116 THE FANTASTIC CLAN 



Golden Prickly Pear (Opuntia Covillei) 



(Named in honor of Dr. Frederick V. Coville, curator of the 

 National Herbarium, Washington, D.C.) 



How to identify and how it grows 



Covillei, or the Golden Prickly Pear, is a plant two to three 

 feet tall and three to four feet in diameter growing with as- 

 cending or spreading branches in jointed form, which are 

 seven to ten inches long and four to six inches across. The 

 general color of the plant is pale blue-green. This plant 

 often forms in thickets during growth and is covered with 

 numerous brown spicules occurring in bundles or growing in a 

 fringe. There are about four spines of light brown and yel- 

 low suffused with white, sharp and needlelike. The flowers 

 are very showy and of a bright golden color, about three 

 inches in length and width. The fruit is pear-shaped and 

 purple. 



How to grow 



Transplant at any season, or grow from mature cuttings 

 planted five or six inches deep early in spring — they will then 

 blossom the same season. Water about once a month to 

 keep the soil slightly moist. Occasionally used in Southern 

 California as a hedge plant. Plants will endure twenty de- 

 grees of frost without injury; for colder temperatures pro- 

 tection is needed. Grown indoors or outside. 



Flapjack Prickly Pear (Opuntia chlorotica) 



(The name chlorotica refers to the light green coloring 



of the plant) 



How to identify and how it grows 



The Flapjack Prickly Pear grows from three to six feet 

 high from short trunks but a few inches long. The branches 



