The Rainbow Cactus. 



237 



across. The flowers are of a bright crimson, shading to white to 

 ward the center. Its culture is easy, as is the case with most cacti. 



It is a native of the southeastern part of Arizona and Sonora, 

 Mexico. The spines are said to be in individual plants at times 

 wholly white, and again, all the spines on a plant will be of a blood 

 red or crimson color. 



The true Echinocereus candicans. Gill, is a native of the region 

 of La Plata, South America, and when young is of a globular form 

 like an Echinocactus, closely covered with very long spines. Our 

 rainbow cactus has been described by Dr. Engelmann under the 

 name of Cereus pectinatus var. (?) rigidissimus, but it seems to the 

 writer as worthy of specific rank. The following detailed descrip- 



C. PECTINATUS. 



tion is subjoined : Plant ovate-cylindrical ; ribs 20 to 22, slightly 

 interrupted; areolae linear-lanceolate, crowded on the ribs, some- 

 what woolly when 3'oung ; spines all radiating, interwoven, recurv- 

 ing from the bulb-like base, awl shaped, very sharp, rigid, white, 

 yellow or red, pellucid; lateral spines long, stout, 12 to 16 in num- 

 ber; the lower spines short, upper ones 3 to 6, bristly, shorter, 

 fasciculate. Flowers produced from the side of the plant beneath 

 the summit; ovary with 50 to 60 clusters of small rigid spines; 

 sepals forming a tube, 60 in number, the 40 inferior ones subulate, 

 the upper 20 lanceolate-acuminati ; petals under 20 in number, pur- 

 ple ; stigmata less than 12, green ; fruit ovate to globose, spiny ; 

 seeds tuberculated. From Sonora and Arizona. Differs from C. 



