Noticeable Plants 59 



Mamillaria sp. Like a larger growth of the foregoing, 

 but somewhat irregular in shape and with waxy-white 

 flowers. Blooms in late spring. 



Opuntia basilaris. A flat-lobed, grayish cactus, velvety- 

 looking, without noticeable spines but set with myriads 

 of minute prickles. Flowers very handsome, large, cup- 

 shaped, cerise, set in row on edge of lobe. Blooms in 

 mid-spring. 



Opuntia bigelovii. Cholla. A plant up to 6 feet tall, 

 branching in stumpy arms, the whole plant densely 

 clad with greenish white spines. The older parts turn 

 almost black. The joints detach very easily and litter 

 the ground. Flowers greenish white. Blooms in mid- 

 and late spring. 



Opuntia chlorotica. Prickly pear, Indian fig. Nopal. The 

 common flat-lobed cactus of the coast, found also on 

 the desert mountains. Flowers pale yellow, sometimes 

 with reddish tinge, set in a row on edge of lobe: fruit 

 dark red, edible, but covered with fine prickles. Blooms 

 in mid-spring. 



Opuntia echinocarpa. Deer-horn cactus. A very branch- 

 ing cactus up to 5 feet high, the joints pale green, very 

 spiny though less so than O. bigelovii. Flowers greenish 

 with bronzed look outside. Blooms in mid-spring. 



Opuntia ramosissima. Similar in habit to O. echinocarpa 

 but with much slenderer stems and fewer but stronger 

 spines. Flowers small, brown. Blooms in late spring. 



Cassia armata. A low bushy plant with handsome yellow 

 flowers, found in the desert mountains, but rare. Blooms 

 in mid-spring. 



Centaurea melitensis. Star thistle, Jocalote. A small, 

 usually single-stemmed plant a foot or so high, with 

 narrow gray-green leaves. Flowers small, yellow: 

 flower-heads very prickly. Blooms in mid-spring and 

 summer. 



Cercidium torreyanum. Palo verde, Lluvia de oro. A tree 

 up to 30 feet high, noticeable for the smooth green 

 bark of the entire tree. Foliage small, scanty, and 



