naturally receive about 12 inches of rainfall annually- 
planted in the open in drier climates they will shift 
for themselves- In moist climates out of doers, plant 
on an elevation of light soil so that rotting will not 
occur thru poor drainage. 
The kinds of cacti naturally fall into two groups. The 
Ball Cacti do not branch and never have leaves> They 
consist of a dome shaped stem, and all are smaller than 
6 inches high. The rest of our cacti are in the genus 
Opuntia. These have small leaves on the nev/ growth that 
fall off about the time the spines start growing. The 
Opuntias get larger and are either tree-like in growth 
or else have flat oval shaped stems or prickly pear type 
of growth. 
BALL CACTI 
Mamillaria ( Coryphanth -i) vivipara is quite dome shaped 
growing over 3 inch.es in diamcier and the same in height. 
The flowers are an inch in die-meter and bright purple. 
The green spineless fruit has a very attractive fruity 
flavor. This species Is easily grown as it really grows 
better in a climate that is more moist than ours. 
Technically the plant is covered with tubercuies (nipple 
like) by 5/16 inches, grooved on the upper side. On 
the tip are 12-20 white spines with brown tips. Pour 
central spines are longer and heavier and quite brown. 
Flowers arise from between the tubercuies at the top of 
the plant. Seeds are brown, and flat. 
Echinocereus viridlflorus grows 3 Inches high by 2 In 
diameter. The spines are borne on ridges. The yellow 
flowers appear profusely in June and remain open several 
days- This is an excellent cactus that grows readily 
under a wide range of conditions from hot praries to 
7,000 feet altitude. Technically the spines are borne on 
slight tubercuies arranged in about 13 vertical or spiral 
ridges. The radial spines are 12-18 of variable length 
and color, mostly being white with the longer ones red 
tipped. There is usually one stout red central spine 
which may be white or absent. The fruit is oval, spiny, 
and green. The seeds are dark and round. 
