526 GRIFFITHS: ADDITIONAL SPECIES OF OPUNTIA 
eight years under S. T. G. No. 2838, and has been grown success- 
fully in two situations in Texas besides Chico, California. It was 
not known for a long time whether it was hardy or not, conse- 
quently we grew it inside at Chico where it produced a moderate 
crop of fruit and a prolific vegetative growth. In the field, 
however, its vegetative development is very much curtailed but 
it is loaded with fruit. It was received originally from some 
European collections. Since being transferred to Chico it has 
grown under S. T. G. No. 2838. Its natural habitat is unknown. 
Opuntia platynoda sp. nov. 
A low, erect to ascending, densely branched, fragile-jointed 
species, seldom 45 cm. high, but often 60-100 cm. in diameter; 
joints flattened, small, obovate to mostly fusiform-oblong, 4 X 
13 cm. for old joints of this season, but very variable, many 
joints of last season’s growth only 3.5 X 9 cm., dark, glossy 
green, and darker and often purplish below the areoles, which 
are slightly raised, tubercular at areoles first season but later 
entirely smooth, but always more or less darkened in color below 
them; areoles gray to light tawny, obovate, about 4 mm. long, 
increasing in age to subcircular; spicules at first inconspicuous in a 
small tuft in upper portion of areole, but later at two or three 
years occupying half of the areole, and fading to a light dirty 
brown or yellowish; spines erect, divergent, at first brown, turning 
through a mottled condition to white with translucent bone-like 
tips, flattened, twisted, stout, one to three, seldom four, with 
lower areoles naked, upper terete spine largest, 2.5-3 cm. in 
length, and ascending or porrect, the others lateral or situated 
directly below, besides these often there are two delicate. short 
lower lateral ones, 3 mm. in length in addition; flowers lemon 
yellow, 4.5—5 cm. wide when fully opened, outer segments greenish 
red and tightly appressed as is typical of South American forms 
in the bud; petals tipped with greenish red, obovate, retuse, and 
minutely cuspidate in the notch; filaments white, style white, 
stigma white, six-parted, petals about 3 cm. long; fruit pyriform, 
green with blush of greenish red on one side, or entirely greenish 
red, with exception of basal portion, large, subcircular, gray to 
tawny areoles, 12-18 mm. apart, and an occasional short spine. 
With us the plant grows very rampant in the sash house, 
requiring constant pruning to keep it in check. It blossoms very 
freely in June and July. Up to this time the fruit has been all 
but sterile, none having over one half dozen mature seeds, but a 
