212 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
GARDEN PLANTS— THEIR GEOGRAPHY, XXIV. 
FICOIDALES. 
THE ECIIINOC ACTUS, OPUNTIA AND MESEMBRYAN- 
THEMUM ALLIANCE. 
There are five tribes, thirty-nine genera and 
1,545 species accredited to this alliance. 
The Echinocacteae and Opunteae are American, 
the Mesembryanthemeae, etc., mostly old world 
species. 
Ficoidales was originally applied to the “Hotten- 
tot figs” alone; now it includes the “Indian figs.” 
On both sides of the tropics there exists a desert 
belt of varying width, which in the northern hemi- 
sphere embraces the Rocky Mountains and South- 
western United States, with considerable portions 
of Mexico and Central America, and in the old 
world a good deal of Northern Africa, Arabia, 
Persia, Northwestern India and Central Asia. 
The southern belt has much less land in the old 
world, but embraces wide areas in Central Austra- 
lia and South Africa, and on the American conti- 
nent parts of the Argentine Republic, Bolivia and 
coast regions of Peru and Chili. 
These arid belts, are the homes of a large 
number of curious succulent and fleshy plants 
adapted by nature to their environments They are 
often thoroughly armed and protected by spines. 
The warm portions of these regions give birth to 
nearly all the plants of this alliance. 
In some ways they recall Orchids; their range 
of temperature, their dislike of stagnant moisture, 
their provision against drought, their capacity for 
good supplies of moisture during their shorter pe- 
riod of growth, their sometimes tuberous, 
sometimes aerial roots, their wonderful polymor- 
phism, their climbing, epiphytal, viviparous, cespi- 
tose, almost pseudo-bulbous habits and often 
gorgeous flowers all tend to proclaim them as re- 
markable among exogens as orchids are among en- 
dogens. 
No plants are more desperately muddled in the 
minds of people and professors alike than these. 
Learned doctors are never more happy than when 
preparing confessedly hypothetical and imperfect 
books and pamphlets by the ton, and urging their 
printing at the people’s expense, merely with a 
resultant of greater topsy-turvydom. 
In the great gardens, too, glass houses are filled 
to-day with the “Succulenteae” of Linnaeus — many 
petaled Cereus, composite Senecios, A-petal Euphor- 
bias, and endogenous Agaves, Aloes and Yuccas 
differing utterly from all three, yet presented for the 
“instruction” of lay mankind! They rarely or 
never flower. It is small wonder that “Cactuses” 
are but very imperfectly known. 
Many species, however, are capable of rich ef- 
fects quite independent of their flowers. This has 
been well shown by Mr. Menke at Horticultural 
Hall, Philadelphia, and by the Cacti Society of 
Baltimore, both in geometrical gardening. In Cali- 
fornia several essayists have planted them in a more 
natural style. The tribes afford a rich assortment 
of form and color, and their effect may be made 
both rich, startling, grotesque and unique. The 
hardy opuntias and echinocacti may often be used 
northwards as a permanent covering for the ground, 
especially where it is well drained and protected 
during winter by snow. 
Beds of sandy soil may be raised on foundations 
of brickbats or stone. I have seen Opuntia vul- 
garis come through the winter in Canada splendidly, 
planted on such mounds, indeed the form called 
Rafinesqui is found naturally as far north as Michi- 
gan and Minnesota. During the summer months 
a fine selection of tender forms may be plunged in 
their pots or planted out on such mounds, taking 
every precaution with the drainage of both pots 
and planting statipns. 
A few good collections are kept by tradesmen 
in California and the East, and choice forms should 
be selected at these places, for they vary tremend- 
dously, their condition varies, and their nomencla- 
ture is the despairof the learned. Some excuse is 
made for this: herbarium specimens are very diffi- 
cult to prepare, many grow in most inhospitable 
regions, the knowledge pertaining to them has been 
slow and troublesome to collect, and it continues 
to be largely a labor of love by another generation 
of enthusiasts without much means to distinguish 
themselves, unless they invent a new name or two. 
There are few things so necessary as the sub- 
mission of these men to some recognized standard. 
If they will insist (in the plentitude of their wis- 
dom) in raking up all the obsolete pollysyllaby back 
from the Kew Index to Pliny* it is doubtful if their 
“interesting” researches into the biographical jun- 
gles will ever either end, or be of utility, and they 
will find a large class of readers ignore them. They 
should determine upon a limit for the twentieth 
century, and be fined for deviations either of clas- 
sification or generic nomenclature. Botanists have 
no right to inflict so much trouble upon their stu- 
dents, who rely upon their professions and buy 
their books to avoid it. It is impossible to find 
two works in agreement with any standard. 
Melocactus has thirty species, natives of Mexico, 
the West Indies and Brazil. Probably it includes 
some of the species called “cactus” by Linnaeus, 
*See Pirus in Watson’s Biography, Castalia in Britton’s 
plants of New Jersey, Magnolia foetida in Sargent, Cactus and 
Lophophora in Coulter, etc. 
