20 CACTACEOUS PLANTS. 



Tery distinct; stem cylindrical, somewhat club-shaped, 8 to 10 inches high, 

 2 to 3 inches in diameter, branching from near the base , tubercles very short, 

 dark green, but hidden by the spines, which are in two series, the outer fine 

 and hair-like, closely set, and spreading, the others being fewer, erect, and of 

 a yellowish tint. The flowers are small and purple. 



M. CAPUT-MEDUSiE, 0«o.— The Medusa's Head Mamillaria is by no 

 means so formidable as its name implies, and though not so delicately 

 beautiful as its neighbours it possesses a boldness that forms a striking 

 contrast with them. A fine specimen, probably the largest in England, is 

 included in the collection of these plants grown by Mr. Boiler at the Wood- 

 field Nurseries, Harrow Eoad, N., for which he has been awarded numerous 

 first-class certificates at metropolitan and provincial shows. Stem usually 

 4 to 6 inches, or in exceptional cases 8 inches in height, globular or occa- 

 sionally columnar ; tubercles four-angled or ovate, bearing four small white 

 spines and two thicker and stronger ones ; flowers white, about 1 inch in 

 diameter. 



M. CIRRIFERA, Martins. — A neat and pleasing little plant, which doea 

 not flower so frequently as several others, but is well worth growing on. 

 account of its symmetrical appearance. Introduced in 1835. A freely 

 branching and pretty species, with a cylindrical stem 3 to 4 inches high ; 

 tubercles short and conical, quarter of an inch long, glaucous green, and 

 furnished with a crown of yellow spines ; flowers bright rose, with yellow 

 anthers. 



M. DOLIOHOCBSTRA, Lemaire. — A somewhat variable species of strong 

 habit, especially abundant in the neighbourhood of Xalapa, and included in 

 most large collections of Cactece. It was grown in the continental collections 

 thirty years ago, but the date of its flrst appearance in England is uncertain. 

 Several varieties have been described under the names of phseacantha, 

 straminea, Galeotti, ic, but the last is generally considered synonymous with 

 the first, and they are all chiefly confined to continental gardens. Stem 

 stout, 6 to 8 inches high, 3 inches in diameter ; tubercles conical, narrow, 

 half an inch long, crowned with small tuft of white down and a few white 

 spines of irregular length ; flowers of moderate size, pale rose or reddish 

 crimson ; fruits red. 



M. FissuRATA, Engdmann. — This plant, so far as I can ascertain, is not 

 ill cultivation in England, and is named here chiefly to illustrace the 

 Anhalonium section of the genus, of which it is a very good type. It is well 

 described and figured by Engelmann, and presents a very different appear- 

 ance from the Mamillarias generally, though not structurally distinct. The 

 root is thick and turnip-like, the tubercles being triangular in form, very thick, 

 and with the upper surface strangely furrowed ; they are arranged in a 

 closely imbricated manner, very suggestive of some G-asterias, and from the 

 centre arises the whitish pink flower about 1 inch in diameter and surrounded 

 at the base by dense woolly substance. It is found in the same district as 

 M. pectinata, chiefly on hard gravel or limestone soils. 



