PAINTED CANVAS OF THE DESERT 91 



Pear called Opuntia Blakeana in honor of Dr. William 

 Blake, who was formerly Geologist and Director of the 

 College of Mines and Engineering of the University of 

 Arizona. Forming in loosely 

 branched clumps on the desert, 

 eight feet or more across and only 

 a foot or so high, this growth is 

 most strikingly characterized by 

 its translucent brown fringe of 

 spicules along the margins of the 

 areolas and its needlelike pur- 

 plish brown thorns suffused with 

 gray toward the bases. The 

 brilliant orange-red and yellow 

 blossoms, nearly three inches 

 long and as broad, like most of 

 their sister species open and close 

 in the daytime, the sepals green- 

 ish yellow toning off to an orange- 

 red base. Blooming time Is in 

 April and May, the fruit comes 

 on in July; the latter when ripe 

 is used for food by the Pima and Papago Indians of Arizona, 

 and while they eat it both raw and cooked it is not utilized 

 as is that of some of the other and larger varieties. 



PAPAGO FRUIT CACTUS 



(Opuntia Blakeana) 



Delicate Prickly Pear (Opuntia delicata) 



Southern Arizona 



At altitudes of three to five thousand feet in the sandy 

 and clay loams across southern Arizona one may see a 

 prickly pear called delicata on account of its small size and 

 its slender joints and spines. This baby Opuntia was only 

 recently discovered and is considered a rare find, though 



