Weber, Alb. Frederic 



Military Hospital at Vincennes Vincennes, 2 May 1882 



Very honorable colleague and friend, 



I was going to respond to your letter of the 6th of April, received the 27th, when this morning I received 

 the small box containing some fragments of the Cylindropuntia. Because this box was not accompanied 

 nor by a letter nor by any note, I am reduced to conjectures as to the true Classification of this pretty 

 Opuntia, which is new for me. After the superficial examination that I made of it this morning, it 

 appears to be similar to the Opuntia Parryi, that I have never seen alive and that I know only through 

 your description. I presume that you will remove my uncertainty, by giving me the real name of the 

 plant. It arrived in good condition and was immediately pruned and placed under a glass bowl in the 

 greenhouse of this hospital. I hope it will develop roots and that it will be able to multiply. 



Your letter of April 6th, gave me great pleasure, first because it proved that you had not forgotten me 

 and because of the interesting seeds that you sent me of the Echinocereus gonacanthus, which I had 

 desired for a long time. As far as I know I do not believe it is known in the European collections. I 

 sowed half of the seeds and the other half I sent to my friend Mr. Martel in Belleville close to Lyon. He 

 is a master in growing Cacti from seeds. In the same way I sowed the Echinocactus xeranthenoides. I 

 hope we will be happier with our results than with the Echinocactus polycephalus that still exists in our 

 collections. The papyraceus sepals of this Echinocactus reminds of the flower named Cereus Chiotilla 

 of Tehuacan that is also dry, similar to the 'Tmmortal" flower ( Gomphrena, Graphalium). I sent you 

 later on, a description of this species and its flower, remarkable for its tough and scaly consistence. At 

 that time I thought that the Chiotilla was synonymous to the Cereus Desmortieri, but since then I 

 recognized that those two species are very different. By the way this was proven by Pfersdorff when he 

 grew the seeds that I gave him. The flower of the Chiotilla is sulfur yellow, small and tubulär. It is 

 always "vertical", that is to say, growing from the crown of the summit of the plant, just like in the 

 Echinocactus. 



There is by the way another group of Echinocactus that is calcified, squamous and more or less dry; it is 

 the group of Astrophytum, of which we know 4 species, very similar to each other regarding their form, 

 flowers and seeds that Juccarini described very well (Act.acad. Monaco 1845). The four species are: 



Echinocactus myriostigma, asterias, ornatus, capriornis. 



Your seeds of Opuntia angustata camanchica have also been sown and I will see what they will 

 produce. I still do not know the Opuntia angustata. In regards to the Opuntia camanchica, I recognize 

 here some samples Coming from Haage at Erfurt; I believe it belongs to the type of Opuntia Tuna in 

 which the Opuntia Dillenii, Engelmanni, etc. seem to be variations. You asked me if the 

 Cereus pectin aboriginorum and the Cereus Thurberi live here. Yes, they exist here. The Cereus 

 Thurberi is quite widespread 



