CACTACEAE 339 



Joints long, cylindric or 3- to 5-angIed or -winged; flowers very larg^. 



1. Gereua- 

 Joints oblong-obovate, compressed; flowers small 2. Nopalea 



1. CEREUS Miller 



Succulent, climbing or erect plants with distantly jointed, 3-?ingled stems, 

 bearing short sharp spines in scattered marginal areolae. Leaves none. 

 Flowers large, solitary. Calyx-tube long-produced above the ovary, the 

 lobes very numerous, many-seriate, the outer ones much-reduced. ' Petals 

 many, 2- to many-seriate, longer than the sepals. Stamens very numerous, 

 many-seriate, the filaments adnate to the base of the calyx-tube. Style 

 cylindric, elongated; stigma radiate. (Latin "a wax torch," from fancied 

 resemblance of the flowers of some species.) 



Species about 120 in the warmer and tropical parts of America, 3 in- 

 troduced in the Philippines. 



Climbing; stems and branches 3-angled ,.. 1. C. triangularis 



Erect; stems and branches 5-winged 2. C. lepidotus 



*1. C. TRIANGULARIS (L.) Mill. Caliz (Sp.-Fil.). 



A climbing, branched plant, rooting at the joints, reaching a height of 

 8 m or more, the stems triangular, 3-winged, the joints 0.2 to 1 m long, 

 or more, 4 to 6 cm thick, green, the wings thick, with remote areolae', each 

 areola with 3 to 6, sharp, straight, 2 to~^ mm long spines. Flowers about 

 30 cm long. Sepals greenish-yellow, thick, lanceolate. Petals about 16, 

 2-seriate, 10 to 12 mm long, 4 to 5 cm wide, white, thin. Fruit said to 

 be about 10 cm long, scarlet, smooth. (Fl. Filip. pi. 32i.) 



Occasionally cultivated, fl. June-Sept. Widely distributed in tropical 

 America, an introdiced plant here. \ 



*2. C. LEPIDOTUS Salm-Dyck. 



Stout, erect, sparingly branched, up to 3.5 m high, the branches ascending, 

 10 to 12 cm in diameter, 5-winged, the margins of the wings with areolae 

 1 to 1.6 cm apart, each areola with 5 to 8 slender, sharp, radiating, brovm 

 spines 5 to 20 mm long. Flowers solitary, about 20 cm long, the tube about 

 1.5 cm in diameter, broadened above, narrowly funnel-shaped, 6 to 7 cm in 

 diameter above. Sepals in several series, green, the lower ones Oblong, 

 short, gradually longer upward, the upper ones lanceolate to oblong- 

 lanceolate, 6 to 7 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, apiculate. Petals white, much 

 thinner than the sepals, oblong-lanceolate, 7 to ^ cm long, 1.5 to 2 cip 

 wide. Stamens very numerous. Style green, cylindric, the radiating arms 

 of the stigma about 1.7 cm long. 



Rarely cultivated, occasional also in thickets, San Juan del Monte, 

 Masambong, etc., fl. Sept.; occasional in the Provinces, in thickets and 

 cultivated. A native of South America. 



2. NOPALEA Salm-Dyck 



Erect, branched, fleshy shrubs, the branches jointed, the joints com- 

 pressed, oblong to obovate, green, with scattered cushion-like bodies which 

 usually bear short spines. Flowers scattered, solitary 61 the fBargins of 

 the upper joints, sessile, red. Calyx-tube not produced above the ovary, 

 the lobes _6 to 8, scale-like. Petals 12 to 18, 2-seriate, ascending. Stamens 

 very numerous, 2-seriate, longer than the petals. Ovary exserted; style 



