PAINTED CANVAS OF THE DESERT 111 



out Injury. Young plants may be transplanted at any sea- 

 son, or mature cuttings may be planted early In spring. They 

 grow well in any ordinary soil, preferably gravelly loam or 

 rocky soil, and should be watered once a month to keep the 

 soil moist during the growing season. The seeds are slow 

 to germinate. 



Foothill Prickly Pear (Opuntia Toumeyi) 



(Named in honor of James W. Toumey, former professor 

 of botany at the University of Arizona) 



Hozv to identify and how it grows 



The Foothill Prickly Pear is another of the clump-growing 

 variety of the cactus clan, reaching to a height of about three 

 feet. The stems form readily in large clumps along the 

 foothills and low-lying mesas and swales in sunny exposures, 

 where the plants do best. This species has the usual sys- 

 tem of spicules and spines, the former a fourth-inch, the lat- 

 ter about three inches long. The spicules are tawny or yel- 

 low and brown, while the needlelike crooked spines are white 

 or a light red-brown. In the gathering shadows these thorns 

 give the plant a pinkish gray cast. The bright showy blos- 

 soms are about the length and width of a teacup, are a bright 

 yellow with orange centers, and appear in April and May. 

 The elliptical purple fruit ripens in July. 



How to grow 



Plants grow indoors and out and are not injured by thirty 

 degrees of frost, but require protection for temperatures 

 below zero. They grow easily from mature cuttings planted 

 at almost any season. Before planting, place cuttings in 

 shade for about two weeks to allow cut to heal. Cover about 

 half of the cutting with soil and plant in rocky or gravelly 

 clay ; water lightly during the growing season and In droughty 

 periods. 



