86 COMMON CANADIAN WILD PLANTS. 



Oedee XLI. CACTA'CE^. (Cactus Family.) 



Very fleshy and commonly leafless plants; the stems 

 globose or columnar and angled, or of flattened joints, mostly 

 prickly. Tlowers solitary, sessile. The numerous sepals 

 and petals adherent to the 1-eelled ovary. Style 1, stigmas' 

 many. Fruit a 1-celled berry with many seeds on the walls. 



Synopsis of tlie Cenera. 



1. Alainilla'rin. Stems globose or oval, covered with" spine-bearing 



tubercles, the flowers between these. 



2. Opnu'tla. Stemaofflattenedjointg, bearing very small awl-shaped 



leaves with clusters of bristles in their axils. 



1. IHAAIILLA'RIA, Haw. 

 M. Vivip'ara, Haw. Stems 1-5 inches high, the tubercles 

 bearing bundles of 5-8 reddish-brown spines, surrounded by 

 numerous grayish ones. Flowers pUrple.— N. W. plains. 



3. OPITN'TIA, Tourn. Pbicklt Pbab. 

 0. Ralines'quii, Engel. Stem prostrate, deep green. 

 Bristles reddish-brown. Spines few. Flowers yellow, some- 

 times with reddish centre. — Point Pelee. 



Obder XLII. FICOI'DE^. (Iob-Pi^nt Family.) 



A miscellaneous group, embracing plants formerly in- 

 cluded in Oaryophyllaoese and Portulacacese ; differing, 

 however, from true representatives of these in having parti- 

 ti<ms in the ovary. Petals wanting in our genus. 



niOI/Lll'CiO, L. Cabpet-weed. 



M. vertieilla'ta, L. A prostrate much-branched herb, 

 growing in patches. Leaves spathulate, apparently verti- 

 cilla-te. Flowers on long axillary pedicels, clustered into a 

 sort of umbel. Sepals 5, white inside. Petals none. 

 Stamens mostly 3. Styles 3. Pod 3-celled, 3-valved, loculi- 

 cidal^ the partitions breaking away from the niany-geeded 

 axis. — Mostly in south-western Opt^jip, 



