368 CACTACE^. [part ii. 



the latter of which is introduced here ;' and the 

 genus Grielum, which was formerly included in 

 Rosacese was first removed to Ficoidese, and 

 afterwards made into a separate order, under 

 the name of Neuradiacese, which precedes Ni- 

 trariacese. 



^ ORDER XCIIL— CACTACE^.— THE CACTUS TRIBE. 



There is perhaps no order in the vegetable 

 kingdom which embraces plants so singular in 

 their forms as those comprehended in this 

 tribe. All the genera, with the exception of 

 Pereskia, are destitute of leaves, but they have 

 all succulent stems which answer the purposes 

 of leaves. The flowers of all the genera are 

 extremely showy; the calyx and corolla are 

 coloured alike, and confounded together ; the 

 stamens are numerous, with versatile anthers 

 and very long filaments ; the style is generally 

 long and slender, and the stigmas are numerous, 

 and either spreading or collected into a head. 

 The ovary is in the tube of the calyx, and it 

 becomes an eatable fruit, very similar to that of 

 the gooseberry. The genera are all natives of 

 tropical America. The principal kinds are the fol- 

 lowing : viz. Mammillaria, the stems of which 

 are subcylindrical, and covered wdth tubercles, 



