Prince Salnr June l6, 1855 



that the plant 1s at present in my collectiorr under the name Echino - 

 cereus coccineus (which is hard for me to believe)». 



17 am pleased to see from your letter, that you consider the Ech.. 

 longihamatus (fflexispinus Engelm ?*) as entirely different f rom r setl - 

 spinus : : In contrast f5 the Ech.. treculianus Labour is definitively a 

 variety of longihamatus« . Also, the Mara.dactylithele Lal. is entirely/ 

 identical with your M.macromeris . . This species is unf ortunately not 

 present any more in our gardens? , and its seeds do not germinate. . It 

 Stands until now entirely alone in the genus<, and, though dosest rela- 

 ted to MV Soheerilj and specially with 1 SalnmDycMana , ,its inflores : - 

 cense is entirely different.. 



Your Wellborn rightfuliy put much emphasis on the seeds of cac- 

 ti; on the exterior shape, and specially their inner structure.. The 



characteristics, which can be derived from them, are certainlyv f ully 

 conti%iction 



important, and the only ±ixajp?smKHfc f which can be made against their 

 use for a Classification-, is, that we have not been able to properljp 

 evaluate themv What good is in fact a character', , which weed-prove, that 

 well over one half of the species would have to be inserted as incertae 

 sedis ?? 



Mr. Lemoire, in his Cactiarum genria nova, has postulated as Chief 

 character 2 tribus; the first, that of the Phyllariocotyledoneae, and^ 

 the second, that of the Phymatocotyledoneae . . Nbfe onlyv did this create 

 an insuflficient Classification?, but in certain genera ( Echinoc. and 

 Cereus, e.g.))both forms of cotyledons appear. or such forms, which 

 can well be counted to one or the other tribus. . Your Cotyledones ac- 

 cumbentes and incumbentes< may be more correct; meaning, without excep- 

 tion for the species, which you exarained-, yet, it would always be da- 

 ring to generalize, and to create a rule by analogy* — 



In order to create a genus Coryphanta, it will be necessary,, 

 that the bacca must provide an essential characteri stieg, . All 1 Echino- 



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Missouri 

 Botan ical 

 Garden 



