A TROPICAL TREE FOR THE SOUTHERN GARDEN 
ROBERT S. WALKER 
A Relative of the Dwarf and Well Known Prickly-Pear This Attains Large 
Proportions and Becomes a Veritable Tree, At Once Curious and Useful 
HE one species of Opuntia that is the most abundant in 
gardens, common in the eastern and southern part of 
p'tl 3 l United States and grown on rockeries in the north 
and in Europe, is the Prickly-pear (Opuntia vulgaris). 
This is a low-growing plant but in the evolution of the family we 
see others approach the perfection of a forest or orchard tree. 
Opuntias grow from the Dominion of Canada southward to 
Mexico, and embrace more than 125 species. These plants will 
always attract attention for their oddity, and for this reason they 
have been grown for many years in greenhouses. But a peculiar 
thing about them when they are grown for ornamental purposes, 
is that they are rarely ever satisfying. The grower who keeps 
them simply as a curiosity is usually not satisfied when he learns 
of the dozens of other varying types, until he has at least ob- 
served them too. The fleshy succulent stalks and foliage carry 
a peculiar charm that is so different from other plants that they 
will always be well worthy of a place in the garden. 
The larger species long ago passed into the utility class, and 
have become plants with a dual purpose. They found a use long 
ago as an ornamental and defensive hedge plant, at the same 
time producing an edible fruit. Used for hedge planting, they 
reach the acme of perfection in beauty 
when they are in bloom. The predom- 
inating color is yellow, and a profusion 
of flowers mixed with the odd stems 
and foliage, followed with the bright 
colored pears or fruit, add an original 
expression to the lawn or garden in 
those regions that are warm enough to 
support them. 
T HE beginning of the Opuntias for 
use as a food is not known, forwhen 
the early Spanish explorers came to the 
United States the aborigines were culti- 
vating some species for the fruit. The 
habit of carrying away specimens of 
everything as a curiosity was a strong 
one with these early Spanish explorers 
and specimens of Opuntias were taken 
back with them and plantings were first 
made in the Canary Islands, and in the 
Azores. 1 1 was quite natural that they 
should soon be disseminated to other 
near-bv countries, and so these plants 
soon found a home in Portugal and in 
Spain, and from there they spread rap- 
idly to all the countries that border the 
Mediterranean Sea. 
From the latter territory they soon 
reached the Asiatic Continent, South 
Africa, and Australia. In many of 
these countries, although introduced 
for their value as a garden crop, they 
have escaped to near-by fields, and be- 
came so thrifty that they are regarded 
as a great pest, for they obstruct the 
advancement of many profitable 
crops. 
The Opuntia’s habit of storing mois- 
ture in its stems and leaves and then 
producing a perfect array of sharp 
spines for protection at once singles it out as a plant of the desert 
or semi-arid country. Where rainfall is abundant the smallest 
species are found growing. For example, the common Prickly-pear 
previously referred to, is a low spreading plant, thriving out on 
rocky barrens, and even on the top of large high stones. But 
any one who is familiar with our common Prickly-pear will see 
a great resemblance between its foliage and the Tree Cactus — 
Opuntia brasiliensis — which grows into an erect tree of the 
forest. When I first saw this tree growing in Leesburg, Florida, 
it attracted my attention immediately, for it seemed strange to 
see a tree with the foliage so much likethedwarf I knew elsewhere. 
T HE tree shown in the photograph is about 20 feet in height 
and about 8 inches in diameter. It belongs to an interest- 
ing group of a genus of which there are three species, each and 
every one a native of the damp forests of Eastern South America. 
One species is found growing in Northern Argentina, and the 
other was found growing in Bahia in the year 191 5 by Mr. J. N. 
Rose, Associate Curator, Division of Plants, of the Smithsonian 
Institution. The only species of the tree, however, that has 
received cultivation is the Opuntia brasiliensis. This has 
been transplanted to middle and 
southern Florida, where it seems to 
thrive. The trunk and branches of 
this species are covered with many 
thorns, and the flowers are yellow 
and measure about two inches broad. 
The fruit is yellow and juicy. The 
two other species belonging to this 
group of Opuntias bear oblong fruit 
of a red color. 
Opuntia brasiliensis seems to have 
acquired a habit directly in opposition 
to the most of the large thrifty species 
of Opuntias, for it thrives in damp 
regions, while they seek the deserts. 
In this connection, however, it is to 
be noted that the essential thing for 
all Opuntias is thorough drainage 
rather, perhaps, than an arid, dry 
situation. And as to their tropical 
or semi-tropical requirements, it would 
seem that if they have the porous, 
well-drained soil which they like, a 
sunny exposure, and sufficient length 
of growing season to enable them to 
ripen their fruit and their annual 
growth, they will endure “almost 
any degree of cold to be experienced 
even in the most northern portions 
of the United States.” Certainly they 
will succeed anywhere that Corn will 
grow and come to maturity. Members 
of the Cactus family generally may 
not be popular in gardens because of 
their often grotesque appearance, com- 
bined with an armament of spines that 
makes them painful to hand’e. But 
none ever fail in enthusiasm for their 
beautiful flowers, while their adapta- 
tion of form to extreme environment is 
a marvel to the student. 
ARMED CAP-A-PIE IS OPUNTIA BRASILIENSIS 
No amount of stand-offishness however dissuades 
from the enjoyment of its fruit where this tree 
is cultivated, though many would call it insipid 
378 
