The order Cacti, of Jussieu, has been lately divided into 
Nopalece and Grossularice. 
Stems several from one stock, straight, fleshy, upright, 
three and four cornered, simple, but little branched, 2-3 
feet high, 1-2 inches in diameter, of unequal thickness, 
sides smooth channelled, angles shallowly sinuous, notched, 
furnished at the under edge of each notch with a pencil of 
unequal diverging tawny or brownish spines, set in a short 
dense cottony tuft. Flowers without scent, horizontal or 
slightly nodding, produced at the angles of the stems. Calyx 
of one piece, multipartite, segments membranous round the 
periphery, green at the disk, outer oval smaller, inner lanceo- 
late, concave, of different sizes, shaded with rose-colour. 
Corolla spreading, campanulate, about six inches long and 
nearly of the same width: petals from twenty to twenty-five, 
crimson, attached to the neck of the calyx, outer lanceolate 
pointed, inner long-oval broader. Stamens very numerous: 
filaments slender, filiform, white shaded with rose-colour, 
declining, converging fasciclewise, as well as the petals at- 
tached to the neck of the calyx, under ones gradually longer 
than the upper and about the length of the petals: anthers 
small, oblong, fixed at the base to the point of the filament: 
pollen white, granular, grains globular. Style thickish, 
rose-coloured, declining, cylindrical, shorter than the un- 
dermost stamens: stigmas ten, white, slender, slightly 
spreading, disposed in contiguous pairs. Germen cylindri- 
cal, from one to two inches long, slightly furrowed, beset 
at the angles with small obtuse slightly raised scales, each 
of which is furnished with a small pencil of bristlelike 
spines. 
‘The above description is a version from the excellent 
one in french by Professor Desfontaines. 
