CERCIS 



CEREUS 



721 



AA. Lvs. rounded or emarginate at the apex, usually 

 broader than long. 



occidentals, Torr. (C. calif ornica, Torr.). Shrub, to 

 15 ft. : Ivs. cordate, roundish, glabrous, about 2 in. wide: 

 fls. rose-colored, Hin. long: pod 2-2 > in. long. Calif. 

 Torrey in U. S. Explor. Exped. 1838-1842, 17, pi. 3 A 

 closely allied species is 

 C. reniformis, Engelm. 

 (C. texensis, Sarg.). 

 Small tree: Ivs. sub- 

 coriaceous, 3-5 in. wide, 

 sometimes pubescent 

 beneath: pod 2-4 in. 

 long. Texas, New Mex. 

 S.S. 3:135. 



Siliquastrum, Linn. 

 Tree, to 40 ft.: Ivs. 

 roundish, deeply cor- 

 date, glabrous, 3-5 in. 

 wide: fls. 3-6, purplish 

 rose, %in. long: pod 3^4 

 in. long. S.Eu., W.Asia. 

 B.M. 1138. Gn. 25, pp. 

 346, 347, 350; 33, p. 416; 

 42:342, p. 343; 44, p. 

 379; 52, p. 5. G.C. III. 

 52: 6 (habit). G. 25:209. 

 R.H. 1899:469 (abnor- 

 mal form). Var. alba, 

 Carr. (var. dlbida, 

 Schneid.) with white fls. 



CERCOCARPUS 



(Greek, tail and fruit; 

 the fruit with a long, 

 hairy tail). Rosacese. 

 MOUNTAIN MAHOGANY. 

 Small trees or shrubs 

 but rarely grown for 

 their attractive ever- 

 green or half-evergreen 

 foliage and the peculiar 

 feathery tailed achenes. 



Leaves alternate, per- 

 sistent, rather small: fls. 

 inconspicuous, apetal- 

 ous, whitish or reddish, 

 in the axils of fascicled Ivs.; calyx-tube cylindric, elon- 

 gated, abruptly expanded at the apex into a cup-shaped 

 deciduous, 5-lobed limb bearing 15-30 stamens with 

 short filaments; ovary 1-celled, inclosed in the calyx- 

 tube, with a long exserted style.: fr. a 1 -seeded 

 achene, surmounted by the persistent, long and hairy 

 style. Small genus of about 10, mostly rather local 

 species, in the Rocky Mts. from Mont, south to Mex. 

 and in Calif. 



The cercocarpuses are not particularly ornamental, 

 yet they are attractive with their small evergreen dark 

 foliage and their feathery tailed fruits; they are adapted 

 for planting on dry rocky or gravelly slopes in arid 

 temperate regions, as they thrive under very unfavor- 

 able conditions. The very heavy and close-grained 

 wood is manufactured into small articles, and valued as 

 fuel and for making charcoal. C. ledifolius and C. 

 parvifolius are the hardiest and stand frost to zero, 

 while C. Traskiae can be grown only in southern Cali- 

 fornia. They may be cultivated in any well-drained 

 soil in sunny positions, and propagated by seeds or by 

 cuttings of half-ripened wood under glass. 



A. Margin of Ivs. toothed: fls. 2-5 in a cluster. 

 B. Lvs. oval to suborbicular, usually rounded at the base. 

 Traskiae, Eastw. Tree, to 25 ft. : Ivs. coarsely sinuate- 

 dentate above the middle, lustrous above, tomentose 

 below, 1-23^ in. long: achene with the style 2-2^ in. 

 long. Santa Catalina Isl., Calif. S.S. 13:635. 



883. Cercis chinensis. 



(Natural size) 



BB. Lvs. usually cuneate-obovate, smaller. 



parvif 61ius, Nutt. Bushy tree, to 25 ft. : Ivs. dull green 

 and pubescent above, pubescent or tomentose beneath, 

 K-1K in- long, with 4-5 pairs of veins: style 2-4 in. 

 long. From Neb. and Ore. to Low. Calif . and W. Texas. 

 S.S. 4:166. H.I. 4:323. D. M. Andrews, of Colo., 

 who handles this shrub, writes of it as follows: "Moun- 

 tain mahogany, 6 feet. A nearly evergreen rosaceous 

 shrub of peculiar and attractive habit of growth. Fls. 

 white, early, followed by the long, plumose achenes, 

 which are 3-5 in. long, strangely curled and twisted, 

 arranged above and on each side of the slender branches, 

 so that at a little distance they have an appearance sug- 

 gestive of ostrich plumes. Easily transplanted, and 

 thrives anywhere." 



betulaefdlius, Nutt. (C. parvifolius var. gldber, Wats. 

 C. parvifolius var. betuloides, Sarg.). Small tree, to 30 

 ft.: Ivs. thinner, bright green and glabrous above at 

 maturity, pubescent or glabrescent beneath, J^-2 in. 

 long, with 5-6 pairs of veins: style 2-4 in. long. Calif. 

 W.G.Z. 4, pp. 554-5. H.I. 4:322. 



AA. Margin of Ivs. entire, revolute: fls. solitary or in pairs. 



ledifolius, Nutt. Tree, to 40 ft. : Ivs. lanceolate, cori- 

 aceous, lustrous and glabrous above at maturity, 

 pubescent below, resinous, 3/^-1 in. long, veins obscure: 

 style 2-3 in. long. From Wyo. and Wash, to S. Calif, 

 and New Mex. S.S. 4:165. H.I. 4:324. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



CEREALS (Ceres, goddess of agriculture). The 

 agricultural grains, properly those of the grass family: 

 maize or Indian corn, kafir, wheat, emmer, spelt, rice, 

 oats, barley, rye, sorghum (for grain); popularly held 

 to include buckwheat, but not accurately so. Consult 

 Vol. II, Cyclo. Amer. Agric. 



CEREUS (from the Latin, but of uncertain applica- 

 tion). Cactacese. Usually arborescent, columnar cacti 

 with the surface covered with spiny ribs. 



Flowers large, borne singly along the sides of the st.; 

 fl.-tube slender and, as it decays, cutting off from the 

 ovary; petals numerous; stamens numerous; style single, 

 thick: fr. a large, naked, fleshy berry; seeds small, 

 black. The genus Cereus, as it has generally been 

 treated, contained more than 100 species which differed 

 greatly in habit, armament, fls. and fr., and was one of 

 the most complex and difficult of the family. As now 

 understood, it contains species of uniform habit, with 

 similar fls. and frs., while a number of species of very 

 different habit have been referred elsewhere. Even as 

 here treated, more than half of the species are anomalous. 

 Until the fls. and frs. have been studied, it seems best 

 to leave them in Cereus. The species are all from S. 

 Amer. 



Only a few species of true Cereus are grown in this 

 country, and most of these are grown under glass. 

 The flowers do not compare in size and attractiveness 

 with those of the so-called night-blooming Cereus, 

 which is described elsewhere under the genus Seleni- 

 cereus. Several of the species have cristate and other 

 abnormal forms which make them desirable to certain 

 growers. C. lepidotus is a rather common cultivated 

 species in certain of the West India Islands, where it 

 grows to considerable height, and several of the species 

 are grown in Europe along the Riviera, where they 

 reach great size. With us, however, they do not grow 

 very rapidly. They are easily propagated from seed 

 or by cuttings. See Succulents. 



The species treatea in the first edition of this work 

 that are not here given may be looked for under the 

 following genera: Acanthocereus, Aporocactus, Ber- 

 gerocactus, Carnegiea, Cleistocactus, Escontria, Har- 

 risia, Heliocereus, Hylocereus, Lemaireocereus, Lopho- 

 cereus, Myrtillocactus, Oreocereus, Pachycereus, 

 Rathbunia, and Selenicereus. 



