LXI. CACTACEit:. 275 



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



Prostrate, creeping; joints. ova>te ; prickles numerous in each fascicle, of- 

 ten with several subulate spines; Jls. yellow. — A curious, fleshy plant, native 

 in rocky and sandy place*, Ma.ss. to Flor. W. to lu. ! It is often cultivated. 

 The singular form resembles, a series ot thick, lleshy leaves, 4 — 6' long, } as 

 wide, growing Irom the lip or sides of each other, and armed with orange-col- 

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

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



2. CERE US. 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 ? — Flcshij shrubs, with wood?/, cylindrical, grooved axes, armed 

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



1. C. Phyllanthus. DC. (Cactus. Linn.) Spleenu-ort. — Branches ensiform, 

 compressed, serrate ; /•?. 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, f 



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

 pressed, obovate, with spreading, rounded teeth ; /5. 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. Linn.) — Branching; joints short-compressed, 

 serrate, truncate at the summit; fls. arising from the summit of the joints ; strj. 

 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. -j- 



4. C. GRANDiFLORUs. DC. (Cactus. Linn.) — Creeping, rooting; 5/. with 

 about 5 angles; fls. 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, 

 )'ellow within ; petals white. — A magnificent flower, but of difficult culture, -f 



5. C. FLAGELLiFORMis. DC. (Cactus. Linn.) Snake Cachis. — St. creeping, 

 with about 10 angles, hispid ; fls. lateral, diurnal ; tiibe slender, longer than 

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

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

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



06s.— Many other species of this curious genus; are occasionally reared in the parlor or the green-house, 

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



3. MELOCACTUS. 



Compounded oi melon and cactvs; from its form. 



Calyx tube adherent to the ovary, lobes 5 — 6, petaloid ; petals as 

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

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

 withered calyx and corolla. — Sujfruticosc, fleshy , leafless. Spadixsini- 

 ple, crowning the globular, deeply furrowed axis. Flowers terminal. 



M. coMMUNTis. Turk's Cap. Melon Thislk. — Axis ovate-subglobose, dark 



green, 12 — l8-angled; ?7A5 straight; 5/?/?/<'.'^ fasciculate, subequal. — Xativeofthe 



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



with deep furrows and prominent ribs, and is full of juic'^ It is sunnounted 



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