982 Botanical Notes from Tucson. [ December, 
ground and bound together with raw hide and bunches of the 
bright scarlet flowers at the top of the stalk. The plant is cer- 
x 
NY 
A 
Fic. 2.—Flowers of Fouguiera (spinosa) splendens Engeim. 
tainly one of the most striking of all found on the deserts of 
Arizona. 
Another form is the “Palo erde” of the Mexicans. It is the 
Parkinsonia torreyana, one of the Leguminose. It grows to be 
some fifteen or twenty feet high, and all the branches are of a 
light-greea color. The flowers are of a bright yellow, in long 
racemes, and quite sweet-scented. Those trees noticed on the 
Colorado desert were surrounded by swarms of bees, apparently 
finding excellent food among the blossoms. When in flower, 
no leaves are to be seen, and when these come out they are very 
small and inconspicuous, 
The cacti form a most conspicuous feature of m 
desert. By far the most conspicuous and remarkable form is the 
Cereus giganteus, locally known as the “ saguara” cactus. It was 
first brought to the notice of the scientific world by Emory’s Ex- 
pedition from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego, in 1848, and in 
his report was given its present name. It is an upright fluted oF 
ribbed pillar, each rib covered from bottom to top with a mass of i 
sharp, straight thorns. At the top of the stem are the long 
tubular white flowers, with the petals just peeping from the calyx, : 
_ and with the interior filled with an innumerable mass of stamens: 
ountain and 
After the fruit is formed the flower, in drying, has the pleasant 
_ odor of Calycanthus. When ripe the fruit splits open at the 1s 2 
displaying the bright red scarlet of the interior, dotted with : oo 
