


14 THE STORY OF CACTUS 

(57) and Echinopsis, (24) etc. These all bloom profusely indoors and for the 
most part are night-bloomers. Some of the above grow very large and will 
need a trellis to climb over in a couple years. All the above freeze easily 
except Echinopsis. 
Taking everything into consideration, the best cacti for the house are the 
dry cacti, those which can go months and even years without water or care. 
By dry cacti, we mean those from countries with a minimum of rainfall, say 
six to ten inches a year. The dry cacti can stand quite a lot of freezing weather 
if they are not watered while it is cold. 
_ The most beautiful of these are the Echinocereus and the E. rigidissimus (106) 
or Arizona Rainbow with its pretty red spines and rings. We think tops the 
lot. Its flower is purple-pink about three inches across. 
The E. dasyacanthus (73) or Texas Rainbow with its lemon-yellow flowers 
and red rings on a grey background is very striking and this plant will take 
quite a lot of abuse and one plant we mislaid was found five years later with 
still signs of life. It was accidently filed away with old letters while moving 
in January, 1929, and in April 1934, while hunting an old letter, we found 
this plant with two small knobs growing out the side, as the box had been 
in a dark garage the new growth was white, both in spines and skin, but after 
a few days in the sun the skin turned green but the spines always stayed white. 
The E. viridiflorus (71) or New Mexico Rainbow with its brightly colored 
spines and small green flowers will help brighten up any window sili. This 
plant is also known as the Green Flowered Pitaya. 
Another plant which resembles this plant is the E. chloranthus (58). The 
main difference is in the flowers which are a rich brown and the spines are 
shorter and not so brightly tipped with red. When not in bloom very few 
can tell these two apart. Both have the common name New Mexico Rainbow. 
Another fine variety is the E. caespitosus. This plant is sometimes called 
the Lace Cactus and wel! it may as the pretty brown spines are so placed on 
the spine cushions that they resemble a very fine lace pattern and the flowers 
of redish purple sometimes are so profuse as to hide the plant entirely. 
A plant that resembles this one so closely when not in bloom that we had 
them sent back as the same is the E. fitchii and the only real difference is the 
color of the bloom, and the spines on the E. fitchii stand out from the plant. 
The Fitchii blooms pink. 
The E. papillosus grows in small clusters and makes a very desirable house 
plant because it always retains a dark green color nd has many large yellow 
flowers with a deep red center. ; 
E. perbellus with its short lacy spines and its large purple flowers looks 
like a little brother of the E. richenbachii whose flowers are about the size 
but more of a light purple or reddish pink color. 
The next most desirable species are the Coryphanthas (78) with their tuber- 
cles tufted on the end with showy spines and flowers quite large for the size 
of the plant. The C. robustispina (78 L.) with its large yellow flowers is one 
of the showiest and also one of the rarest. Large specimen plants eight inches 
high sell for ten to fifteen dollars and only a few clusters this size are found. 
As its name signifies, the spines are quite robust and also slightly hooked on 
the end of the main central spine. 
One which is nearly identical with this plant is the C. meuhlenphordtii (78) 
R. of Texas. This plant is somewhat smaller and seldom grows cespitose and 
the spines are longer. Very seldom one with a central hooked spine appears. 
The flowers are lighter in color and reddish pink or light purple with a colored 
center quite darker than the ends of the petals. This is one of nature’s finest 
cacti. 
New Mexico finest Coryphantha is named after that State, C. neo-Mexicana 
(59 L.) and the blossoms which are prettiest in the evening, has earned it the 
name “Estria del tarde” or evening star. These blossoms range all they way 
from light pink to deep reddish pink. 
C. similis with greenish brown flowers and C. sucata with lemon yellow 
flowers and C. vivapara with its pinkish flowers resemble each other to a 
great degree. They all grow in mounds from one to three feet across, as do 

82 Neomammillaria heyderi. 35 Neomammillaria denudata. 
83 Astrophytum ornatum. 86 Echinocereus fendleri flower. 
84 Echinocereus I!loydii. 
