The Rainbow Cactus. 



237 



across. The flowers are of a bright crimson, shading to white to 

 ward the center. Its culture is eas3', as is the case with most cacti. 



It is a native of the southeastern part of Arizona and Sonora, 

 Mexico. The spines are said to be in individual plants at times 

 wholly white, and again, all the spines on a plant will be of a blood 

 red or crimson color. 



The true Echinocereus candicans. Gill, is a native of the region 

 of La Plata, South America, and when young is of a globular form 

 like an Echinocactus, closel3' covered with very long spines. Our 

 rainbo\v cactus has been described by Dr. Engelmann under the 

 name of Cereus ])eetinatus var. (?) rigidissimus, but it seems to the 

 w^iiter as ^vortlly of specific rank. The following detailed descrip- 



r. PKCTIN.XTUS. 



tion is subjoined : Plant ovate-cylindrical ; ribs 20 to 22, slightly 

 interrupted ; areolae linear-lanceolate, crowded on the ribs, some- 

 what woolly when \'oiing; S])ines all radiating, interwoven, recurv- 

 ing from the bulb-like base, awl shaped, very sharp, rigid, white, 

 yellow or red, pellucid ; lateral spines long, stout, 12 to 16 in num- 

 ber; the low^er spines short, upper ones 3 to 6, bristly, shorter, 

 fasciculate. Flowers produced from the side of the plant beneath 

 the summit; ovary with 50 to 60 clusters of small rigid spines; 

 sepals forming a tube, 60 in number, the 40 inferior ones subulate, 

 the upper 20 lanceolate-acuminati ; petals under 20 in number, pur- 

 ple; stigmata less than 12, green; fruit ovate to globose, spiny; 

 seeds tuberculated. From Sonora and Arizona. Differs from C. 



