86 TEINIDAD AND TOBAGO BULLETIN. [XIX. 2. 



small white-felted areoles which develop several acicular spines in 

 ripening into the nearly globular purplish fruit, which is nearly two 

 inches in diameter, with red, edible pulp. 



From Patos, its most eastern known station, this cactus ranges! 

 along the Venezuelan coast, occurring on Margarita Island and on the 

 Dutch Islands Aruba, Curarao and Bonaire ; it is cultivated in many 

 parts of tropical America north to Mexico. 



10. HyloceretlS Lemairei (Hooker) l^iitt<^n and Rose [Co'cus Lcrnairfj- 



Hook m. I 



Lemaire's Night-blooming Cereus climbs on trees or on rocks, 

 sometimes attaining a length of twenty-five feet or more, often with 

 numerous branches, and is devoid of leaves. Its joints are elongated, 

 triangular in section, dull green in colour, their sides an inch and a 

 half wide or less ; they emit slender aerial roots at irregular intervals ; the 

 areoles, borne on the angles, are about an inch apart, slightly elevated, 

 and bear two or three short, conic, brownish spines three or four 

 lines long. Tlie flowers, often numerous, open in the evening and 

 wilt during the next morning ; they are the largest of any of the native 

 Trinidad cacti, seven to nine inches long and nearly as broad as long ; 

 the ovary and flower-tube are covered with thick, ovate, sometimes 

 purple-margined scales ; the outer segments of the perianth are 

 lanceolate, yellowish-green, three or four inches long, less than half 

 an inch wide, the inner ones bright white, broader than the outer 

 and acute; the very numerous stamens arc somewhat shorter than the 

 perianth ; the thick style is a little longer than the stamens and the 

 nan-ow stigma-lobes are forked. The fruit is an oblong purplish berry 

 about two and a half inches long, with white Hesh and small black seeds. 



This cactus is commonly seen on trees over much of the Trinidad 

 [ mainland ; we observed a plant in full bloom along the Tamana road in 

 April, its flowers showing the characteristic forked stigma-lobes. 



The same species, apparentl}^ inhabits the Bocas Islands, there 

 often growing upon rocks ; at least the joints and the armament seem 

 alike, but we did not see the Bocas Islands plants in flower. 



11. Cactus csesius (NVfudUuid) IJriiton and Rose [MtJocactas ca-fiitx 



Wendland.] 

 This Turk's-cap or Melon Cactus is known to occur within Trinidad 

 territory only on rocky hills on Patos Island, and was made known from 

 that locality by ]Mr. K. 0. Williams a few years ago ; I collected it there 

 with Mr. Freeman in ^March, 1920, The plant is nearly globular or 

 somewhat higher than thick, leafless, from five inches to about seven 

 inches in diameter, green witJi from ten to fifteen strong vertical ribs, 

 their felted areoles bearing about ten stiff slightly recutveJ spines rather 

 less than an inch in length, brown when young, greyish when old. When 

 the plant reaches the flowering stage it produces on top a circular mass 

 of white Jwool and brownish bristles, on which the attractive little pink 

 flowers are borne; this elongates from year to year, becoming cylindric 

 and, on strong individuals, as nuich as six inches long ; and is technically 

 calledja ccphalum. The flowers are salverform when fully expanded, ihe 



