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EPIPHYLLUM TRUNCATUM ; var. VIOLACEUM. 
(viOLACEOUS-FLOWERED TRUNCATED-STEMMED EPIPHYLLUM.) 
CLASS. 
ICOSANDRIA. 
ORDER. 
MONOGYNIA. 
NATURAL ORDER. 
CACTACEiE. 
Generic Character. — Sepals imbricated, numerous, confounded with the corolla. Corolla indefinite. 
Branches leaf-like, fleshy, usually smooth, but sometimes having a few spines on their margin ; each 
with a midrib and diverging side veins, which terminate at the indentations on the edges. Flowers 
issuing from the extremities of the midrib or side veins. Stamens numerous. 
Specific Character. — Plant shrubby, dwarf. Stems short, flattish, becoming rough when old ; branches 
jointed, divaricated, compressed like a leaf, contracted at the base, with a few scattered serratures on 
each side, crescent -shaped at the summit. Flowers whitish at the lower part, rosy-red above, 
terminal, sessile, solitary, drooping ; petals imbricated, reflexed, spreading widely. Stamens 
numerous, bundled, partly ascending, the length of the petals. Stigmas many, of a deep blood- 
colour. 
Var. Violaceum. — Flowers having the tube and the base of the petals pure white, with the upper 
portions and the stigma and style tinged with a purplish hue. 
Of the many divisions into which the old genus Cactus was separated, there is 
none more natural or more readily recognised than that to which the title of 
Epiphyllum has been applied. This comprehends the well-known C. speciosus of 
early authors, the characteristics of which distinguish all the rest. They are flat, 
expansive, leaf-like branches, along the edges, and at the extremity of which the 
flowers are produced. 
Beautiful as is E. speciosum , however, and deserving as it undoubtedly is of the 
high favour it has gained, it must at once give way when brought into comparison 
with E. truncatum. The dwarf habitude of this latter, its gracefully half-drooping 
branches, the singular form, interesting disposition, and admirable tints of its flowers, 
with their development in the depth of winter, when most succulents are enjoying 
complete repose, render it an invaluable acquisition to any garden. And if the 
lovely hues of its blossoms are admitted as one of its principal attractions, the 
variety here first figured must stand pre-eminent in that particular. 
