THE CACTUS FAMILY. 



HE remarkable diversity of curi- 

 ous forms exhibited by cactus 

 plants, and their growth and re- 

 tention of \-itality under appar- 

 ently adverse circumstances, 

 combine to render the group 

 perhaps the most interesting in 

 the vegetable kingdom. The 

 gigantic cereus rears its massive columnar stem to 

 a height of sixty feet, while the beautiful mamilla- 

 rias are but a few inches high. Some, as the old 

 man cactus {Pi.'ocereus settuis), are densely covered 

 with strange long hairs that impart a weird aspect 

 to the plants ; others, as in the genus echino- 

 cactus, are covered with gigantic spines, which not 

 only appear formidable, but actually pierce the 

 flesh, as would needle-pointed spikes of steel. 

 These spines are sometimes barbed, and when any 

 such enter the skin their extraction is no easy or 

 painless matter. In other species again, they are 

 very minute, barely visible to the naked eye, and 

 these are the most troublesome of all. The least 

 touch is sufficient to cause them to adhere to one's 

 person. With gloves and proper caution, however, 

 there need be no difficulty about handling the 

 plants. 



The flowers are usually large and showy, and fre- 

 quently deliciously scented. One species, Ccidus 

 McDonahii,i\ produces flowers which measure fifteen 

 inches across, and as much in length. The colors are 

 varied — scarlet, crimson, salmon, purple, rose, pink, 

 yellow and white being the most desirable tints. 



The majority of cactus flowers retain their full beauty 

 but a short time, and the most conspicuous are of short- 

 est duration. The night-blooming cereuses afford the 

 largest and most showy flowers, and these last but a few 

 hours. They e.xpand a short time before sunset, and 

 close, never to open again, before sunrise. One glimpse 

 of their nocturnal beauty, however, compensates for this 

 in overflowing measure. The genera phyllocactus and 

 epiphyllum are the most useful as flowering plants. 



The latest authorities have arranged cactuses under 

 thirteen genera, and each of these is placed in one of 

 two tribes. The first tribe, named echinocactese, is 

 distinguished by having the calyx tube elongated 

 beyond the ovary, the stems, usually destitute of 

 leaves, being traversed by longitudinal ridges, or beset 

 with tubercules. The genera melocactus, mamillaria, 

 pelecyphora, leuchtenbergia, echinocactus, disco- 

 cactus, cereus, phyllocactus, and epiphyllum come 

 under this head. The genera rhipsalis, nopalea. 



opuntia and pereskia are placed in the second tribe, 

 which is termed opuntiae. Here the stems are branched 

 or jointed, and the calyx does not extend beyond the 

 ovary. Under the genus melocactus, commonly called 

 melon or turk's cap cactus, there are about thirty 

 species, which inhabit the dry hot parts of Mexico, 

 Brazil and the West Indian Islands. The stems of 

 these species attain a height of three feet, being fleshy, 

 globular and regularly ridged, the ridges bearing stout 

 spines in clusters. Each plant bears at the top a 

 thickly-set mass of spines and hairy matter, which, in 

 common language, is termed the cap. Upon this the 

 small reddish flowers are borne, and are succeeded by 

 bright red fruits. M. communis is the most desirable 

 species. 



The mamillarias, or nipple-bearing cactuses (see Figs. 

 E and F), are exceedingly beautiful and interesting 

 little plants. They are seldom more than a foot high, 

 and most frequently attain a size of only three or four 

 inches. The tubercules, exhibiting various oblong or 

 globular outlines, are arranged spirally, and bear a cluster 

 of spines at the apex. There are over three hundred 

 species and the genus occurs in North and South 

 America and the West Indies. Some of the North 

 American species inhabit mountainous regions, where 

 they are subject to several degrees of frost. The 

 flowers proceed from the base of the tubercules, but are 

 not so interesting as the arrangement and general ap- 

 pearance of the spines. 



The following description, by Dr. Lindley, of M. 

 tenuis, comparatively a poor species, will be sufficient to 

 show that even the most insignificant forms are worthy 

 of study. He says: "Gentle reader, hast thou never 

 seen in a display of fire-works a crowd of wheels all in 

 motion at once, crossing and intersecting each other in 

 every direction, and canst thou fancy those wheels 

 arrested in their motion by some magic power, their 

 rays retained, but their fires extinguished and their 

 brightness gone ? Then mayest thou conceive the 

 curious beauty of this little herb, a plant so unlike 

 all others that we would fain believe it the re-animated 

 spirit of a race that flourished in former ages with those 

 hideous monsters whose bones alone remain to tell the 

 history of their existence m the quarries of our sand- 

 stone, slate and clay." This extract is taken from the 

 Botanical Register, where it appeared in 1832. Many 

 new species of mamillaria, even more beautiful than 

 the above, have been discovered since then. 



The genus pelecyphora is a near relative of the 

 mamillarias, and contains only one species, namely, 

 P. aselliformis (Fig. U]. It is commonly called the 

 hatchet cactus. The stems are about six inches high, 

 and usually appear in clusters when the plant is old. 



