LXI. CACTACE^. 275 



O. VULGARIS. Mill. (Cactus opuntia. Linn.} Prickly Pear. 



Prostrate, creeping; joints ovate; prickles numerous in each fascicle, of- 

 ten with several subulate spines ; fls. yellow. A curious, fleshy plant, native 

 in rocky and sandy places, Mass, to Flor. W. to la. ! It is often cultivated. 

 The singular form resembles a series of thick, fleshy leaves, 4 6' long, f as 

 wide, growing from the tip or sides of each other, and armed with orange-col- 

 ored spines. The flowers come forth from the edge of the joints, large, bright- 

 yellow, and succeeded by a smooth, crimson, eatable fruit, f 



2. CEREUS. DC. 



Sepals very numerous, imbricated, adnate to the base of the ovary, 

 and united into a long tube above it, the outer shorter, the inner pe- 

 taloid ; stamens 00, coherent with the tube ; style filiform, with many 

 stigmas ; berry scaly, with the remains of the sepals ; cotyledons 

 none ? Fleshy shrubs, with woody, cylindrical, grooved axes, armed 

 with clusters of spines. Fls. from the clusters of spines. 



1. C. PHYLLANTHTJS. DC. (Cactus. Linn.} Spleenwort. Branches ensiform, 

 compressed, serrate ; fls. with the terete, slender tube much longer than the 

 limb of the petals. From S. America. The articulations of the stem are 2f 

 or more long, 2' wide, weak, bordered with large, obtuse serratures, and trav- 

 ersed lengthwise by a central, cylindrical, woody axis. Flowers white, 9 12' 

 long, expanding by night, fragrant, f 



2. C. PHYLLANTHolDEs. DC. (Cactus. Linn.} Branches ensiform, com- 

 pressed, obovate, with spreading, rounded teeth ; fls. arising from the lateral 

 crenatures of the branches ; tube shorter than the limb of the petals. From 

 Mexico. A splendid flowerer, with leaf-like, fleshy joints, each 6 10' long, 1 

 2' wide. Flowers rose-colored, 4' in length,, expanding by day. f 



3. C. TRTTNCATUS. (Cactus. Linn.} Branching; joints short-compressed, 

 serrate, truncate at the summit ; j#s. arising from the summit of the joints ; sty. 

 longer than the stamens or reflexed petals. From Brazil. A very distinct spe- 

 cies, a foot or more high. Joints 23' long, 1 !' wide, leaf-like. Flowers 

 23' long, pink-colored, f 



4. C. GRANDIFLORUS. DC. (Cactus. Linn.} Creeping, rooting; st. with 

 about 5 angles ; fls. terminal and lateral, very large, nocturnal ; pet. spreading, 

 shorter than the linear-lanceolate sepals. From the W. Indies. Stems cylin- 

 dric or prismatic, branching, the angles not very prominent. Flowers expand- 

 ing by night, and enduring but a few hours, 8 12' diam. Sepals brown without, 

 yellow within ; petals white. A magnificent flower, but of difficult culture, f 



5. C. FLAGELLIFORMIS. DC. (Cactus. Linn.} Snake Cactus. St. creeping, 

 with about 10 angles, hispid ; fls. lateral, diurnal ; tube slender, longer than 

 the limb of the petals. From S. America. Stem about the size of the little 

 finger, cylindric, indistinctly articulated, 2 5f long. Flowers of a lively pink 

 color, smaller than those of the last, and continuing in bloom several days.f 



Obs. Many other species of this curious genus are occasionally reared in the parlor or the green-house, 

 so many that to notice them individually would transcend our limits. 



3. MELOCACTUS. 



Compounded of melon and cactus ; from its form. 



Calyx tube adherent to the ovary, lobes 5 6, petaloid ; petals as 

 many as sepals, united with them into a long cylindric tube ; stamens 

 and style filiform ; stigma 5-rayed ; berry smooth, crowned with the 

 withered calyx and corolla. Suffruticose, fleshy, leafless. Spadix sim- 

 ple, crowning the globular, deeply furrowed axis. Flowers terminal. 



M. COMMUNIS. Turk's Cap. Melon Thistle. Axis ovate-subglobose, dark 



green, 12 18-angled ; ribs straight ; spines fasciculate, subequal. Native of the 



Caribbean Islands. This remarkable plant appears like a large, green melon, 



with deep furrows and prominent ribs, and is full of juic< It is surmounted 



24 



