CACTACEA OF THE BOUNDARY. 203 
In rocky valleys and on mountain sides, often in mere crevices of rocks, from the valley of Williams’s River, 
lat. 35° (Bigelow), to Sonora, lat. 30° (Thurber, Schott); and from the middle Gila (Emory) down to near its mouth 
arry). I cannot find that it has been collected west of the Colorado, though it is probably also an inhabitant of the 
California peninsula. Flowers from May to July; fruit ripe in July and August. The Suwarrow or Saguaro of 
the natives. — Young plants, as Dr. Bigelow observed, are almost always found under the protecting shade of some 
shrub, especially of Frémont’s “ green-barked Acacia” (Cercidiwm Floridanum), so characteristic of the barren 
ilderness ; and not rarely the dead stems of this plant are found near the older: Ceret. Young plants retain their 
globose shape for several years; a specimen in my possession, 5 or.6 inches high, is supposed to be between eight and 
ten years old. It flowers at the height of 10 or 12 feet, but grows up to four or five times that height. Stems have 
been measured 46 feet high, and higher ones are stated to occur ; so that the first statement of Colonel Emory is not at 
all improbable, — namely, that this plant sometimes has been found 50-60 feet high. The stem is thickest in or 
a little above the middle, and tapers upward and downward; one was found by Dr. Bigelow to be at 1 foot [43] 
‘hove the ground 13 siclicd and 10 feet higher more than 23 inches, i in diameter. The fleshy part of the plant 
is, as he notes, bitter, and not acidulous, as in most species of Cacti. The ligneous skeleton consists of thick 
(1-2 inches thick) and somewhat terete perpendicular bundles of fibres, corresponding in number and position to the 
grooves of the stem. In younger plants and on the upper part of the older ones these sticks are distinct, and sway in 
the wind like so many reeds, but at the lower part of the older stems they are reticulately connected with one another 
by resich tissue, the open meshes corresponding (just as in the cylindric Opuntie) with the bunches of spines or 
tuberties j n the oldest stems the inner cavity becomes nearly filled by the same tissue. Stems aire eaiare older 
ones often with a few erect branches ; they are rarely much branched, but specimens have been ed where 
5-9 branches sprang from the same part of the main stem ; the primary Sant very rarely produce as ones ; 
the branches usually drop off from the skeleton of the dead stems, but in very old specimens ae remain, and present 
a view like the one in our landscape plate opposite the titlepage, which is taken from an accurate sketch made on the 
spot by Mr. Meellhausen. Ribs at the base of the stem few (12-15), broad, obtuse, often almost obliterated, and 
generally without spines; higher up the number of ribs increases to about 18-21; they are triangular with an 
obtusish edge, separated by deep triangular acute grooves; toward the top of the plant the young ribs are narrowly 
compressed, with obtusish edges and narrow grooves between them. The somewhat pulvinate areole are 7 lines long, 
nearly 6 lines in diameter, about an inch distant from one another, sometimes more closely approximate ; at first they 
are covered with a thick yellowish or tawny tomentum. Lower and upper radial spines 6-12 lines long, sometimes a 
few additional shorter flexuous setaceous spines are placed above ; lateral ones 12-18 lines long, the lower ones 
longest ; the 4 lower central spines straight, or very slightly curved pe 20-30 lines, the 2 upper central spines 
15-18 lines long, diverging upward. He stoutest spines are 1 line in diameter, their bulbous base fully twice as 
thick. In old age, and toward the base of the stem, the 6 central spines fall off first, leaving the radiating ones 
appressed to the stem ; finally these wi come off, together with the whole areola. The flowers are produced in 
abundance near the summit of the stems and branches; the fruit is usually found 6-12 inches from the centre of the 
top. Specimens of flowers have been sent by Mr. Thurber and by Mr. Schott: those of the former are not over 
3 ake as the others have a longer tube, and are between 4 and 5 inches in length and 3-4 inches in diameter ; 
the flowers are probably open day and night. Ovary 1-1} inch long; lower scales of the tube triangular ; upper 
sepals fleshy, greenish- sigs #-1 inch long, lower ones 2, upper ones 3-4 lines wide ; petals of a light cream color, 
1-1} inch long, 6-8 lines wide above, very ‘thick and enliy, and yery much curled ; filaments it yellow, adnate to 
the upper half of the gots its lower part for the length of 1 or 1} inch naked ; stigmata over half an inch long, 
slender, suberect, of a greenish-yellow color. Fruit 21-3 inches long, 13-2 inches in fee oval or obovate, or 
often narrowed at base and almost pear-shaped (perhaps where many are spe ye together); the remains of the flower 
falling off leave a broad convex scar; the color of the fruit is green, and towards the upper end reddish. The pericarp 
has the hardness of a green cucumber, somewhat softer towards the apex, and is about 2 lines thick ; it bursts open on 
the plant with 3 ér usually 4 valves, which are red on the inside, and when spreading horizontally, or somewhat 
recurved, look like a red flower. The crimson-colored sweet but rather insipid pulp has the consistency of a 
fresh fig ; it completely separates from the rind, and, drying up from the heat of the sun, falls to the ground. [44] 
The innunentha black seeds are 0.7-0.9 line long. Those brought by Mr. Thurber, and largely distributed in 
this country and in Europe, have well germinated ; the cotyledons are short and acute ; the seedling plant is globose, 
grows very slowly, and is rather delicate. 
3. C. Taursert, E. in Sillim. Journ.: caulibus erectis seu adscentibus elatioribus fasciculatis articulatis 
13-14-costatis ; sinubus tassels ; areolis subremotis pulvinatis griseo- seu fulvo-tomentosis ; aculeis 7-15 gracili- 
bus rectis flexuosisve sae sxe cinereis valde inzqualibus irregulariter fasciculatis ; ; floribus infra caulis 
apicem lateralibus aggregatis ; ovarii squamis sepaloideis 80-100 pluri inate triangularibus imbricatis axi 
copiosam albidam vel fulvam ae aculeo a paucos nigricantes gerentibus ; sepalis tubi sub-50 olivaceis, plat 
bus acutiusculis, superioribus obovato-spathulatis obtusis; petalis obtusis carnosis albidis ; bacca magna _ globosa 
