416 DICTIOliTARy OF POPULAR NAMES TORTOISE 



Calientes. It has a cylindrical stem, consisting of many ridges, 

 and grows to a lieiglit of 20 to 30 feet, with a diameter of 9 

 to 10 inches. In 1846 ahout 100 plants were received at Kew, 

 varying in size from 1 to 3 feet ; while three specimens were from 

 8 to 12 feet high. In the greater number of them the roots were 

 on one side at a right angle with the stem, clearly showing that 

 they were grown in crevices of rocks. The whole is of a grey 

 colour, the top part being furnished with long white hairs and 

 spines, which hoary aspect has led to its being called the Old 

 Man Cactus. The stem of this plant contains a large quantity 

 of oxalate of lime in small sand-like grains, which renders the 

 plant very heavy and brittle. G. giganteus is a still more remark- 

 able plant. It is a native of the hot, arid, and almost desert regions 

 of IsTew Mexico, extending from 30" north to "William's Eiver 35° 

 north, growing in rocky valleys and on mountain sides, often 

 springing out from crevices in the hard rocks, and imparting a 

 singular aspect to the scenery of the country. The stems are 

 cylindrical, and according to age 50 to 60 feet in height, with a 

 diameter of about 2 feet at middle height ; they are generally 

 simple, but some are branched ; the branches turning upwards, in 

 the distance giYQ to the plant the appearance of a chandelier, or, 

 as some say, a toasting-fork. The fruit is oblong, 2 to 3 inches 

 in length, green, full of black seeds embedded in a crimson 

 pulp, which the Indians use as an article of food. They gather 

 the fruit by means of a forked stick tied to a long pole. The 

 Indians call it Saguara. 



Tortoise Plant, also called Elephant's Foot {Testudinaria 

 elepliantipes), a remarkable plant of the Tam family (Diosco- 

 reacese), native of South Africa. It consists of a large woody, 

 above-ground, corm-like stem, generally of a conical form, 

 having a diameter of from 3 to 4 feet, and as much in height, of 

 a fleshy fibrous substance, covered with a Jiard tesselated coat 

 composed of numerous angular protuberances, and producing 

 from its apex slender twining herbaceous stems. The leaves 

 are small and cordate ; the flowers small and yellow. It was 

 originally used by the Hottentots as food, and was called Hot- 



