THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 63 



his thirst : the round species being cut open and drained of the 

 ahnost pure water it contains. 



One perhaps has oftentimes wondered where the leaves of 

 the cacti are. What are known botanically as stems are usually 

 known as leaves by most people. However, one can readily see 

 the difference if he examines these organs and notices that they 

 all branch and that the flowers spring from them. These char- 

 asters which are never true of leaves will readily convince him 

 of the fallacy of calling them leaves. The leaves are modified 

 for the necessary function of protection and hence we have a 

 remarkable example of degenerate leaves in the spines of the 

 cactus. These modifications have made the cactus an ideal 

 desert plant. 



Cacti have other economic value from that as food for 

 grazing animals. The fibers are used by certain tribes of In- 

 dians for making baskets. The spines of some species are used 

 for toothpicks. The fruit of the Opuntia is often eaten some 

 say with relish. The taste is rather pleasant at first but a little 

 more than half one "apple," as the fruit is called, will generally 

 sufiice for persons not used to it, the taste being a sickening 

 sweet one. In Oklahoma and elsewhere the Indians are said 

 to make a meal of them. 



The flowers of all the various species if they could be col- 

 lected in one garden would form a rare conservatory of beauty 

 unequaled by the efforts of any florist anywhere. 



Last of all the cactus should be of special interest to us 

 when we know that it is peculiarly a plant of the New World. 

 Europe knew it not and Asia never saw it before the time of 

 Columbus. It is unheard of amid the isles of the Pacific. Its 

 home is in the Western Hemisphere and there it grows luxur- 

 iantly and in many varied forms counting upwards some eight 

 hundred species. 



The name, cacti, given to this group of plants by Linnae- 

 us, was perhaps borrowed by him from the Greeks. These 

 people used the word as the name for a plant which was some- 

 what spiny. 

 Evans, Colo. 



