58 Our Aracy 



and usually of smooth, dome-shaped outline. Flowers 

 inconspicuous. Blooms in mid-spring. 



Baileya pauciradiata. Cotton-plant. A small, loosely 



growing plant with pale gray-green stems, narrow 



woolly leaves, and small, lemon-yellow flowers. Blooms 

 in mid- and late summer. 



Bebbia juncea. A roundish, dark green bush a foot or two 

 high, with many slender, almost leafless stems and 

 numerous small, yellow, fragrant flowers. Blooms 

 throughout summer. 



Beloperone calif ornica. Chuparosa. A good - sized bush, 

 almost leafless, with purplish green, downy stems and 

 handsome, dark red, tubular flowers. One of the earliest 

 blooming desert plants, continuing all spring. 



Cacti: — 



Cereus engelmanni. Hedgehog cactus. A cluster of spiny 

 short stems about the size and shape of cucumbers. 

 Flowers very handsome, large, cup-shaped, bright rose- 

 purple with plumy green stigma. Blooms in mid-spring. 



Cereus giganteus. Saguaro, Pitahaya. The giant cactus, 

 common on the Arizona desert hills and found sparingly 

 in California adjacent to the Colorado River. It is 

 a tall, fluted column up to 60 feet high, usually with 

 similar vertical offsets for branches. Flowers large, 

 white: fruit crimson, edible. Blooms in mid-spring. 



Echinocactus cylindraceus. Barrel cactus. Nigger-head, 

 Biznaga (or Viznaga). A large, cylindrical, ribbed 

 cactus up to 6 feet high (globular when young) cov- 

 ered with long curving spines. Flowers greenish yellow, 

 cup-shaped, in a circle on the top. Blooms in mid- 

 spring. 



Mamillaria tetrancistrus. Pincushion, Strawberry, or 

 Fish-hook cactus, Chilito. A small, round cactus, usually 

 1 or 2 inches in height and diameter, with a fuzz of fine 

 white spines and a longer sharply hooked black one 

 in the centre of each tuft. Flowers fleshy, lily-like, of 

 rich claret color: fruit scarlet, finger-shaped, edible. 

 Blooms in late spring. 



