OPUNTIA 



ORANGE 



2367 



wide, with deflexed perianth: fr. scarlet, succulent, 

 obovate to oblong, rarely globose, \^-yim. long, 

 frequently proliferous, amied with tufts of long, red- 

 dish brown bristles. S. W. U. S. and Sonora. Var. 

 major, Hort., is advertised. — One of the slenderest 

 of the opuntias. It differs from other species in that 

 the fls. do not open vnitil late in thi^ afternoon. Several 

 forms of this plant occur throughout its range, some of 

 which have been separated as varieties. One of the 

 most frequent of the cylindrical opuntias in cult. 



61. ramosissima, Engelm. (0. tcsselUita, Engelm.). 

 Fig. 2610. A spreading bush, 2-5 ft. high, with numer- 

 ous slender branches arising from a short trunk, 

 1-3 in. thick, and having dark, scaly bark: joints ashy 

 to bluish gray, variable in length, ultimate ones 2-6 in., 

 J^-Jsin. thick: areoles with sparge white wool and a 

 few small yellow bristles; spines sometimes wanting, 

 usually 1, stiff, erect, lH-2 in. long, loosely sheathed: 

 fls. reddish purple, V^-Jsin. wide, dry, narrowly, 

 obovate, 1 in. long, .'j'in. wide, with 1 or 2 seeds, fre- 

 quently sterile, armed with numerous long, grayish 

 bristles. Ariz., Calif., Sonora. 



0. jBerfleridna, A. Web. Allied to O. nigricans. Forming a shrub 

 5-10 ft. high: joints obovate or oblong-ovate, 9 in. long, 4}^ in. 

 wide: spines varying in number and size, spreading: fls. red, over 

 i in. long. G.C. III. 35:34. — O. caiitabrigiensis, Lynch. Similar to 

 O. Engelmannii, but differs in the whitish spines and broadly 

 obconical ovary. G.C. III. 33:0.S. — 0. cervicdrnis. Probably a 

 hybrid. Joints cylindric, strongly tubercled, decumbent, about 5 

 in. long: spines golden brown: fls. yellow, 2J2 in. wide. Colo.— O. 

 coccineUl/era, MiIl. = Nopalea. — O. cornigala, Salm-Dyck, was once 

 advertised, but is little known. — O. Deamii, Rose. About 3 ft. 

 high: joints erect or spreading, 10-12 in. long: spines 2-6, stout, 

 white or dull yellow: fls. 3 in. long, rose-colored. Guatemala. — O. 

 DUlknii, Haw. Erect: joints glaucous, obovate-rotundate: areoles 

 clothed with yellow, eventually white, tomentose; spines yellowish, 

 3-5 smaller ones and stronger: fls. yellow. W. Indies. — O. glauco- 

 phylla, W'endl. Erect: joints obovate. glaucous: spines 1 or 2, less 

 than 1 in. long. Mex.-— O. Gosscliniana. A. Web. 3-4 ft. high: st. 

 with long bristles. Mex. — 0. ha-nmtocdrpa, Berger, is advertised 

 abroad.— <). haitifnsis, Brit. Trunk 10-13 ft. high, densely armed 

 with spines 5 in. or less long: fis. yellow to orange. 1 in. broad. 

 Haiti. — 0. Hanburyaiia, X. Web. Distinct on account of its 

 straggling habit, long spreading spines, small ovary and fr. G.C. 

 111.35:34. — O. Kleiniae, DC. Shrubby, erect: joints cylindrical, 

 slender: spines mostly solitary: fls. cinnabar-red. Texas. — O. 

 Ixvis, Coult. Joints light green, elongate-obovate, 12 in. long: 

 areoles small, gray tomentose, with numerous short pale bristles: 

 fls. yellow, tinged with red, about 2 in. broad: fr. somewhat pyri- 

 form. Ariz. — ^. lurida is probably O. arborescens. — O. MtUs- 

 paughii, Brit. Trunk 2 ft. or less high, densely covered with spines 

 sometimes 6 in. long: fls. scarcely Hin. across. Bahamas. — O. 

 myriacdntha, A. Web. Branches yellow-green, pendulous when old: 

 areoles clothed with clusters of yellow bristles: petals pure yellow. 

 Galapagos Isls. G.C. III. 27: 178. — 0. sdnta-rita. Rose. Joints 

 reddish, usually orbicular: areoles with chestnut-brown bristles: 

 fls. deep yellow, 21^-3 in. across. S. W. U. S. — O. Schiimannii, A. 

 Web. Allied to O. nigricans. Shrub, 4-5 ft. high: joints obovate- 

 oblong, 12 in. long, about 5 in. broad: fls. 232 in. long. G.C. III. 

 35:34. — O. Spegazzlnii, A. Web. St. and branches cylindric: 

 spines 5 or 6, short, whitish : fls. sm.all, numerous, white. Paraguay. — 

 0. Tdylori, Brit. & Rose. Prostrate, widely branched: joints 

 oblong to narrowly obovate, up to 5 in. long: fls. small, yellow. 

 Haiti. — 0. lomentetla, Berger. Very free-flowering: joints 8-12 in. 

 long, bright green: areoles clothed with short blackish wool; spines 

 1 or 2, slender, whitish; fls. yellow-red. Guatemala. — O. tomentdsa, 

 Salm-Dyck. Erect; joints lanceolate, 6 in. long: spines bristly, 

 scarcely exceeding the tomentum: fls. reddish. Mex.— -O. idahensiSf 

 Purpus. Prostrate: joints ascending, elliptic or obovate, swollen, 

 about 6 in. long: areoles circular, with yellowish white wool; spines 

 1—4, rigid: fls, carmine, up to 4 in. across. Utah. 



J. W. TOUMEY. 



J. N. RoSE.f 



ORACH, or French spinach, is a pot-herb cultivated 

 and used much like spinach. It is an annual, grows .'j 

 to 6 feet high, has furrowed stems and arrow-shaped 

 sUghtly crimped leaves of soft texture. The inflores- 

 cence suggests that of amarantus-like plants. The 

 individual flowers are very small, devoid of petals, 

 and greenish or reddish according txi variety. For a 

 technical description, see AtripUx hortensis, page 427. 



There are three main types of orach, based on the 

 color of the leaves. The white variety is most commonly 

 grown; the leaves are pale green, almost yellow. The 

 red or dark red variety has stems and foliage of dark 

 red color, which disappears in cooking; it is occasionally 

 cultivated as an ornamental foliage plant under the 



name var. atrosnngidnea. The green variety is perhai)S 

 the most vigorous type; the leaves are rounder than 

 those of the white v;iricty ;ind less toothed. 



The seed is usually drilled into the open ground in 

 early spring, and usually seedlings are not transplanted 

 but thinned and allowed to stand in the row. The plants 

 are used in their young state, being cooked after the 

 manner of spin;xch or other "greens." They bear hot 

 weather fiiirly well, but soon run to .seed. Monthly 

 successional sowings are therefore desirable. Orach is 

 little grown in America. Wilhelm Miller. 



ORANGE. Plate LXXVIII. The orange is one of the 

 oldest of cultivated fruits. Its nativity is still in doubt, 

 but it is probable that it is indigenous to the Indo- 

 Chinese region. It is now widely distributed in all warm- 

 temperate and tropical countries, in many of which it 



2611. The "navel" structure. — Normal orange on the right; 

 aboormal or navel orange on the left, showing the adventitous 

 cells in the center. 



has run wild and behaves like a native plant. In parts 

 of Florida the orange was found wild when permanent 

 settlements were made, but it had probably spread 

 from stock that was introduced by the early Spaniards. 

 In stature of tree and character of fruit, the orange 

 has varied immensely. Normally, the fruit contains 

 ten compartments or locules; but under the influence of 

 domestication these compartments have been increased, 

 and in some cases a secondary axis, with its accompany- 

 ing locules, has been thrust into the center of the fruit, 

 causing the "navel" appearance of some varieties 

 (Figs. 2611, 2612). The.se navel oranges, of which the 

 Washington Navel, or Bahia, is the best known, are 

 chance kinds or varieties, as other varieties are. The 

 immediate cause of this particular kind of variation, as 

 of other variations, is unknown. The Washington Navel 

 was introduced from Brazil in 1870 by the late Wm. 

 Saunders, and by him distributed as the Bahia (see 

 Van Deman, Report of the Dejiartment of Agriculture, 

 1886, page 267). The two "original" trees in California 

 are still standing at Riverside, carefully protected (Fig. 

 261.3). In recent years, some of the odd and grotesque 

 types of .Japanese oranges have been introduced into 

 this country, but they will probably always be curiosities 

 rather than commercial pomological products. See 

 A.G. 1S90, 33.3-3.36. The sweet and sour oranges are con- 

 sidered to be two species (pages 782-784, \'olume II), 

 Citrus Hiiicnsis and C. Aurantium respectively. To the 

 former belong iic:trly all the u.sual commcrci;d oranges, 

 although the King orange is C. nohiliK, of which the 

 tangerines, mandarins and satsmnas are varieties 

 (Figs. 2614, 261.5). The orange belongs to a tribe of 

 three-foliolate plants, and although its leaves appear to 

 be simple, they arc really compound. Fig. 2616 shows 



