612 



CACTUS 



CvESALPINIA 



of wool. Closely allied to it is Lemaireocereus griseus of 

 central and southern Mexico, which yields much nutri- 

 tious fruit. The fruit of the organ cactus, Myrtillocactus 

 geometrizans, sold in the markets as 

 garambullas, either' fresh or dried, 

 must also be mentioned as of economic 

 importance. 



Of medicinal importance is the 

 narcotic peyote or "mezcal button" 



729. Melon cactus bearing fruits. 



(Lophophora Williamsii}, used as an intoxicant and 

 febrifuge by certain tribes of Indians, and regarded by 

 some of them with superstitious reverence. This little 

 plant was regarded by some of the early Spanish writers 

 as a fungus and was used by the Mexican Indians to 

 produce marvelous visions. 



For an account of the methods of propagation and 

 culture of cacti and their application to ornamental 



Sudening the reader is referred to a paper by Charles 

 enry Thompson, on "Ornamental Cacti: Their Cul- 

 ture and Decorative Value," issued by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture as Bulletin No. 262 

 of the Bureau of Plant Industry, December 17, 1912. 

 See also Succulents, vol. VI. W. E. SAFFORD. 



CACTUS (shortened from.Melocactus by Linnaeus). 

 Cactdcese. A single small species, sometimes grown in 

 under-glass collections and in open succulent gardens 

 South. 



Stems globose or ovoid, with vertical ribs, crowned 

 at maturity with a "cephalium" a prolongation of the 

 axis densely covered with small 

 tubercles imbedded in wool and 

 bearing in their axils small fls. and 

 berries. The plant has the appear- 

 ance of an Echinocactus, but the 

 fls. and berries resemble those of 

 Mamillaria. 



Melocdctus, Linn. (Melocdctus 

 communis, Link & Otto). Fig. 731. 

 Ribs 10-20, acute; areoles nearly 1 

 in. apart; radial spines 8-11, straight 

 or curved, subulate; centrals 1-4; 

 cephalium at first low, hemispheri- 

 cal, becoming cylindrical in time, 

 reaching a height of 8 in.; the dense 

 wool of the cephalium is pierced by 

 many red or brown bristles: fls. red, 

 slender: fr. %in. long, crowned by 

 the persistent remains of the fl., red. 

 W. Indies; called there "Turk's 

 head." B.M.3090. j. N . RosE . 



CADALVENA: Kaempferia. 



CADIA (Arabic name, Kadi}. Legumindsse, tribe 

 bophorese Small evergeen shrubs of Arabia and Africa, 

 remarkable for their regular mallow-like flowers. 

 ^ Leaves pinnate: fls. axillary, mostly solitary, droop- 

 ing; stamens 10, free, shorter than the petals: pod 

 linear, acuminate, flattened, leathery. Four species 



730. Seeds of Cacti. 

 1. Mamillaria; 2. 

 Cereus; 3. Flat- 

 jointed opuntias; 

 4. Echinocereus; 5. 

 Cylindrical opun- 

 tias. 



Can be grown outdoors in Calif, or S. Fla.; in the N. 

 in the temperate house. Prop, by seeds and cuttings. 



purpftrea, Forsk. (C. varia, L'Her.). A small shrub, 

 the branches woody: Ifts. 20-40 pairs, very narrow, 

 almost sessile: fls. bell-shaped, pedunculate, rose-red, 

 the corolla about 1-1% in. long and very veiny, not 

 spiny. Arabia. 



C. Ellisiana, Baker, has few large Ifts. and rose-colored fls. 

 Madagascar. B.M. 6685. C. pubescens, Bojer. Lfts. 8-10 pairs, 

 broad-oblong. Madagascar. ^r rp Y LOR t 



C^SALPtNIA (Andreas Cgesalpinus, 1519-1603, 

 Italian botanist). Leguminosse. BRASILETTO. Includ- 

 ing Guilandina, and Poinciana in part. Ornamental 

 tropical or subtropical trees or shrubs chiefly grown for 

 their showy flowers and also for their attractive finely 

 divided foliage; some species yield tanning materials 

 and dye-stuff. 



Calyx with short tube and 5 imbricated lobes, the 

 lowest concave and larger; petals 5, clawed, usually 

 orbicular or obovate and nearly equal; stamens 10, 

 curved; ovary sessile with few ovules and a slender 

 elongated style: pod ovate to lanceolate, usually com- 

 pressed, often indehiscent. About 30 species in tropi- 

 cal and semi-tropical regions. The genus belongs to 

 the subfamily Caesalpinioidese, in which the fls. are not 

 papilionaceous, and is allied to Gleditsia. 



Caesalpinias are armed or unarmed trees or shrubs, 

 rarely climbers, with finely divided bipinnate leaves 

 and conspicuous yellow or sometimes partly red flowers 

 in racemes, often forming terminal panicles. Many 

 species are very showy in flower and are favorities in 

 tropical and subtropical countries; in this country they 

 can be grown only in Florida and southern California 

 except C. japonica, which is the hardiest species and 

 will probably stand the winter in sheltered locations as 

 far north as Washington, D. C. They are also grown 

 sometimes in warm glasshouses. 



Propagation is readily effected by seeds, which should 

 be well soaked in warm water for some hours before 

 sowing. A sandy soil should be chosen for the seed- 

 bed, and lightly shaded. After the plants show the 

 first true leaf, they should be potted off into small pots 

 of ordinary garden soil, not too rich, made light by the 

 addition of sand, if of a clayey nature. The plants 

 grow very rapidly, and must be shifted into larger pots 

 as their size requires for greenhouse culture, but in tropi- 

 cal climates may be transplanted into permanent posi- 

 tions outdoors after they reach a fair size in pots. The 

 dwarf species are elegant subjects for subtropical 

 gardening during the summer months in temperate 

 climates, provided a sunny location is given them, as 

 they revel in rather dry very warm soil, and do not 

 require artificial watering after being established. A 

 rocky, sunny situation may be given C. pulcherrima 

 and its variety flava, where they will bloom during 

 many weeks of summer, until frost checks them, if 

 strong plants about a foot high are selected in early 

 summer. Care should be taken to harden off plants 

 gradually in the house, so that they may not be chilled 

 when transplanted outdoors. While they will do well 

 in a poor soil, an application of manure or chemical 

 fertilizer may be given them to advantage, causing 

 them to make a more vigorous growth and give better 

 and larger heads of flowers. In the tropics, and also in 

 subtropical climates, these shrubs and trees are always 

 admired and are commonly planted for ornament. 

 The royal poinciana (C. regia, but properly Poinciana 

 regia, which see), and also the dwarf poinciana, or 

 flower-fence (C. pulcherrima}, will thrive in close 

 proximity to the sea, and are valuable for planting in 

 exposed coast situations. (E. N. Reasoner.) 



A. Stamens long-exserted: fls. very showy: trees, unarmed 



or nearly so. 



Gilliesii, Wall. Shrub or small tree, with very many 

 small Ifts., scarcely J^in. long, oblong, obtuse, glabrous: 



