CACTI AND SUCCULENTS. 



TN his interesting handbook on Cactaceous plants, published in 1884, but now, we 

 think, out of print, Mr. E. Lewis Castle, F.R.H.S., truthfully observes: "Gro- 

 tesqueness, in form or habit, is rarely found in combination with floral beauty, yet no 

 family of plants affords more remarkable examples of this union of widely divergent 

 qualities than the great and peculiar Cactus order." 



The familiar term Cactus (plural Cacti) was originally given by Theophrastus to a 

 succulent or fleshy-stemmed plant covered with spines, and Linnams grouped all such 

 plants under that generic title. The term is, however, now botanically obsolete, and the 

 species cultivated are arranged under their respective genera, such as Cereus, Echino- 

 cactus, Phyllocactus, Mammillaria, Melocactus, Opuntia, and others that will be referred 

 to in this work. The whole family of cactacese are dicotyledonous, but other 

 "succulent" plants often, if not usually, grown with them, such as Agaves and Aloes, 

 are essentially different, being monocotyledonous. 



With few exceptions cactaceous plants are leafless, the flowers being produced 

 directly from the fleshy stems. These stems vary enormously in altitude and con- 

 figuration, some growing twenty or more feet high, others only a few inches ; while the 

 flowers of some species are, in size and colour, magnificent; in others, chaste and 

 charming. The fruits, or fleshy seed receptacles, are, in the case of several species, such 

 as Cereus speciosissimus, C. triangularis (strawberry pear), and Opuntia vulgaris (prickly 

 pear), edible, and, when well ripened, of agreeable flavour. The beauty of some of 

 the smaller species mainly rests in the symmetrical formation of the spines. These vary 

 in colour, character, length, and number — amounting in some cases to upwards of 50,000 

 on a plant. It may be interesting to note that the cochineal of commerce consists of 

 small, dried insects, resembling the mealy bug and vine scale, which are found on 

 Opuntias or Nopaleas. In cultivation, however, no insects must be allowed on the 

 plants. 



Cactaceous plants are of easy cultivation, and large and interesting collections of the 



VOL. III. B B 



