FURTHER NOTES 
ON 
CEREUS GIGANTEUS 
OF SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA, 
WITH A SHORT ACCOUNT OF ANOTHER ALLIED 
SPECIES IN SONORA. 
By Dr. GEORGE ENGELMANN, St. Louis, Missouri. 
EXTRACTED FROM THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS, VOL. XVII, SECOND SERIES. 
MARCH, 1854. 
Specimens of flowers and fruit, together with interesting notes 
and drawings communicated by Mr. George Thurber, and speci¬ 
mens of ribs of the plant with spines presented by Dr. Parry, en¬ 
able me to perfect the history of this giant Cactus.* Mr. Thur¬ 
ber travelled through the Gila country and Sonora, as one of Mr. 
Commissioner Bartlett’s party, in the summer of 1851, and is be¬ 
lieved to be the only scientific gentleman who has seen the plant 
in question in flower. These materials enable me to furnish the 
following detailed character. 
Cereus giganteus, Engelm.: erectus, elatus, simplex, s. ramis 
paucis erectis caule cy^ndrico versus apicem sensim attenuate) 
brevioribus candelabrifofmis; vertice applanato tomentoso ; costis 
ad basin caulis sub-12 versus apicem 18-20 rectis obtusis (vetus- 
tioribus ad caulis basin obtusissimis) subrepandis; sinubus ad ba¬ 
sin caulis latissimis versus apicem profundis angustioribus angus- 
tissimisque; areolis prominentibus ovato-orbiculatis junioribus 
albido-tomentosis; aculeis rectis basi valde bulbosis tenuiter sul- 
catis angulatisque albidis demum cinereis, radialibus 12-16 imo 
summisque brevioribus, lateralibus IJprsecipue inferioribus) longi- 
oribus robustioribus subinde cum aculeis adventitiis paucis seta- 
ceis summo areolae margini adjectis; aculeis centralibus 6 robustis 
albidis basi nigris apice rubellis demum totis cinereis, 4 inferiori- 
* See this Journal, New Series, vol. xiv, page 335, Nov., 1852. 
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Botanical 
copyright reserved garden 
