97 



the Commission, being reached via lioniana, San 

 Pedro de Macroris, and San Domingo City, i.e., 

 by a route that enabled the general aspect of the 

 vegetation between the first-named place and the 

 port of Azua to be examined from the decks of 

 the small coastal steamers in which the journey 

 was effected. 



R. M. Mi'ocoso incidentally refers to different 

 kinds of prickly -pears growing in this large island 

 in his " Las Familias Vegetales " (1897, p. 79), 

 which has been issued as a preface to a larger 

 work " Botanica Flora de Sto. Dominpo" that 

 apparently has not yet been published. These he 

 names Opuniia tuna, Mill., -the " Tuna brava "; 

 0. spinosissima, Mill., the " Alpargata"; 0. tria- 

 cantha, Haw., the " tuna de perro " ; and 0. ficus- 

 indica, the "Alquitira" (cultivated), (Alcaqui- 

 tira, = Nopalea cochinelifera, fide Cambioso). 



Dr. N. L. Britton, who with his colleague, Dr. 

 J. N. Rose, has given especial attention to the 

 Cactaceaa of San Domingo, specified for our infor- 

 mation in the following list the Opuntias that are 

 to be met with there, viz. : — Opuntia dillenii Haw. 

 (the 0. tuna of Mocoso) ; 0. hattoniana, Brit, and 

 Rose; 0. cubensis, Brit; 0. domingensis, Brit, 

 and Rose ; 0. catacantha, Link and Otto ; and 0. 

 fi,cus-indica (L.),; whilst for 0. taylori, Brit., and 



0. haitensis, Brit., syn. 0. microcarpa, Sch. (not 

 Bngelm.), he assigns Haiti as a locality. 



The following species were seen in San 

 Domingo in the course of the present inquiry : — 



1. Opuntia dillenii, the " Tuna espina " — evi- 

 dently the 0. tuna of Mocoso — found growing in 

 San Domingo city and adjacent coast to the 

 north, Azua, Barahona, and the Valley of Yaquey 

 River, in the latter case being very scattered. 



2. Opuntia (cuhensis, Brit. ?) An Opuntia 

 that is probably this species was met with com- 

 monly at Azua and between that town and the 

 River Tabura, and sometimes forming more or 

 less extensive patches. When growing side by 

 side with 0. dillenii it was to be distinguished 

 by its different general colour, being greyish or 

 purplish-brown, by its smaller and narrower stem- 

 joints which were oval, somewhat obliquely nar- 

 rowed basally and with the border entire, by its 

 acicular and nearly straight spines of a pale 

 yellowish-grey colour (never banded), and by its 

 slightly drooping habit. Neither flowers nor fruit 

 were present. 



3. Opuntia sp.— "Alpargata," included in 

 the genus Consolea of Lemaire. A tree-like 

 Opuntia with a tall, stout, unbranched trunk 

 measuring 30 cm.- or more in diameter above the 

 ground ; having elongate parallel-sided stem- joints 

 that are dull greyish-green colour; the areoles 

 in oblique lines of nine, each situated at the 

 distal end of an oval polygonal figure defined by 

 an impressed line with similar lines dividing the 

 space between the areoles into polygonal tensserse 

 of different sizes ; spines on stem-joint disappear- 

 ing with age, pale yellow on the younger growth 

 but whitening with age, those on the disc about 

 2 cm. long, those on the border 4 cm. to 4.5 em. ; 

 spines on the trunk in rosettes usually mclmed 

 downwards, the longest attaining a length of 8 

 cm. arising from a cushion of pale yellowish 

 "wool" amid deeper yellow spinules, each 12 to 



15 mm. long. At Azua, it forms a conspicuous 

 object amongst the low, brush-like vegetation 

 growing on level, stony ground.* 



4. Opuntia spinosissima, Mill. — "Alpargata" 

 (Mocoso). Included also in the genus Consolea 

 of Lemaire. It is a tree-like Opuntia with a tall 

 stout unbranched trunk, 15 to 20 em. or more 

 in diameter at a short distance from the ground, 

 with stout primary branches, the thin oval vivid 

 green joints are from 14 c. to 16 cm. long and 6 

 cm. broad. The areoles, if present, are very indis- 

 tinct, and without the inscribed surrounding 

 figure and interareolar tesselation. The lower 

 half of young spines is pinkish-purple. Those on 

 the trunk radiate in all directions, forming a 

 rosette arising from a cushion of whitish tomen- 

 tum without the spinules of the previous species. 

 The spines on stem-joints disappear with age. 

 Plower-buds are reddish-brown, the flowers being 

 small with the interior perianth lobes abbreviated, 

 concave and yellowish-red. This species was 

 seen on the left bank of the Yague River near 

 Oya, in scrubby country between Yague and 

 Barahona, and at Barahona in level coral-lime- 

 stone country to the east of town. 



5. Opuntia sp. (one of the cacti designated 

 "Tuna perro"). It is a dark-green prickly-pear 

 of lowly habit, having rather small eliptical stem- 

 joints with three or four areoles in each linear 

 oblique series, each areole bearing white acicular, 

 straight and long, spines. Flowers are yellow. 

 This species is very common on loamy level 

 country on left bank of the Yague River, near 

 Barahona. 



6. Opuntia sp. (another of the Opuntias 

 designated " Tuna perro "). A dark-green 

 prickly-pear of very humble habit, the stout seg- 

 ments being curved over horizontally at a level 

 of a few inches from the ground. The pubescent 

 stem-joints are elongate-oblong 6-8.5 cm. long by 

 2 cm. to 2-5 cm. wide and 1-1 cm. to 1-2 cm. thick, 

 with three areoles in each oblique series. Spines 

 are straight and acicular (the longest being 3-5 

 cm.) and arranged in groups of 2 or 3. Spinules 

 are almost absent. The fruit is small (4 cm. or 

 more long) with large tuberculate areoles. The 

 species occurs commonly at Canoa and Alpar- 

 gatu, on the left bank of the Yague River, 

 Barahona. 



7. 0. hattoniana, Brit, and "Rose— Curassa- 

 vica group — a prickly-pear of prostrate habit, the 

 colonies attaining a height of 9 or 10 inches, 

 covering at times several square feet. The 

 pubescent stem-joints are circular or shortly oval 

 in section (1-5 by 1 cm.) the terminal ones cir- 

 cular. Spines are pale purple when young. The 

 pinkish-red fruit is small (4-5 cm. long), the end 

 being truncate and possessing a deep concavity. 

 It grows near Oya, Pundacion, and Canva on 

 the left bank of the Yague River, Barahona, 

 resembling a tangled mass of some small, green, 

 rope like article. The terete cladodia, a feature 

 in this plant, are very unusual in "West Indian 

 prickly-pears. 



* A photograph of this species has been pubUshed in 

 Dr. MaeDougaU's report for 1913 (Carnegie Institution of 

 Washington) Plate 2, Fig. C 



