteen ribs upon which are borne closely set elliptic 

 spine-areoles ; the spines are needle-like and brown ; in this specimen 

 the flower was borne on the side of the plant a short distance above 

 the middle but they sometimes come out near the top of the plant; 

 the corolla is rotate, about two inches broad, with the segments 

 narrowly oblong and acuminate. 



J. N. Rose. 



