MAMILLARIA. 75 



M. angularis. 



A robust kind, with stems from 4 to 8 inches high, branching 

 somewhat freely ; tubercles prism-shaped, rather thick at the base, 

 and slightly angular, J inch long, their tops tufted with short white 

 spines ; at the base of the tubercles are little tufts of white wool. 

 Flowers rarely produced by cultivated plants; they are small, 

 tubular, rosy-purple, the stamens yellow, Introduced from 

 Mexico in 1835. Requires a warm greenhouse during winter, 

 iand exposure to bright sunshine at all times. 



M. applanata. 



Stem broader than high, tubercles 7 | inch long, cone-shaped 

 with stellate tufts of straight, hair-like spines, white when young, 

 yellowish when aged. Flowers springing from the outside of the 

 stem-top, white, tinged with red. Native of Mexico. 



M. atrata. 



Stem oval in shape, broad at the base, 4 inches high, unbranched ; 

 tubercles swollen, i inch long, deep green, cone-shaped, becoming 

 flattened through pressure of growth. Spines set in a tuft of white 

 hairs, falling off from the lowest mammae, as happens in ma,ny 

 of the thick- stemmed kinds. Flowers numerous, and developed 

 all round the outside of the stem, nestling closely between the 

 tubercles, and when expanded looking like starry buttons of a rosy- 

 pink colour. Native of Chili. It will thrive in a cold frame, and 

 requires protection from excessive wet only. 



M. barbata. 



Stem globose, simple, about 2 inches high, with short tubercles, 

 cacli crowned with a tuft of about fifty radial spines, less than J inch 

 long, white or yellow, and one or two central, brown, hooked spines. 

 Flowers small, rose-red. Mexico. Said to be hardy in England, 

 but it succumbed to the cold and wet of winter when tried at Kew. 



M. bicolor. 



One of the commonest and most distinct, owing to its short, 

 silvery hair-like spines, thickly crowded on the ends of the small 

 tubercles, completely hiding the stem. The latter is from inches 

 to 1 foot high, 3 inches in diameter, cylindrical, often branching. 

 If kept from dust, by covering the plant with a bell-glass, there 

 is much charm in the stem. Flowers are less than 1 inch in length, 

 stellate, their colour deep purple. Native of Mexico at 4000 to 

 5000 feet. It thrives best when grown in a warm house, or in a 

 warm room-window if exposed to bright sunlight and kept dry in 

 winter. M. nicea and M. nobilis are varieties. 



M. Bocasana. 



A pretty little plant, with globose stems, less than 2 inches high, 

 the tubercles set in long, axillary white wool, the radial spines white 



