Plants Collected in Paraguay. 121 



clusters, on peduncles 2-7 cm. lon<^, subtended by ciliate bracts. 

 Leaves slightly diagonally reniform, the lower part projecting down- 

 wards. Stipules lunate, ciliate, acute. Whole plant very smooth. 



CACTE^. 



Cereus saxicolus, Morong, n. sp. 



Growing among rocks, often reclining or creeping. Stem cylindrical, 1-2 ra. 

 or more in heiglit, 2-3 cm. in diameter, glabrous. Costse 9, somewhat sharply 

 angled ; furrows obtuse. Areoles 10 or 12 mm. apart, 5 or 6 mm. in diameter, 

 the short yellowish wool becoming with age fulvous tomentum. Spines 6-11, 

 stout, straight, the lowest 5 or 6 mm. long, the central one, or the 3 central, 

 larger and 10-15 mm. long, all cinereous below and black at the tip. Flowers 

 solitary, 6 or 7 cm. long, about 6 cm. in diameter when expanded, the outer 

 scales small, round-ovat'e, sometimes ciliolate, the uppermost greenish-purple ; 

 petals silvery-white. The flower is very showy, opening at night and closing 

 soon after sunrise. -Berry stipitate, oval, about 5 cm. long and 3 cm. in 

 diameter ; seeds small, black, shining, very numerous. The berry is edible, 

 but rather dry. 



This plant seems to differ from any of the species described in 

 Flor. Bras., D.C. Prod., or Salm-Dyck's Cact. Hort. Dyck. 

 Near Trinidad (26Y). December. 



Cereus Balansae, K. Schum. in Mart. Fl. Bras., iv, pt. 2, 210. 



Trinidad (268). December. = Balansa 2504. 



Stem columnar, 5-8 cm. thick, growing upright among rocks 3 m. 

 or more, with 4-5 angles and as many rows of spines, the spines 

 in 5s, of unequal length (1-4 cm.). Flowers very handsome, some 

 15 cm. in length, the petals a brilliant white; peduncles t or 8 cm. 

 long and covered with lanceolate scales, 2J cm. in length. Fruit a 

 large globular red berry, 6 cm. long and nearly as broad, the pulp 

 fleshy, white, edible, full of small black, hard seeds. The flowers 

 close soon after sunrise. 



Opuntia nigricans, Haw., Syu., 189. 



Asuncion (164). November-January. 



Common on rocky cliffs by the Paraguay River, a much branched 

 cactus, some 2 or 3 m. in height. The dark yellow spines, spring- 

 ing from a cushion-like disk, consist of 3-5 larger ones, divaricately 

 spreading, unequal, the largest 1^ cm. long, and many smaller ones. 

 Flowers with reddish-yellow corollas about 3 cm. high and 5 or 6 

 cm. in diameter when spread wide open, the sepals frequently of a 



