116 



CACTUS CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. 



ones erect. Joints flat, obovate, 5 inches long by 3 inches in width, 

 fresh green in colour ; spines very few, mostly only on the upper 

 edge of the last-made joints, 1 inch long, straight, whitish, soon 

 falling off ; cushion composed of very h'ne reddish bristles and 

 whitish Avool ; leaves very small, falling early. Flowers 2 to 4 inches 

 in diameter, bright sulphur-yellow, reddish in the centre. Pro- 

 duced in great abundance from July to September on the margins 



Fig. 61. Opuntia Rafinesqnii. 



of the younger joints. Fruit pear-shaped, 1.1 to 2 inches long, 

 spineles , edible, somewhat acid and sweet. Wisconsin to Ken- 

 tucky, and westward to Arkansas and Missouri. An ornamental 

 interesting plant for outdoor cultivation, and when once established 

 it gives no trouble. For the first year or two after planting it 

 requires watching, as, until the basal joints harden and become 

 woody, they are liable to rot in wet weather. A large-flowered 

 form of it is known as grandiflora. (Fig. 61.) 



C. ramosissima 



A bushy plant, 2 to 6 feet high, with a thick stem, dark grey 

 scaly bark, the branches clothed with ash-grey tubercles, each 

 bearing a small tuft of wool and a stout straight yellow spine, 

 2 inches long, enclosed in a loose yellow sheath. Flowers 2 inches 

 across, purple. The curiously -angled tubercles and long yellow 

 spines give the plant a striking appearance. California, &c. (Syn. 

 O. tessdlata.) There is a crested form of it. 



