STANDLEY TEEES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 911 



and stouter ; flowers 3 to 4 cm. long ; style, stigma lobes, and filaments whitish : 

 fruit 2 to 3 cm. in diameter, usually naked, rarely spiny ; seeds 2.5 mm. long. 

 " Cina," " zina," " sinita " (Sonora); " hombre viejo," " cabeza de viejo,"' 

 " pltahaya barbona," " garambuUo," "cabeza vieja " (Baja California). 



The fruit is edible. For an illustration of the plant see Contr. U. S. Nat. 

 Herb. 16: pi. 125, B. 



20. MYRTILLOCACTUS Console, Boll. Ort. Bot. Palermo 1: 8. 1897. 



Large cacti, usually with short trunks and large, much branched tops, 

 the stout few-ribbed branches nearly erect, all the areoles bearing the same 

 kind of spines ; flowers diurnal, very small, several, sometimes as many as 



9 at an areole, with very short tube and widely spreading perianth segments ; 

 ovary bearing a few minute scales with tufts of wool in their axils, spineless ; 

 fru!t small, globular, edible; seed very small, black, with basal hilum. 



One other species occurs in Guatemala. 



Young branches very blue ; central spine elongate, reflexed, dagger-like. 



1. M. geometrizans. 

 Young branches green; central spine not dagger-like. 



Spines usually 3 to 5, with no definite central spine, or this, if present, 



very short 2. M. cochal. 



Spines 6 or more, with definite central spine 3. M. schenckii. 



1. Myrtillocactus geometrizans (Mart.) Console, Boll. Ort. Bot. Palermo 1: 



10. 1897. 

 Cereus geometrizans Mart. ; Pfeiff. Enum. Cact. 90. 1837. 

 Cereus pugioniferus Lem. Cact. Aliq. Nov. 30. 1838. 

 Cereus gladiator Otto & Dietr. Allg. Gartenz. 6: 34. 1838. 

 San Luis PotosI to Oaxaca. 



Treelike, with a short definite trunk crowned by a large, much branched 

 top ; branches often a little curved, bluish green, usually 5 or 6-ribbed, 6 to 



10 cm. in diameter, very blue when young ; ribs 2 to 3 cm. high, rounded ; are- 

 oles 2 to 3 cm. apart ; radial and central spines very different, almost filling 

 the areoles; radial spines usually 5, rarely 8 or 9, usually short, 2 to 10 mm. 

 long, but sometimes 3 cm. long, more or less turned backward, a little flattened 

 radially but swollen at base ; central spine elongate, dagger-shaped, flattened 

 laterally, 1 to 7 cm. long and sometimes 6 mm. broad ; flowers appearing from 

 the upper part of the areole, 2.5 to 3.5 cm. broad, the limb 3 to 4 times as long 

 as the tube; perianth segments oblong, 1.5 cm. long; fruit ellipsoid to sub- 

 globose, purplish or bluish, 1 to 2 cm. long. "GarambuUo" (Durango, Hi- 

 dalgo) ; "Padre Nuestro " (Oaxaca). 



The fruit is edible and is offered for sale, both fresh and dried, in the 

 markets. 



2. Myrtillocactus cochal (Orcutt) Britt. & Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 



427. 1909. 



Cereus cochal Orcutt, West Amer. Sci. 6: 29. 1889. 



Baja California, the type from Bahfa de Todos Santos. 



Plant 1 to 3 meters high, much branched ; trunk short, woody, souaetimes 

 30 cm. in diameter ; ribs 6 to 8, obtuse, separated by shallow intervals ; spines 

 grayish to black; radial spines 5, short; central spines when present 2 cm. 

 long ; flowers open night and day, 2.5 cm. long and fully as broad ; perianth 

 segments usually 16, light green, the outer ones tinged with purple, oblong; 

 fruit slightly acid, globular, 12 to 18 mm. in diameter, red. "Cochal." 



The fruit is edible, and the stems are used for fuel. 



