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. 
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, Engelrn.: erectus, elatus, simplex, s. ramis 
paucis erectis caule cylindrico versus apicem sensim attenuate 
brevioribus candelabriformis; 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 imp 
summisque brevioribus, lateralibus (praecipue inferioribus) longi- 
oribus robustioribus subinde cum aculeis adventitiis paucis seta- 
ceis sumrno 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. 
Missouri Botanical Gardei* 
