MAIHUENIA. 



41 



-Maihuenia poeppigii. X0.75. 

 -Maihuenia brachydelphys. X0.75. 



Key to Species. 



Joints subglobose i. M. patagonica 



Joints oblong to cylindric. 



Leaves linear, 4 to 6 mm. long 2. M. poeppigii 



Leaves ovate to subulate, 2 to 4 mm. long. 



Joints spineless below 3 . M. brachydelphys 



Joints spiny all over. 



Leaves on the ovary with white hairs 



in their axils 4. M. valentinii 



Leaves on the ovary without hairs in 



their a.xils 5. M. tehiielches 



1. Maihuenia patagonica (Philippi). 



Opuntia patagonica Philippi, Linnaea 33: 82. 1864. 

 Pereskia philippii Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 939. 1898. 

 Maihuenia philippii Weber in Schumann, Gesamtb. Kak- 

 teen 757. 1898. 



Low, much branched, and dense, resembling Sempervi- 

 vum tomentosimi in habit; joints subglobose, i to 1.5 cm. in 

 diameter; leaves subulate, green; young areoles bearing 

 white hairs; spines weak, hardly pungent, white, the longest 

 10 to 15 mm. long; flowers 2.8 to 3 cm. long; fruit 8 to 10 mm. long, thicker than long; leaves on 

 the ovary ovate to lanceolate, fleshy, naked in their axils, except some of the upper ones; seeds 

 round, 3 to 4 mm. in diameter. 



Type locality: In southern Argentina. 



Distribution: Near snow-line on southern mountain ranges of Argentina and Chile. 

 Opuntia philippii Haage and Schmidt, without description, is given by Weber (Diet. 

 Hort. Bois 939. 1898) as a synonym of this species. 

 This is called by the natives espina blanca. 



2. Maihuenia poeppigii (Otto) Weber in 



Schumann, Gesamtb. Kaktcen 755. 

 1898. 



Opuntia poeppigii Otto in PfeilTer, 



Enum. Cact. 174. 1837. 

 Opuntia maihuen Remy in Gay, Fl. 



Chilena 3 : 29. 1847. 

 Pereskia poeppigii talm-Dyck, Cact. 



Hort. Dyck. 1849. 252. 1850. 



Shrubby, much branched, prostrate, 

 forming dense cespitose masses i meter 

 broad; joints spiny to the bases, cylin- 

 dric, 6 cm. long or more, 1.5 cm. in diam- 

 eter; leaves cylindric, green, 4 to 6 mm. 

 long; spines 3 from each areole, the 2 late- 

 rals very short, the central one 1.5 to 2 

 cm. long; flowers terminal, yellow; fruit 

 oblong to obovoid, about 5 cm. long and 

 3 cm. thick. 



Type locality: In Chile, without 

 definite locality. 



Distribution: High mountains of 

 Chile. 



Illustrations: Schumann, Ge- 

 samtb. Kakteen f. 108, b, c; Gar- 

 tenflora 32: pi. 1129, f. i to 4, as 

 Opuntia poeppigii; Diet. Gard. Nich- 

 olson 3 : f. 82, as Pereskia poeppigii. 



Figure 51 is from a fruit obtained 

 by Dr. Rose at the National Museum 

 of Chile, Santiago, in 1914. 



Fig. 53. — Maihuenia tehuelches 



