1 86 



THE CACTACEAE. 



colored; stigma-lobes several, linear; perianth soon dropping from the ovarj^; fruit globular or 

 short-oblong to narrowly oblong, often with low ridges, sometimes tubercled, red or purple, edible 

 or insipid, when mature splitting down one side and exposing the white or crimson pulpy interior; 

 seeds black, shining. 



Type species: Cactus phyllanthus Linnaeus. 



The generic name is from ext upon, and cpvWov leaf, as it was supposed that the flowers 

 were borne on leaves ; it is a misnomer, for the flowers are not borne on leaves but on stems 

 as in all other cacti. 



In 1890 K. Schumann recognized 15 species; but, as a number of new ones were 

 described soon afterward, he increased this number to 21 in his Keys of the Monograph 

 published in 1903. In our treatment 16 species are recognized. 



The name Epiphyllum is often used for a different group of cacti, that is, the crab 

 cactus; the type species of Epiphyllum is, however, in the genus as we have here limited 

 it. WTien Haworth published the genus he referred to it but one species, Epiphyllum 

 phyllanthus, but he later added another species, E. truncatum, which, when it was found 

 to belong to a different generic type, was erroneously allowed to retain the name Epiphyllum, 

 while Epiphyllum phyllanthus became the type of the genus Phyllocactus, which, when first 

 described in 1831, contained but a single species, so that Epiphyllum and Phyllocactus were 

 based on the same type and PJiyllocactus is a synonym of Epiphyllum. This is also true of 

 Phyllocereus, which was based on the Epiphyllum of Haworth (S>m. PI. Succ. 197. 1812), 

 where only E. phyllanthus is described. 



Fig. 194. — Top of fruiting branch of Epiphyllum phyllanthus. X 0.66. 



The pre-Linnaean species of this genus were usually referred to Cereus and, for it, the 

 section Alaii in Cereus was proposed by De Candolle (Prodr. 3: 469. 1828). Linnaeus, 

 however, referred the only species which he recognized to Cactus, and PhiHp IVIiller referred 

 the same species to Opuntia, but neither have had many followers. 



Haworth (Phil. IMag. 6: 108, 109. 1829) followed by Don (Hist. Dichl. PI. 3 : 170. 1834) 

 divides the genus into two sections, the Nocturna and the Diurna. 



Phyllarthus Nicker (Elam. 2: 85. 1790) is generally supposed to be a synonym of this 

 group but the genus is not typified; the Index Kewensis refers it to Cereus (?) ; Dr. E. L. 

 Greene (Leaflets i : 52) says that it applied to Phyllanthus and Opuntia of earlier authors: 

 the Phyllanthus here referred to was Cactus phyllanthus Linnaeus. 



