Vol. 41 No. 2 
BULLETIN 
OF THE 
TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB 
ee ee 
FEBRUARY, 1914 
The ferns and flowering plants of Nantucket—xI| 
EUGENE P, BICKNELL 
CACTACEAE 
OPUNTIA. 
In the history of Nantucket botany this cactus bears the 
distinction of having been the first one of the island’s plants to 
receive formal botanical mention and published record. We do 
not know that it was ever seen on Nantucket by civilized man 
prior to its discovery there by Mr. Thomas A. Green, of New 
Bedford, on whose authority it was announced as a Nantucket 
plant as long ago as 1833 by Professor Edward Hitchcock in his 
“Report on the Geology, Mineralogy, Botany and Zoology of 
Massachusetts.” Other plants of Nantucket find record in the 
same work but the prickly pear, under the name Cactus Opuntia L., 
has priority of place, thus, eighty years ago, marking the starting 
point of exact Nantucket botany. 
' On Nantucket this cactus is at the extreme northeastern Gent 
of its range and is native only on that long arm of sand known as 
Coatue, which reaches along the western side of the harbor pro- 
tecting it from Nantucket Sound. It abounds there in sandy 
openings among the low red cedars taking so strong a growth as to 
form close assurgent clusters sometimes three to five feet across. 
Only once have I seen it there when it was in full bloom, on 
July 13, 1912. _ Its flowers were in great profusion, and one plant 
of three and a half feet spread bore about 220 blossoms. The 
flowers are bright yellow with a conspicuous red center and are 
[The BuLLETIN for January (41: 1-70) was issued 27 F 1914.] 
71 
