STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 893 



11. Ceplialocereus palmeri Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 418. 1909. 

 Cereus victoriensis Vaupel, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23: 24. 1913. 

 Eastern Mexico ; type from "Victoria, Tamaulipas. 



Tall, 2 to 6 meters liigh, with 20 branches or more (often 5 to 8 cm. in di- 

 ameter), dark green or Avhen young glaucous and bluish; ribs 7 to 9, rounded 

 on the edge, rather closely set, clothed from top downward for 20 to 30 cm. 

 with long white hairs (4 to 5 cm. long) usually hiding the brown spines; 

 radial spines 8 to 12, slender, the central one much longer than the others, 2 

 to 3 cm. long; areoles 1 cm. apart, scarcely woolly except toward the top; 

 flowers 6 cm. long, somewhat tubular, purplish to brownish, the ovary with- 

 out spines or hairs; fruit globular, about 6 cm. in diameter, naked but the 

 surface somewhat warty; seeds black, shining, minutely pitted, 2 mm. long, 

 oblique at base. 



12. Cephalocereus alensis (Weber) Britt. & Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 

 415. 1909. 



Pilocereus alensis Weber; Goss. Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. 11: 508. 1905. 



Cereus alensis Vaupel, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23: 23. 1913. 



Western Mexico ; tj'pe from Sierra del Alo. 



Erect, sometimes 5 to 6 meters high, branching from the base; branches 

 rather slender, spreading, 12 to 14-ribbed, the ribs somewhat tuberculate; 

 spines 10 to 14, acicular, 1 to 1.5 cm. long, brownish; flowering areoles on 

 one side of the stem, developing white or yellowish hairs 5 cm. long; flowers 

 light purple to purplish green; perianth segments fleshy, usually rounded at 

 apex ; ovary nearly naked. 



13. Cephalocereus purpusii Britt. & Rose, Cactaceae 2: 56. 1920. 

 Sinaloa ; type from Mazatldn. 



Stems slender, 2 to 3 meters high, simple or more or less branched; 

 branches green, erect, 3 to 4 cm. in diameter, usually simple; ribs 12, 5 to 

 6 mm. high, separated by narrow intervals; areoles closely set, 10 mm. 

 apart or less on the lower part of the stem, but much closer toward the top, 

 on the young growth with long silky white hairs, but on old parts with- 

 out hairs; spines acicular, swollen at base, 1 to 3 cm. long, bright yellow at 

 first, in age gray. 



7. ESCONTRIA Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 126. 1906. 



The genus consists of a single species. 



1. Escontria chiotilla (Weber) Rose. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 126. 1906. 



Cereus chiotilla Weber; Schum. Gesamtb. Kakt. 83. 1897. 



Puebla and elsewhere in southern Mexico. 



Plant 4 to 7 meters high; trunk very short; branches numerous, form- 

 ing a compact top, weak and easily broken, bright green, not at all glaucous; 

 ribs 7 or 8, acute ; areoles close together, often confluent, elliptic ; radial 

 spines 10 to 15, rather short, often reflexed; central spines several, one 

 much longer than the others, somewhat flattened, sometimes 7 cm. long, all 

 light-colored; flowers borne near the ends of the branches, including the 

 ovary about 3 cm. long ; inner perianth segments yellow, acuminate ; scales on 

 ovary and flower tube arranged in many overlapping series, ovate, 8 to 15 mm. 

 long ; fruit glabrous, about 5 cm. in diameter, scaly, edible. " Jiotilla," 

 " chiotilla," " xiotilla." 



The ripe fruit is edible and is sold in the markets. The fruit is some- 

 times preserved by drying. 



