B. P. I.-76S. 



ORNAMENTAL CACTI: THEIR CULTURE AND 

 DECORATIVE VALUE, 



INTRODUCTION. 



With the exception of a few species of Rhipsalis the cacti are 

 strictly indigenous to the Western Hemisphere. The introduction 

 of these plants into Europe evidently began soon after the discovery 

 of America. The English, Dutch, and Spanish traders, who early 

 carried on a commercial business in the West Indies, South America, 

 Central America, and Mexico, took back to their respective countries 

 many interesting and curious plants then new to the gardens and 

 plant lovers of Europe. 



In the earliest published reports of the introduced and cultivated 

 plants of European gardens we frequently find accounts and in many 

 instances illustrations of cacti. Gradually additional plants were 

 introduced, until at the time Linnaeus published his Species Plantarum 

 (1753) he recognized 22 species, all of which he included under the 

 generic name of Cactus. They were commonly known as thistles, 

 probably from the spiny character of their protective armor. The 

 smaller, more or less globose forms, were called "melon" thistles, 

 while the taller ones were called "torch" thistles or "candle" thistles. 

 The Ficus indica, or Indian fig, and several other species of Opuntia 

 were introduced into the Mediterranean region at a very early date. 



From the time of the publication by Linnaeus the steady introduc- 

 tion of new plants was continued from the Western Hemisphere into 

 Europe. These importations included many forms of cacti. Miller, 

 in his dictionary, enumerates a number of species distinct from 

 those recognized by Linnaeus. Others were described and published 

 from time to time by Haworth, Link and Otto, Salm-Dyck, P. 

 De Candolle, Lemaire, Pfeiffer, and others. The most extensive 

 modern systematic work is Gesammtbeschreibung der Kakteen, by 

 Dr. Karl Schumann. 



It was not until within the past half century that any special 

 interest in cacti was manifested in America. A few species, such as 

 the night-blooming cereus (Cereus grandiflorus and Cereus nycticalus) , 

 queen of the night (Phyllocactus acuminatus) , crab cactus (Epiphyl- 

 lum truncation), and the rat-tail cactus (Cereus flagelliformis), had 

 become favorites as house plants. General collections of this group of 

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