6 



I made. Unfortunately I did not see the flower completely open as it had faded since last 

 evening. I took it to Paris where I examined it the next morning. 



The length of the flower is from 6 to 9 cm. It is reddish purple, tubulär with staminal 

 fascicles that measure more or less 1 cm. The ovaries and the tubes are purply brown, 

 covered by small scally triangulär and sharp spines of purple color. These have in their pit 

 silky white pads that nearly completely hide the tubes. The limbs are small and not 

 numerous, short, narrow and dark red purple. The ones that are deepest seem to form a 

 narrow neck surrounded by staminal fascicles. 



When cutting the flowers longitudinally one sees the staminal arrangements typical of the 

 Equinopsis, that is to say the insertion of the stamen in 2 series from the lowest one on the 

 tubes to the upper ones at the neck of the tube. All these stamen diminish gradually in 

 longitud and their antenae are all at about the same level, that is to say about 1 cm. from 

 the edge. 



However what is very unusual in this species is also unique. The most inferior part of the 

 tube ( there is where one most frequently finds the nectaripherous cavity) is filled with 

 cotton silk. This white cotton is short and soft and seems to arise immediately below the 

 most inferior stamen, that is to say in the most inferior partition of the tube. The Stigma 

 are situated in the middle of this wool that completely Tills the most inferior portion of the 

 tubes.Could this wool; be nothing eise but a rudimentary stamen? 



If I had the time I would inform you of other observations I have made and which I will 

 teil you about later. Thus, at the end of June I went to study at the Botanical Garden of 

 Caen, a collection of about 50 Melocactus of the variety communis. I was Struck by many 

 particuliarities. For example: 



1- The flowers of the Mellocactus by no means come from the De Condolla, Miguel, etc. 

 The pits, the mammilla, the cephalium ( the top of the Mamilla) . The comparison of the 

 De Condollas's cephalium with the Mammillaria grafted on an Echinocactus is in error. 



2- The flowers of the Mellocactus do not have the same staminal insertions as do the 

 Mammillaria. We observed a cavity similar to the Pilocereus. 



3- The needles of the cephalium present (to a certain degree) the same particuliarities that 

 we have noticed in the Mammillaria micromeris, that is to say a bulging at their end. 



4- The seeds are frequently thrown off at maturity. 



At Mr. Schlumberger's at Anthieuse close to Rouen I visited a very beautiful collection of 

 Cacti, including many old samples. Mr. Schlumberger informed me that he had made 



