98 



8. Opuntia domingcnsis, Brit, and Rose — 

 the ' ' Guazabarra. ' ' This is a copiously branching 

 Opuntia with reddisli-brown sheathed spines 

 which occurs yhyj commonly at Azua, forming in 

 places often large patclies in loamy country on 

 the left bank of the Yague River, Barahona. 



9. Opiuttia ficus-indica, Liu. — "Alquitira " 

 or " Alcaquitira. " It has been suggested that 

 this species, which was seen growing in or near 

 cultivations, is a native of San Domingo, growing 

 wild there. Mocoso, on the other hand, regards it 

 as being a cultivated plant, and Mr. R. 0. Cam- 

 bioso, the veteran naturalist of San Domingo city, 

 states the same as the outcome of observations 

 made during his extensive travels. Tambourini, 

 of Azua, who designates it Tuna di Espana, re- 

 gards it as an indigenous prickly-pear, naming 

 three localities, on the Oregano and Arroyo 

 Salado, on the Tague River, and Tubano, a small 

 town to the north of Azua — where it grows. 



10. Nopalea cochinelifera occurred here and 

 there as a cultivated plant. 



11. In approaching the River Tabura by the 

 trail that leads from Azua to Barahona, an 

 Opuntia of the Curassavica group may be seen 

 growing sparingly, also clumps of one resembling 

 a natural hybrid between 0. dilleni and 0. cata- 

 cantha. 



Disease Occurrence. 



No natural enemies of prickly-peai' of special 

 significance were seen in the island of San 

 Domingo, though, however, a more extended ex- 

 ploration might have led to the discovery of sotne. 

 Those remarked were as follows: — 



1. Caterpillars of a large moth ( ? Melitara 

 sp.) were found feeding internally in the stem- 

 joints of both 0. dillenii and another Opuntia 

 (No. 5) on the left bank of the Yague River, 

 12 to 16 miles from Barahona. The following 

 account will serve to describe the appearances 

 due to the attacks of this insect, in the case of 

 the former kind of prickly-pear. The plant was 

 of normal size and had developed vigorously, but 

 had not produced flower or fruit, nor was there 

 any indication of their former presence. Many 

 of the stem-joints, especially the terminal or 

 younger ones, were badly injured or were quite 

 killed. A typically injured segment presented on 

 one face three large blotches, almost black, but 

 greyish and scarious in places where tissue be- 

 neath had been quite consumed. Several holes 

 were also present — usually within the area of 

 the lighter coloured blotches. On the opposite face 

 of this stem-joint were also holes, and through 

 these had issued a mucilaginous matter ; now dry 

 and appearing like strings and bands of gum 

 tragacanth. In addition to the stem-joints 

 affected as described, many half-grown terminal 

 segments were quite dead and dry ; and of these 

 many had already become detached, whilst others 

 still remained hanging down on the plant. It 

 was obvious that in this instance the insect im- 

 plicated served to arrest any further growth on 

 the part of its victim and to stop its natural 

 reproduction. 



2. "Wild Cochineal. A single plant of 0. 

 catacantha slightly affected by some kind of 

 Coccus was observed along the trail between Azua 



and Barahona, on the steep face of a hill ascended 

 after first reaching the Yague River. It had evi- 

 dently occasioned but little injury. 



3. Opuntia Weevil. The tree-like Opuntia 

 at Azua communly presented the characteristic 

 injury associnted with the attacks of the weevil 

 beetle, Gerstcccheria sp. On the green surface of 

 the stem-joint numerous grey perforated spots of 

 dead tissue \\'ere seen, each about 4 mm. in dia- 

 meter. Other stem-joints had dark spots where 

 the surface had been eroded. A single speci- 

 men of the weevil was observed, but, simulating 

 death in fall, eluded observation and capture. 



4. Flower-consuming Caterpillar. At Bara- 

 hona the small yellow-red blossoms of the tree 

 prickly-p(!ar 0. spinosissima, Mill., were almost 

 without exception damaged by some small cater- 

 pillar. This insect not only consumed the peri- 

 anth lobes, but also ate or damaged the stamens 

 and pistil, and thus rendered the flower perfectly 

 sterile, and, in consequence of this, every tuber- 

 culated receptacle became compressed and as- 

 sumed the character of a small stem-joint, when 

 it fell and soon started to grow and give rise to 

 a new plant. 



Diseases. — Prickly-pear diseases of any kind 

 appeared to be wanting. In the absence of 

 adequate checks of this kind, the Qpuntias in 

 some places — as in the neighbourhood of Azua — 

 ^vere sufficiently prevalent to make the passage of 

 a pedestrian through the country occupied by 

 them very difficult. On the Yague River, wild 

 pigs, apparently, kept the large kinds in check by 

 consuming the roots. 



HAITI. 



It may be of interest to point out that from 

 the adjoining Republic of Haiti the following 

 Opuntias have been noted: — Opuntia taylori, 

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

 Engelm.), as we are informed in a communica- 

 tion from the author of these species. More- 

 over, F. R. de Tussac {Flora Antillarum, II., p. 

 34) records 0. inermis DC, as being met with 

 there between Artibonite and Gonaives. This is 

 a matter of interest, since the commoner Queens- 

 land prickly-pear is usually regarded as 0. iner- 

 mis DC, also. 



CUBA. 



The ports of Cuba visited included Havana, 

 Monte Tinaja (north coast), Pinar del Rio 

 towards the west, and Santiago and Guantanamo 

 (south coast) towards the eastern extremity of 

 the island. 



The Opuntias have quite a local distribution 

 in this island and are seldom, if ever, met with 

 far from the sea-shore or the immediate influ- 

 ences of the sea-breezes, so much so that the local 

 botanist. Dr. Bugenio Cuesta, even suggested to 

 us that the prickly-pears now growing natur- 

 alised in Cuba had been derived from outside 

 sources borne over intervening seas by wind and 

 tide. 



Writing on the plants of Cuba in 1745, D. 

 Ramon de la Sagra (1745, pp. 311, 313) especially 

 refers to certain Cactaceae then growing there. 

 He, however, makes no mention of Opuntias, 



