EcniNocAoius. 35 



at the time, afterwards they become hardened, of the texture of the spines 

 themselTes, and persistent." It is difficult to tell what is the exact purpose 

 these serve, as, beyond the fragrance of the flowers and the abundant stores 

 of pollen, there are few temptations for insect visitors in most Cactaceous 

 flowers. B. longihamatua is a native of the Eio Grande district near the 

 Pecos and San Pedro rivers, and it was introduced by Galeotti in 1851. The 

 stem is globular, 2 to 12 inches high, dark green or glaucous, with thirteen 

 ridges of circular mound-like tubercles 1 inch high. These are about 1 inch 

 apart, and bear six to fourteen strong rigid spines each, red when young, and 

 brownish grey or black afterwards ; the central one is sometimes 4 inches 

 long, and terminates in a hook. The flower is 3 to i inches in diameter, 

 with narrow yellow petals and greenish sepals. The fruits are described as 

 "green and acid when young, but sweet when ripe." This species is parti- 

 cularly well grown in the Oxford Botanic Garden collection, which includes 

 several large and handsome specimens. 



E. nnoDOPHTHALMUS, EooTccr. — A neat and pretty species of moderate 

 growth and flowering very freely. The stem is cylindrical, somewhat 

 columnar in form, 6 to 8 inches high, 3 to 5 inches in diameter. There 

 are eight to nine ridges closely set together, and upon these are the 

 clusters of nine spines, each about 1 inch long, the central one the largest, 

 the others spreading. These are in their earliest stages of a purplish 

 hue, but as they grow older they lose the colour and become pale. The 

 flowers are borne at the summit of the stem, are 3 to 4 inches in diameter, 

 formed of narrow spreading petals, the colour being a pleasing shade of 

 rosy crimson, much darker at the base, thus forming a ring of colour 

 which greatly improves the appearance of the flower. The species is a 

 native of San Luis- Potosi in Mexico, and was introduced to this country 

 by F. Staines, Esq., in 1847. It flowers during the summer months very 

 freely, and is worth a place in any collection, but still continues rather 

 scarce. The woodcut, fig. 6, is a reduced representation of the plate iu 

 the "Botanical Magazine," t. 4486, published in 1850. A variety named 

 ellipticus was also figured in the same work subsequently, but it differs 

 very slightly from the type. 



E. MTKIOSTIGMA, S.D. (Astropht/tum myriostigma). — Though in many 

 respects this is totally distinct from the Hedgehog Cactus, yet botanically 

 it has been found to be so nearly related to that genus that they could not 

 be separated satisfactorily. It is very peculiar, and at a glance appears to be 

 scarcely a living plant, so regular, rigid, and unplant-like is its form, that 

 we might almost imagine it had been carved from a piece of stone. It seems 

 to be an even greater departure from the forms of plant life with which we 

 are most familiar than other Cacteas, strange as they are, for all vestiges of 

 leaves or branches are lost, the spines and tubercles, their representatives in 

 other species, have in this one disappeared, and the stem is bare except for 

 some curious star-like scales or hairs. It forms a marked stage in the evolu- 

 tion of the genus, and appears to be the opposite extreme to the Mamillaria- 



