LXl. CACTACEtE. 275 



O. VULGARIS. Mill. (Cactus opuntia. Linn.) Prickly Pear. 



Prostrate, creeping; joints ovaite; prickles numerous in each fascicle, of- 

 ten M'ith several subulate spines ; Jls. yellow. — A curious, fleshy plant, native 

 Ia rocky and sandy places, Mass. to Flor. W. to la. ! It is often cultivated. 

 The singular form resembles a series of thick, fleshy leaves, 4 — 6' long, § as 

 wide, growing from the tip or sides of each other, and armed with orange-col- 

 ored spines. The flowers come forth from the edge of the joints, large, bright- 

 yellow, and succeeded by a smooth, crimson, eatable fruit, f 



2. CEREUS. DC. 

 Sepals very numerous, imbricated, adnate to the base of the ovary, 

 and united into a long tube above it, the outer shorter, the inner pe- 

 taloid ; stamens 00, coherent with the tube ; style filiform, with many 

 stigmas ; berry scaly, with the remains of the sepals ; cotyledons 

 none 1 — Fleshy shrubs, tvith ivoody, cylindrical., grooved axes, armed 

 with clusters of spines. Fls. from the clusters of spiiies. 



1. C. Phyllanthus. DC. (Cactus. Linn.) Splce-mcort. — Branches ensiform, 

 compressed, serrate ; jls. with the terete, slender tube much longer than the 

 limb of the petals. — From S. America. The articulations of the stem are 2f 

 or more long, 2' wide, weak, bordered with large, obtuse serratures, and trav- 

 ersed lengthwise by a central, cylindrical, woody axis. Flowers white, 9 — 12' 

 long, expanding by night, fragrant. ■\ 



2. C. PHYLLANTHoiDES. DC. (Cactus. Linn.) — Branches ensiform, com- 

 pressed, obovate, with spreading, rounded teeth ; fis. arising from the lateral 

 crenatures of the branches ; tube shorter than the limb of the petals. — From 

 Mexico. A splendid flowerer, with leaf-like, fleshy joints, each G— 10' long, 1 — 

 2' wide. Flowers rose-colored, 4' in length, expanding by day. f 



3. C. TRUNCATUS. (Cactus. Lin7i.) — Branching; joints short-compressed, 

 serrate, trimcate at the summit ; Jls. arising from the summit of the joints ; sty. 

 longer than the stamens or reflexed petals. — From Brazil. A very distinct spe- 

 cies, a foot or more high. Joints 2—3' long, 1 — li' wide, leaf-like. Flowers 

 2 — 3' long, pink-colored, f 



4. C. GRANDiFLORUs. DC. (Cactus. Litin.) — Creeping, rooting; st. with 

 about 5 angles; fis. terminal and lateral, very large, nocturnal; pet. .spreading, 

 shorter than the linear-lanceolate sepals. — From the W. Indies. Stems cylin- 

 dric or prismatic, branching, the angles not very prominent. Flowers expand- 

 ing by night, and enduring but a few hours, 8 — 12' diam. Sepals brown without, 

 j'cllow within; petals Avhite. — A magnificent flower, but of difficult culture, f 



5. C. FLAGELLiFORMis. DC. (Cactus. Liuu.) Siuike Caciu's. — St. creeping, 



with about 10 angles, hispid ; fis. lateral, diurnal ; tube slender, longer than 



the limb of the petals. — From S. America. Stem about the size of the little 



finger, cylindric, indistinctly articulated, 2 — 5f long. Flowers of a lively pink 



color, smaller than those of the last, and continuing in bloom several days. -f 



Obs. — Many other species of this curious germs are occasionally reared in the parlor or the green-house, 

 —so many that to notice them individually would transcend our limits. 



3. MEL OC ACT US. 



Compounded of melon and cactus ; from its form. 



Calyx tube adherent to the ovary, lobes 5 — G, petaloid ; petals as 

 many as sepals, united with them into a long cylindric tube ; stamens 

 and style filiform ; stigma 5-rayed ; berry smooth, crowned with the- 

 withered calyx and corolla. — Siiffruticose, fleshy, leafless. Spadix sim- 

 ple, crowning the globular, deeply fir rowed axis. Flowers terminal. 



M. COMMUNIS. Turk^s Cap. Melon TMdls. — Axis ovate-subglobose dark 



green, 12 — l8-angled; r/As straight; .^JM^ex fasciculate, siibequal. — Nativ^ofthe 



Caribbean Islands. This remarkable plant appears like a large, green melon, 



with deep furrows and prominent ribs, and is full of ju'c» It is surmounted 



24 



