372 RESOURCES OP CALIFORNIA. 



296. Desert Vegetation. Many varieties of cactus are 

 found in the southern parts of the State, and in the Colorado 

 Desert they form a considerable portion of the vegetation. 

 The largest is the candelabrum cactus, which grows to a 

 height of fifty feet, and frequently has from two to six branches 

 about half as thick as the trunk. These run out horizontally 

 a foot or two, and then turning at a right angle, rise vertically, 

 parallel with the main stem. Many of the wild cacti bear 

 insipid edible fruits, and yet are prized by the Indians and 

 travelers for their abundant moisture. The dried pitahaya 

 resembles a fig in taste. 



Several species of palm grow in the Colorado and Mojave 

 deserts, and one bears an edible date ; but the tree is not com- 

 mon nor the fruit abundant. The yucca, or bayonet-tree, 

 sometimes grows to be thirty-five feet in height, with a trunk 

 two feet through ; but usually it is about ten feet high, with a 

 trunk eight inches in diameter. It has no twigs or branches, 

 but sometimes it divides into two trunks. The foliage, con- 

 sisting of leaves eighteen inches long, and shaped like the 

 blade of a bayonet*, hangs down from the tops of the trunks. 



The mezquit (Algarobia glandulosa) is a low tree of the 

 Colorado Desert. It sometimes reaches a height of twenty 

 feet, with a trunk fifteen inches in diameter. The lower 

 branches are very near the ground, and the whole tree has a 

 very regular, semi-spherical form. The leaves are like those of 

 the black locust, and the foliage thin. The tree bears numer- 

 ous pods, from three to five inches long, full of sweet, nourish- 

 ing beans, about the size of the common white bean. The 

 mezquit-bean is often eaten by men, and horses and mules are 

 very fond of it. 



The curly mezquit (Strombocarpus pubescens) is a similar 

 shrub, and bears a crooked bean, called the " screw-bean." It 

 also grows only on the desert. 



The maguey, or American aloe, (Agave americana) which 

 grows to the height of fifty feet, and a smaller species which 



