Opuntia. CACTACEiE. 555 



1. C. ? Californicus (Nutt. mss. under Cactus) : "erect ami slirul)l)y, wiili 

 numerous clusters of long anil short spines ; tlie branches somewhat cylin- 

 (Iric, repandly grooved, reticulated ; flowers small, yellow ; fruit dry and 

 spiny. 



"Arid hills and denuded tracts near St. Dieijo, California, common." 

 Nutt. 



4. OPUNTIA. Tmm. inst. I. V22 ; Han-orth, sijn.p. 187; DC. I. r. 



Sepals and petals numerous, adnate to the ovary, not produced into a tube ; 

 the interior jietaloid, obovate, spreading. Stamens numerous, shorter than 

 tlie petals. Style cylindrical, constricted at the base: stigmas numerous, 

 tliick, erect. Berry umbilicate at the apex, luberculate, often prickly. Em- 

 bryo somewhat spiral, nearly terete : plumule small. — Shrubby ]ilants, with 

 articulated branches; the joints (rarely terete) mostly compressed and dilated, 

 bearing fascicles of prickles or bristles arranged in a (juincuncial or sjiiral 

 order. Flowers (yellow or red) arising from the clusters of ]mckles or along 

 the margin of the joints. Stamens somewhat irritable. DC. 



-^1. O. vulgaris {Mill.) : diffusely prostrate, creeping ; joints ovate ; prick- 

 les short and very numerous, usually with several strong and su])ulat(' (yel- 

 low) spines; flowers yellow; fruit crimson, nearly smooth. — Mill. diet. t. 

 191 ,- Haw. I. c. ; DC. I. c. ; Hook. hot. mag. t. 2393. Cactus Opuntia, 

 Linn.; jWchr. fl. 1. p. 282 ; Pursh, ft. 1. p. 327; Nutt. gen. 1. p. 296; 

 Ell. sk. 1. p. 537 ; Torr. ! Jl. 1. p. 4G7. C. humifusus, Raf. ami. nat. p. 15. 

 Sandy fields and on rocks. New York ! to Florida. — Fruit obovate, um- 

 bilicate, eatable. Petals much longer than the calyx. In the Northern 

 States tlie plant seldom produces the stronger spines. — Prickly Pear. 



2. O. Ficus-lndica (Ilaworth) : joints ovate-oblong, obtuse at each end (a foot 

 in length) ; prickles very short, setaceous, immersed in wool ; flowers sul- 

 phur-color. DC. I. c. — Cactus Ficus-lndica, Linn. spec. 1. p. 468 ; Willd. 

 spec. 2. p. 944. 



Key West, Mr. Bennett /—Fruit large, eaiahle.— Indian Fig. 



3. O. Missouriensis (DC): joints large, nearly orbicular, very spiny; 

 spines of two kinds ; the larger radiate, persistent; flowers numerous, aggre- 

 gated (pale sulphur-yellow, rose-color towards the base) ; fruit dry and 

 spiny. Nutt.—DC.prodr.^.p.A12. O. polyacantha, J/a»or</(. Cactus 

 ferox, Nutt. gen. I. p. 296; Torr. in ann. lye. NeivYork. 2. p. 202; not 

 of Willd. 



Arid plains of the Missouri, common. Nut tall. Also on the Platte and 

 Arkansas, and on tlie Rocky Mountains, Dr. James. July. — This is said to 

 be a much larger plant than the common Prickly Pear. "Thorns formida- 

 ble. Fruit deep purple, as large as a hen's egg." Stigmas 8-10, greenish. 

 Nutt. 



4. O. rutila {Nutt. mss.) : "spines strong and numerous, as well on the 

 fruit as the joints ; flowers carmine-red. 



" Arid clay hills in the Rocky Mountain range, near the Colorado of the 

 West, about lat; 42°." Nuttall. 



5. O.fragilis (Nutt. under Cactus) : joints short, oblong, somewhat terete, 

 very frat'ile ; spines of 2 kinds; flowers solitary at the summit of the jomts, 

 small ; fruit dry and spiny.— .Ym^?. gen. 1. p. 296 ; DC prodr. 3. p. 472 ; 

 Torr. in ann. lye. NewYork, 2. p. 202. 



