OPUNTIA. 



147 



Engelmann herbarium are the two original sheets. One of these comes from the "Moun- 

 tain Valleys of San Pasquel and Santa Isabel," northeast of San Diego. This consists of 

 a single flower and a small piece of a joint containing three bunches of spines; we doubt if 

 this can be identified. The other comes from near Tos Angeles and consists of a large pad 

 and fruit with seeds. The spines are dark 

 brown or nearly black. This specimen ap- 

 pears to be the one figured in the Pacific 

 Railroad Report and may very properly be 

 taken as the type of the species. 



There is much uncertainty regarding 

 the range of this species, some referring it 

 to the interior valleys of California. An ex- 

 amination, however, of the type material, 

 and a study of the living plants in southern 

 California by Dr. Rose, convince us that 

 the coastal opuntias can not all be referred 

 to O. littoralis as is sometimes done, but a 

 part belongs to 0. occidenialis. The limits 

 of the latter species, and its distribution, 

 are not well defined. 



Of this relationship is to be consid- 

 ered Opuntia semis pinosa Griffiths (Bull. 

 Torr. Club 43: 89. 1916), which the author 

 describes as a common, conspicuous spe- 

 cies in the coastal region of California. 



Illustrations: N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. 

 Bull. 60: pi. 3, f. 2; Pac. R.Rep.4:pl. 7, f.1,2; 

 pi. 22, f. 10; Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 22: pi. 8, 

 this last as Opuntia demissa. 



Figure 186 is from a plant collected 

 on Santa Catalina Island, Cahfornia, by 

 Mr. S. B. Parish in 1916. „ =^ o ,■ -a , r 



Fig. 186. — Opuntia occidentahs. 



150. Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck in Engelmann, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 6: 207. 1850. 



Opuntia engelmannii cyclodes Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 291. 1856. 

 Opuntia lindheimeri cyclodes Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 422. 1896. 

 Opuntia dillei Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard, 20: 82. 1909. 

 Opuntia arizonica Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: 93. 1909. 

 Opuntia wootonii Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 171. 1910. 

 Opuntia cyclodes Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: 309. 1911. 

 Opuntia gregoriana Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 26. 1912. 

 Opuntia valida Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 24. 1914. 

 Opuntia confusa Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 28. 1914. 

 Opuntia magnarenensis Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: 9. 1916. 

 Opuntia expansa Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: 14. 1916. 



Originally described as erect and up to 2 meters high, but more properly a widely spreading 

 bush, usually without a definite trunk; joints oblong to orbicular, 2 to 3 dm. long, thick, pale green; 

 areoles distant, becoming large and bulging; spines usually more or less white, with dark red or 

 brownish bases and sometimes with black tips, usually 3 or 4, sometimes only i , or entirely wanting 

 from the lower areoles, but on old joints 10 or more, usually somewhat porrect or a little spreading, 

 but never reflexed, the larger ones much flattened, the longest one 5 cm. long; leaves subulate, 

 about 15 mm. long; glochids numerous, brown with yellowish tips; flowers large, yellow; fruit 

 3.5 to 4 cm. long, red; seeds small, 3 to 4 mm. broad. 



Type locality: From El Paso to Chihuahua. 



Distribution: Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. 



