RHIFSALIS. 125 



mature is remarkable. Cuttings will strike at almost any time, if 

 planted in sandy soil and kept in a close, warm house till rooted. 

 Some of the kinds thrive best when grafted on to a thin- stemmed 

 Cereus. Treated in this way, R. sarmentacea makes 6 inches of 

 growth in a season ; whereas, on its own roots it would take about 

 five years to grow as much. 



R. Cassytha. 



A pendent shrub, 4 feet or more high, growing on rocks and 

 the mossy trunks of trees. Branches numerous, flexuous, with 

 small branchlets or joints springing from the ends in clusters, 

 smooth, round, the thickness of whipcord, leafless, with numerous 

 brown, dot-like marks scattered over the surface ; under a lens 

 these dots are seen to be tufts of very fine hairs. Flowers on the 

 sides of the young branches, small, greenish- white, short-lived ; 

 they are developed in September, and are succeeded by white 

 berries, exactly like those of the Mistletoe, whence the name 

 Mistletoe Cactus. Tropical America, Africa, &o. Introduced in 

 1758. 



R. commune. 



Stem straggling, branching freely, growing to a length of several 

 feet. Branches jointed ; joints varying in length, triangular, the 

 angles compressed, and notched along the margins ; notches regular, 

 and bearing tufts of whitish hair. Strong plants produce joints 

 over 1 inch in width. Flowers white, tinged with purple, springing 

 singly from the notches, and composed of eight to twelve sepals 

 and petals. Stamens and stigma erect, white, the latter four-rayed. 

 Brazil Introduced in 1830. Should be grown in a warm green- 

 house, and treated as a basket-plant or as a small pot-shrub. Syn. 

 Lepismium commune. 



R. crlspa-ta. 



Stem branching freely. Branches jointed and flat, like Epiphyl- 

 lum. Margins of joints notched, and slightly curled. Flowers 

 small, white, produced singly, in November and December, in the 

 notches on the younger joints. Fruits white, pea-like, rarely 

 ripened. A free-growing, compact stove shrub, with a bright green, 

 healthy appearance. The similarity of its branches to Epiphyllum 

 led to its being included in that genus by Haworth. Var. purpurea 

 haa larger, broader joints, bronzy-purple in colour. 



R. fasciculata. 



Stems terete, as thick as a goose- quill. Branches usually in 

 clusters, and sometimes jointed, green, with small red dots and 

 little tufts of fine, hair-like bristles. Flowers white, produced in 

 March, springing irregularly from the older branches, small, star- 

 like. Fruit a white berry. From its habit of growing on trees, 



