528 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1908. 



rosette of triangular tubercles, each marked with a median suture 

 in such a way as to suggest the cloven hoof of a deer. It is recorded 

 that Baron Karwinski, its discoverer, returned to Germany with 

 only three specimens, one of which he sold for 1,000 francs. It was 

 named by Lemaire in honor of his patron, Prince Kotschubey; 

 though it was afterwards described as Anhalonium sulcatum^ an ap- 

 propriate name, but acco^cung to the laws of priority not tenable. 



A hook-spined plant remarkable for its yellowish-green flowers 

 crowded about the summit proved to be Echinocactus scheerii hrevi- 

 haraatus (pi. 3, fig. 3). The outer floral leaves are quite green, 

 the innermost between green and yellow, its anthers yellow, and its 

 stigma bright green. The tube of the perianth is scaly. The fruit 

 is acid, but can be eaten. Another remarkable plant was Lophophora 

 wUUmnsii, the mescal button, or peyote, to which I have already 

 referred (pi. 3, fig. 5). Instead of spines, it bears little tufts of 

 wool on its areoles. The tubercles, separated by shallow horizontal 

 grooves, are usually arranged in vertical lines, like a typical Echino- 

 cactus, but sometimes they are irregular, recalling those of Echhio- 

 cactus lopliothele^ which I afterwards collected on the neighboring 

 mountains (pi. 3, fig. 1). The prettiest cactus flowers in the garden 

 were those of species of Echinocereus, with crimson or purple peri- 

 anths, yellow stamens, and green stigmas. These plants are called 

 " alicoches " in northern Mexico, and their spiny edible fruits 

 " pitayas." The two most common about Icamole were Echinocereus 

 conglomerates^ with long white pellucid needles, and a species resem- 

 bling E. shxtmineus, with coarser straw-like spines. These two 

 species are erect and grow in groups. There are one or two other 

 species of which the stems are more slender and prostrate or pro- 

 cumbent. One of them, Echinocereus herlanclieri, is shown on plate 

 3, figure 2. Another plant of very different habit, formerly classed 

 with the genus Echinocereus, was Wilcoxia poselgeri {^Echinocereus 

 tuhei-'osiis) ^ with weak, slender stems no thicker than a lead pencil, 

 tuberous roots, and pretty rose-colored flowers with rose-colored 

 filaments, sulphur-yellow anthers, and emerald-green 8-rayed stigma. 

 In northeastern Mexico this plant is called " sacasil," a name which 

 is elsewhere applied to a species of Boussingaultia, a climbing 

 plant with tuberous roots belonging to the Basellacese. There were 

 no columnar cardones, or organos, in the garden, though I was told 

 that the common organo of the hedges of central Mexico {Cereus 

 marginatus) grows at Pezqueria Chica, in the State of Nuevo Leon. 

 Echinocactus hicolor, with tubercled ribs and straight spines, is not 

 uncommon in the vicinity of Icamole, but here the spines are not 

 bright colored like those I afterwards found at Parras (pi. 13, fig. 2). 

 Echinocactus capricornus (pi. 5, fig. 2) and Echinocactus cornigerus 

 (pi. 13, fig. 6), two other species growing in the garden, are also 



