SEUCNICERIvUS. 



199 



3. Selenicereus coniflorus (Weingart) Britton and Rose, Contr. U. vS. Nat. Herb. 12: 430. 1909. 



Cereus coniflorus Weingart, Monatsschr. Kakteenk, 14: 118. 1904. 



Cereus nycticaltis urnnilus Schumann, CU-samtb. Kaklccn i|7. 1897. 

 Selenicereus pringlei Rose, Contr. U, S. Nat. Herb. 12: 4.U. 1909. 

 Cereus jalapaensis Vaupel, Monatsschr. Kaktccnk. 23: 26. 1913. 



Stems high-climbing, giving off numerous aerial roots, pale green, becoming purplish along tin- 

 ribs, 5 or 6-ribbed; intervals between the ribs either depressed or shallow; margins of the ribs slightly 

 wavy to strongly knobby; spines acicular, pale yellow, the radials 4 to 6, with 1 central, porrect, 1 

 to 1.5 cm. long; bristles from the lower part of arcoles, 2, reflexed; buds globular, covered with white 

 hairs; flowers about 22 to 25 cm. long; outer perianth -segments linear, light orange or bronzed to 

 lemon-yellow; inner perianth-segments pure white, apiculate; filaments greenish; style much shorter 

 than the inner perianth-segments; stigma-lobes greenish yellow; scales on the ovary and flower-tube 

 linear, reddish, their axils bearing white hairs and spines; fruit globose, about 6 cm. in diameter. 



Type locality: Not cited; based on cultivated plants. 



Distribution: Eastern Mexico, especially Vera Cruz. 



This is a vigorous climbing vine, flowering freely in cultivation. It is often known in 

 collections as Cereus nycticalus armatus. Living material was collected by Dr. Rose in 

 Mexico in 1905, where he learned it was being gathered in large quantities and shipped to 

 the United States, as Cereus grandiflorus, to be manufactured into medicine. 



Illustration: Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 35, as Cereus nycticalus. 



Plate xxxv is from a plant collected by Dr. Rose in Mexico in 1905, which flowered at 

 the New York Botanical Garden, May 8, 19 13. Figure 273 shows a joint and figure 274 

 a fruit of a plant in the collection of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



4. Selenicereus hondurensis (Schumann) Britton and Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 430. 1909. 



Cereus hondurensis Schumann in Weingart, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 14: 147. 1904. 



Climbing and clambering, 1.5 cm. in diameter, green, becoming in winter deep purple; ribs 7 

 to io, low; areoles 6 to 10 mm. apart; spines rather short, 5 to 7 mm. long, but acicular, usually sur- 

 rounded by numerous much longer white hairs or bristles, especially conspicuous on young branches; 

 flowers 20 cm. long or more; outermost perianth-segments brownish and linear, the outer ones linear 

 and acuminate, yellow; inner perianth-segments pure white, 10 cm. long, 10 to 15 mm. broad; scales 

 on ovary and flower-tube linear, bearing numerous long bristly hairs in their axils; fruit not known. 



Type locality: Honduras. 



Distribution: Honduras and Guatemala. 



Fig. 275. — Tip of branch of Selenicereus hondurensis. Natural size. 



