Chapter XIII. 

 LEUCHTENBERGIA. 



AMONG the many instances of plant mimicry that occur in the 

 Cactus family the most remarkable is the plant here figured. 

 Remove the flower from Leuchtenbergia, and very few people 

 -indeed would recognise it as a Cactus, but would probably call it 

 a short-leaved Yucca. In habit, in form, in leaf, and in texture it 

 is so like a Yucca that when first introduced it was thought to be 

 one by the Kew authorities until it flowered. The leaf -like tubercles 

 are sometimes longer and narrower than in Fig. 51 . Leuchtenbergia 

 bears its flowers on the ends of these tubercles, a peculiarity which 

 leads one to infer that tubercles are modified branches, the spines 

 representing the leaves. Some species of Mamillaria and Echino- 

 cactus develop young plants from the tops of their tubercles, which 

 also supports this theory. In Leuchtenbergia, the tubercles fall 

 away as the plant increases in height, leaving a bare, woody stem 

 similar to that of a Yucca. 



Cultivation. 



Leuchtenbergia has always been difficult to cultivate. It 

 thrives best in a warm, sunny house during winter, and in an 

 exposed, airy, warm position under glass during summer. It may 

 be watered regularly whilst growing that is, from April to Septem- 

 ber and kept quite dry all winter. The soil should be well- 

 drained loam, and the roots allowed plenty of pot room. 



Propagation. 



This may be effected from seeds, or by removing the head from 

 an old plant in spring, and placing it under a bell-glass to root, 

 watering it only about once a week till roots are formed. The 

 beheaded stem should be kept dry for about two months, and then 

 watered and placed in a sunny, moist position, where it can be 

 syringed once a day. It should then form buds on the edges of the 

 persistent parts of the tubercles. They first appear in the form 

 of tiny tufts of yellowish down, and gradually develop till the first 

 leaf -like tubercle appears. When large enough, the buds may be 

 removed and planted in small pots to root. If an old plant is 

 dealt with in this way in April, a batch of young ones should be 



