438 
EXPLORATIONS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN OF UTAH. 
general appearance, the. habitus, of a cactus plant, not necessarily indicates its real 
affinities. Not only is it a true Echinocactm, notwithstanding every appearance of a 
Mamillaria, but it is, moreover, closely allied in all its essential characters to the very 
compact Ech. intertextus, Engelm., C. Bound, p. 27, t. 34, in which all traces of tuber¬ 
cules are lost in the straight ribs.. It has the same small flowers and the same small 
dry fruit, containing few large seeds, of similar structure, though not entirely the same 
arrangement of the spines. 
Full-grown specimens of our plant are 3—5 inches high and-3-4 inches in diam¬ 
eter, of dark-green color; tubercules loosely arranged in or order, 8 and 13 spirals 
being most prominent. They are 6—8 lines long, at base somewhat quadrangular, 
6-7 lines wide in the vertical and 4-5 lines in the transverse diameter, becoming sub- 
cylindric upward; areolae 3-4 lines long, a little more than half as wide. The fruit- 
bearing tubercules are rather stouter and shorter. Exterior spines 4—6 lines long, 
whitish; interior ones spreading, stouter, and a little longer (5-7 lines long), yel¬ 
lowish and upward deep brown or black; no truly central spine. In the very young 
plant, the spines, 18-20 in number and only 1-1 J, lines in length, are all radiating 
closely fitting with their compressed bulbous bases on a linear areola, resembling in 
shape and arrangement those of Cereus c&spitosus: Soon afterward the areola 
becomes wider, and 6 or 8 short, stout, brown interior spines make their appearance, 
divergent like the original ones. Next the ordinary arrangement, as described above, 
takes place. 
It seems that quite early in spring the young tubercules on the vertex of the plant 
begin to form, exhibiting their densely woolly tops, and soon afterward, long before 
any spines make their appearance, the tips of the smooth brown flower-buds come out. 
The flowers are 8-10 lines long and of nearly the same diameter, externally greenish- 
purple, petals yellowish-green or verging to pale purple. The short stamens arise 
from the whole surface of the tube, leaving only a very small nectariferous space in 
its base. The fruit is about 3 or 31 lines long and almost as wide, borne on a very 
large circular areola, surrounded by a woolly margin (see t. 2, £ 1). It bears 
toward its top 1-3 scales, sometimes with 1 or 2 small spines in their axils. The 
fruit usually opens by an irregular lateral slit; falling off, its base remains attached 
to the areola, as is the case in many (or all? or only all the dry-fruited?) Echinocacti, 
thus producing a basal opening (see t. 2, £ 5). Seeds 1J lines long in the longest 
diameter, covered with miniite close-set tubercles. The young seedling shows erect, 
pointed cotyledons, and, when a few weeks old, begins to develop its pubescent spines. 
Yar. f3 has been received this fall from the Colorado gold-region;* the smallest 
specimens were 1 inch in diameter, globose, the small tubercules in, n order, spines 
1J-2 lines long, often curved; sometimes 1-3 darker stouter ones in the center. The 
larger specimens are almost of the size of those of Utah, but often depressed at top; 
tubercules arranged in if or even II order, spines only 4-5 lines long, 20-28 external 
and 6 or 7 internal ones. 
This species lias been named in honor of the gallant commander of the expedition. 
* It here grows and thrives probably at a higher elevation than any other northern Cactus, occupying e. g. the 
gravelly moraines of the Glacial period df Clear Creek Valley, between 8,000 and 9,000 feet altitude, and in the southern 
part of the Territory, the Sangre de Cristo Pass, 10,000 feet high (January, 1876). 
Botan ICAL 
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