Weber, F. 



Received Dec. 24 



Rouen, December 7, 1883 



My dear and venerated colleague and friend, 



I was very happy to receive such good news in regards your health; I sincerely wish 

 that it should continue this way and that little by little you may resume your previous 

 activities. 



I thank you for the notes you have sent me and also for the seeds. The one of the 

 Opuntia nebulata interested me very much. It is a very unusual species that is a part of a 

 group of Opuntia cylindricae originally from Central America. This group is more 

 numerous than what you teil me in your letter: 



1) Op. cylindricae 



2) Op.teres Hort (neighbor of the previous one but much slimmer). 



3) Op.pulverulenta synonymous to the Op. Miqueli syn. to Op. segethi Philippi- in the 

 surroundings of Alacama. 



4) Op. Verschaff elti Hort, Republic of Argentina. Catamarca. 



5) Op. Schikendantzii Web - Catamarca- light and thin small flowers some white others 

 yellow, resembling those of Opuntia salviana. 



6) Op.vestita flowers in groups and outer Stigmata. 



7) Op.floccosa- pale yellow flowers, Peru. 



8) Op. denudata Web, neighbor of the Opuntia floccosa but thicker and without hair. 

 Peru (Huamanco). 



The Opuntia ovoides of South America do not form part of this group. The 

 Opuntia ovata and the Opuntia platyacantha have seeds of the platopuntia that are very 

 marginated. The Opuntia corrugata and the Op. diademata have seeds of a particular 

 shape (semilla corrugata) from which I have sent you some samples. 



You also said that none of the Peirescia has dark leaves. I beg your pardon. The 

 small Peirescia poeppiggi, florescara (Opuntia poeppigii Pfr., Op. Maihuen Gay) has 

 obscure flowers like an Opuntia while its seeds are black and very similar to those of the 

 Peirescia. I sent them to you 2 or 3 years ago and invite you to study them well. There is 

 another dwarf Peirescia, Peirescia pygmacea that lives on the boundaries of the eternal 

 snows of the Andes by Linares, Chile, that also has dark leaves with a stem formed by 

 minuscule ovoid joints and has the black seeds of the Peirescia. 



In the cactii of Central America we will still find great surprises and will have 

 much difficulty in including them in our actual classifications. 



