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THE CACTACEAE
DESCRIPTIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF
PLANTS OF THE CACTUS FAMILY
BY
N. L. BRITTON AND J. N. ROSE
Volume I
THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, 1919
tf*
CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON
PUBLICATION No. 248, VOLUME I
CopfeofthnBftik
were first iwued
i'J
PRESS OF GIBSON BROTHERS
WASHINGTON
CONTENTS.
Introduction
Order Cactales
Family Cactaceae. . . .
Key to Tribes
Tribe Pereskieae. . . .
Pereskia
Key to Species .
PAGE.
3
8
8
8
9
Tribe Opuntieae 24
Key to Genera 24
Pereskiopsis 25
Pterocactus 30
Nopalea 33
Tacinga 39
Maihuenia 40
Opuntia 42
Key to Subgenera and Series 44
Subgenus Cylindropuntia 46
Series Ramosissimae 46
Series Leptocaules 46
Series Thurberianae 52
Series Echinocarpae 56
Series Bigelovianae 58
Series Imbricatae 60
Series Fulgidae 67
Series Vestitae 71
Series Clavarioides 72
Series Salmianae 73
Series Subulatae 75
Series Miquelianae 78
Series Clavatae 79
Subgenus Tephrocactus 84
Series Weberianae •. • 84
Series Floccosae 86
Series Glomeratae 87
Series Pentlandianae 90
PAGE.
Family Cactaceae — continued.
Tribe Opuntieae — continued.
Opuntia — continued.
Subgenus Platyopuntia 99
Series Pumilae 100
Series Curassavicae 102
Series Aurantiacae 106
Series Tunae no
Series Basilares 1 1 8
Series Inamoenae 125
Series Tortispinae 126
Series Sulphureae 133
Series Strigiles 136
Series Setispinae 1 36
Series Phaeacanthae 139
Series Elatiores 1 49
Series Elatae 156
Series Scheerianae 159
Series Dillenianae 159
Series Macdougalianae 169
Series Tomentosae 172
Series Leucotrichae 174
Series Orbiculatae 176
Series Ficus-indicae 177
Series Streptacanthae 1 8 1
Series Robustae 191
Series Polyacanthae 193
Series Stenopetalae 200
Series Palmadorae 201
Series Spinosissimae 202
Series Brasilienses 209
Series Ammophilae 211
Series Chaffeyanae 213
Grusonia 215
Appendix 216
Index 227
ILLUSTRATIONS.
FACING
PLATES PAGE
PLATE i . Cactus Desert in Arizona Frontispiece
PLATE 2. (i) Flowering branch of Pereskia pereskia. (2 and 3) Fruit of Pereskia pereskia. (4) Leafy branch of
Pereskia sacharosa (5) Proliferous fruit of Pereskia sacharosa 10
PLATE 3. (i) Flowering branch of Pereskia grandifolia. (2) Leafy branch of Pereskiopsis chapistle. (3) Leafy
branch of Pereskiopsis pititache 20
PLATE 4. (i) Upper part of flowering joint of Nopalea cochenillifera. (2) Upper part of flowering joint of
Nopalea auberi. (3) Fruit of Nopalea auberi. (4) Flowering joint of Nopalea dejecta 34
PLATE 5. Nopalea auberi as it grows near Mitla, Mexico 38
PLATE 6. (i and 2) Branch of Opuntia mortolensis. (3 and 4) Branch of Opuntia leptocaulis. (5) Flowering
branch of Opuntia arbuscula. (6) Flowering branch of Opuntia kleiniae 48
PLATE 7. (i) Leafy branch of Opuntia kleiniae. (2) Terminal branch of Opuntia vivipara. (3) Branch of
Opuntia parryi. (4) Flowering branch of Opuntia echinocarpa. (5) Fruiting branch of
Opuntia versicolor 50
PLATE 8. (i) Type plant of Opuntia vivipara, near Tucson, Arizona. (2) A much branched plant of Opuntia
versicolor 52
PLATE 9. (i) Joint of Opuntia tetracantha. (2, 3, 4, 5) Flowering joint of Opuntia versicolor. (6) Proliferous
fruits of Opuntia fulgida 54
PLATE 10. (i) Joint of Opuntia tunicata. (2, 3, 4, 5) Joint of Opuntia spinosior 66
PLATE n. (i) Leafy branch of Opuntia imbricata. (2) Flowering branch of Opuntia prolifera. (3, 4) Form of
Opuntia alcahes. (5, 6) Opuntia vestita.* 68
PLATE 12. (i) Clump of plants of Opuntia fulgida. (2) A very open plant of Opuntia spinosior 70
PLATE 13. (i) Opuntia exaltata as seen in the highlands of Peru. (2) Clump of Opuntia floccosa as it grows in
the valleys of the Andes of eastern Peru 76
PLATE 14. (i) Flowering branch of Opuntia burrageana. (2) Opuntia cylindrica. (3, 4) Joint of Opuntia stanlyi.
(5) Flowering joint of Opuntia macrorhiza 78
PLATE 15. (i, 2) Part of joint of Opuntia exaltata. (3) Upper part of joint of Opuntia macrarthra. (4) Upper
part of joint of Opuntia tortispina 80
PLATE 16. (i) Top of Opuntia miquelii. (2) Old and young joints of Opuntia invicta. (3) Upper part of joint
of Opuntia ignescens 98
PLATE 17. (i) Joint of Opuntia pascoensis. (2) Joints of Opuntia taylori. (3, 4) Form of Opuntia repenc.
(5) Flower of Opuntia repens. (6) Flowering joint of Opuntia drummondii 102
PLATE 18. (i) Two plants of Opuntia drummondii. (2) Joints of Opuntia retrorsa with flower. (3) Joints of
Opuntia triacantha. (4) Joint of Opuntia jamaicensis. (5) Section of fruit of Opuntia
jatnaicensis 104
PLATE 19. (i) Plant of Opuntia jamaicensis. (2. 3) Flower of Opuntia jamaicensis. (4) Longitudinal section
of flower of Opuntia jamaicensis. (5, 6) Stamen of Opuntia jamaicensis. (7) Style of
Opuntia jamaicensis 112
PLATE 20. (i) Flowering joint of Opuntia decumbens. (2) Frui ting joint of Opuntia decumbens. (3) Hybrid 116
PLATE 2 1 . Group of hardy Opuntia, mostly Opuntia tortispina, in grounds of New York Botanical Garden .... 126
PLATE 22. (i) Joints of Opuntia microdasys. (2) Flowering joint of Opuntia macrarthra. (3) Fruit of Opuntia
macrarthra. (4) Seed of Opuntia macrarthra. (5) Flowering joint of Opuntia opuntia 128
PLATE 23. (i) Flowering joint of Opuntia fuscoatra. (2) Upper part of joint of Opuntia sulphurea. (3) Joint
of Opuntia tenuispina 132
PLATE 24. (i) Plant of Opuntia santa-rita. (2) Plant of Opuntia discata 142
PLATE 25. (i) Flowering joint of Opuntia atrispina. (2) Flowering joint of Opuntia phaeacantha. (3) Upper
part of joint of Opuntia engelmannii 144
PLATE 26. (i) Flowering joint of Opuntia bergeriana. (2) Flowering joint of Opuntia elatior. (3) Flowering
joint of Opuntia boldinghii. (4, 5) Joint of Opuntia elata 152
PLATE 27. (i) Upper part of fruiting joint of Opuntia schumannii. (2) Flower of Opuntia schumannii. (3)
Flowering joint of Opuntia vulgaris. (4) Flowering joint of Opuntia stricta 156
PLATE 28. (i) Flowering joint of Opuntia laevis. (2) Flowering joint of Opuntia dillenii. (3) L^pper part of
flowering joint of Opuntia aciculata 1 60
PLATE 29. (i) View of Opuntia keyensis. (2) View of Opuntia dillenii 162
PLATE 30. Flowering joint of Opuntia linguiformis 164
PLATE 31. Flowering joints of Opuntia lindheimeri. (i) Orange-flowered race. (2) Red-flowered race 166
PLATE 32. (i) Upper part of flowering joint of Opuntia leptocarpa. (2) Fruit of Opuntia leptocarpa. (3) Flower-
ing joint of Opuntia velutina. (4) Upper part of joint of Opuntia megacantha 172
PLATE 33. (i) Upper part of joint of Opuntia tomentosa. (2) Flowering joint of Opuntia brasiliensis. (3)
Flowering branch of Opuntia brasiliensis. (4) Joint of Grusonia bradtiana 174
PLATE 34. (i) Part of joint of Opuntia leucotricha. (2) Part of joint of Opuntia maxima. (3) Joint of Opuntia
lasiacantha. (4) Joint of Opuntia robusta 180
PLATE 35. (i) Plant of Opuntia fragilis. (2) Flowering branch of Opuntia rhodantha. (3) Flowering joint of
Opuntia polyacantha 1 94
PLATE 36. (i) Flowering joint of Opuntia spinosissima. (2, 3) Single flower of Opuntia spinosissima. (4, 5)
Longitudinal section of flower of Opuntia spinosissima. (6) Cross-section of ovary of
Opuntia spinosissima. (7) Style of Opuntia spinosissima 204
THE CACTACEAE.
TEXT-FIGURES.
PAGE.
Fio. i . Hedge of Pereskia pereskia
2. Tree of Pereskia autuinnalis
3. Branches of Pereskia autumnalis
4. Branch of Pereskia lychnidiflora
5. Leafy branch of Pereskia nicoyana 13
6. Branch of Pereskia zehntncri
7. Cultivated plant of Pereskia zehntncri . .
8. Herbarium specimen of Pereskia moorei .
9. Tree of Pereskia guamacho
10. Flowering branch of Pereskia guamacho.
1 1 . Leafy branch and flower of Pereskia
colombiana 17
12. Branch and fruit of Pereskia bleo
13. Fruit of Pereskia bahiensis
14. Leafy branch of Pereskia bahiensis
15. Tree of Pereskia bahiensis
1 6. Hedge containing Pereskia grandifolia. . .
17. Branch of Pereskia zinniaeflora
1 8. Tree of Pereskia cubensis
19. Leafy branch of Pereskia cubensis
20. Branch and fruit of Pereskia portulaci-
folia
21. Potted plant grown from a cutting of
Percskiopsis velutina 26
22. Branch of Pereskiopsis diguetii 27
23. Branch of Pereskiopsis opuntiaeflora ....
24. Branch of Pereskiopsis rotundifolia 27
25. Shows a clump of Pereskiopsis rotundi-
folia
26. Branch of Pereskiopsis porteri 28
27. Branch of Pereskiopsis aquosa 29
28. Leaf of Pereskiopsis kellermanii 30
29. Leaf of Pereskiopsis kellermanii 30
30. Leaf of Pereskiopsis kellermanii 30
31. Seed of Pterocactus hickenii 31
32. Plant of Pterocactus hickenii 31
33. Branch of Pterocactus fischeri 31
34. Seed of Pterocactus fischeri 31
35. Seed of Pterocactus pumilus 31
36. Seed of Pterocactus tuberosus 31
37. Plant of Pterocactus tuberosus, showing
a very large root 32
38. Potted plant of Pterocactus tuberosus . . .
39. Joint of Nopalea guatemalensis 35
40. Joint of Nopalea lutea 35
41. Large plant of Nopalea dejecta 36
42. Joints of Nopalea dejecta 37
43. Joints of Nopalea karwinskiana 37
44. Joint of Nopalea inaperta
45. Flower of Tacinga funalis 38
46. Longitudinal section of flower of Tacinga
funalis
47. Section of stem of Tacinga funalis 38
48. Tip of young branch of Tacinga funalis.
49. Plant of Tacinga funalis, climbing over
bushes 39
50. Plant of Maihuenia valentinii 40
51. Fruit of Maihuenia poeppigii 41
52. Joint and flower of Maihuenia brachydc-1-
phys
53. Plant of Maihuenia tehuelches 41
54. Branch of Opuntia ramossissima
55. Section of stem of Opuntia ramosissima.
56. Plant of Opuntia leptocaulis
7
FIG. 57-
1 1
58.
12
59-
12
60.
13
61.
13
62.
14
63-
'5
64.
15
65-
16
66.
67.
17
68.
18
69.
19
70.
19
71-
20
72.
21
73-
21
74-
22
75-
22
76.
23
77-
26
78.
27
79-
27
80.
27
81.
82.
28
83-
28
84.
29
85.
30
86.
30
87.
30
88.
31
89.
31
90.
31
91-
31
92.
31
93-
31
94-
95-
32
96.
33
97-
35
35
98.
36
99-
37
IOO.
37
IOI.
37
102.
38
103.
104.
38
105.
38
1 06.
38
107.
39
108.
40
109.
4'
1 IO.
in.
41
I 12.
41
113-
46
114.
46
"5-
48
116.
PACE.
Section of stem of Opuntia leptocaulis' . . 48
Joint of Opuntia caribaea 48
Thicket formed of Opuntia caribaea 49
Clump of Opuntia arbuscula 50
Plant of Opuntia arbuscula 51
Fruiting branch of Opuntia arbuscula. . . 51
Flowering branch of Opuntia thurberi. . . 53
Branch of Opuntia davisii 55
Branch of Opuntia viridiflora 55
Branch of Opuntia whipplei 55
Plant of Opuntia acanthocarpa 56
Joint of Opuntia serpentina 58
Plant of Opuntia bigelovii 59
Joint of Opuntia bigelovii 59
Potted plant of Opuntia ciribe 60
Joint of Opuntia ciribe 60
Potted plant of Opuntia cholla 61
Joint of Opuntia cholla 62
Proliferous fruits of Opuntia cholla, devel-
oping new joints 62
Proliferous fruits of Opuntia cholla,
developing new joints 62
Joints of Opuntia loydii 63
Plant of Opuntia lloydii 63
Plant of Opuntia imbricata 64
Potted plant of Opuntia tunicata 65
Plant of Opuntia pallida 65
Potted plant of Opuntia molesta 67
Joint of Opuntia prolifera 69
Potted plant of Opuntia prolifera 70
Potted plant of Opuntia alcahes 70
Joint of Opuntia verschaffeltii 72
Grafted plants of Opuntia clavarioides . . . 73
Potted plant of Opuntia salmiana 74
Joints of Opuntia salmiana 74
Potted plant of Opuntia subulata 76
Joint of Opuntia pachypus 77
Joints of Opuntia schottii 8 1
Joints of Opuntia clavata 81
Joints of Opuntia parishii 82
Joints of Opuntia pulchella 82
Plants of Opuntia vilis 83
Joints and cluster of spines of Opuntia
bulbispina 83
Joints of Opuntia grahamii 84
Plants of Opuntia weberi 84
Joints of Opuntia weberi 85
Potted plant of Opuntia floccosa 86
Mound of Opuntia lagopus 88
Root, joints, and flower of O. australis. . 88
Joints of Opuntia glomerata 89
Joint of Opuntia aoracantha 91
Joint of Opuntia rauppiana 92
Flowering plant and fruit of Opuntia sub-
terranea 92
Joints of Opuntia hickenii 92
Joint of Opuntia darwinii 94
Joints of Opuntia atacamensis 94
Joints of Opuntia russellii 94
Joints of Opuntia ovata 95
Potted plant of Opuntia sphaerica 96
Joint of Opuntia skottsbergii 97
Joint of Opuntia nigrispina 97
Joint of Opuntia pentlandii 97
VI
THE CACTACEAE.
TEXT-FIGURES— continued .
Fir,. 117. Joints of Opuntia pentlandii
PAGE.
98
FIG. 185.
118. Joint of Opuntia ignescens . . .
08
1 86
119. Mound of Opuntia ignescens
98
187
1 20. Plant of Opuntia campestris
1 88
121. Joints of Opuntia ignota
1 80
122. Thicket of Opuntia pumila
123. Joints of Opuntia pumila ....
124 Joints of Opuntia pubescens
125. Joints of Opuntia curassavica
126. Joints of Opuntia borinquensis
128. Joints and flower of Opuntia tracyi .
129. Joints and flowers of Opuntia pusilla. . . .
*3° Joints of Opuntia aurantiaca
1 06
196.
131. Potted plant of Opuntia schickendantzii .
107
1 08
198.
1 08
134. Plant of Opuntia retrorsa
2OI
J37' Thicket of Opuntia bella . . .
1 1 1
2O4
140. Plant of Opuntia triacantha . . .
2O6.
141. Plant of Opuntia tuna
114
207.
2O8
143. Thicket of Opuntia antillana
2O9.
144. Joints of Opuntia antillana
2IO.
211.
146. Plant of Opuntia depressa
118
212.
147. Joints of Opuntia lubrica
2 13.
148. Landscape showing Opuntia treleasei. . . .
149. Joints of Opuntia basilaris
119
214.
2 15.
150. Plant of Opuntia microdasys . .
216.
151. Potted plant of Opuntia, probable hybrid
121
217.
218.
153. Plant of Opuntia rufida
I 22
219.
154. Plant of Opuntia pvcnantha .
12^
22O.
155. Potted plant of Opuntia comonduensis. .
156. Plant of Opuntia inamoena
124
221.
222.
157. Joint of Opuntia inamoena
1 15
223.
158. Joints of Opuntia allairei
126
224.
J59- Joints of Opuntia pollardii
126
225.
160. Plant of Opuntia opuntia
128
226.
161. Fruit of Opuntia grandiflora
129
227.
162. Flowering joint of Opuntia grandiflora. .
163. Flowering joints of Opuntia austrina. . . .
164. Joints, flower, and fruit of O. plumbea. .
165. Fruit of Opuntia stenochila
129
130
131
228.
229.
230.
231.
1 66. Fruit of Opuntia stenochila . .
232.
167. Joint of Opuntia stenochila
132
233-
1 68. Potted plant of Opuntia delicata
234.
169. Joint of Opuntia soehrensii
235.
170. Joint of Opuntia microdisca
135
236.
171. Joints of Opuntia strigil
I -\6
237.
172. Joints of Opuntia ballii ...
I ^7
238.
i? V Joints of Opuntia pottsii
138
239.
178
175. Plant and fruit of Opuntia mackensensii
176. Joint of Opuntia macrocentra
139
241.
242.
177. Joint of Opuntia tardospina
243.
178. Cluster of spines of Opuntia gosseliniana
179. Joint of Opuiitia gosseliniana
141
244.
245.
1 80. Joint of Opuntia angustata
I 4.2
246.
181. Plant of Opuntia azurea
14 ^
247.
182. Joints of Opuntia azurea
248.
183. Joint of Opuntia covillei
I4S
249.
184. Joint of Ommtia covillei. .
14=1
PAGE.
Joint of Opuntia vaseyi 146
Potted plant of Opuntia occidentalis . ... 147
Joint of Opuntia brunnescens 150
Fruit of Opuntia brunnescens 150
Joint of Opuntia galapageia 150
Flower of Opuntia galapageia 150
Joint and cluster of spines of Opuntia
galapageia 151
Flowering joint of Opuntia delaetiana.. 152
Joints of Opuntia hanburyana 154
Joint of Opuntia quitensis 154
Joint of Opuntia distans 155
Joint of Opuntia elata 157
Joints of Opuntia cardiosperma 157
Joint of Opuntia scheeri 159
Plant of Opuntia chlorotica 160
Joints of Opuntia chlorotica 160
Plant of Opuntia dillenii 162
Joint of Opuntia tapona 164
Potted plant of Opuntia littoralis 164
Joints of Opuntia cantabrigiensis 167
Part of joint and cluster of spines of
Opuntia procumbens 167
Joint of Opuntia Canada 167
Joint of Opuntia pyriformis 168
Joint of Opuntia durangensis 169
Plant of Opuntia macdougaliana 1 70
Potted plant of Opuntia macdougaliana . 171
Joint of Opuntia wilcoxii 172
Plant of Opuntia tomentosa 173
Joint of Opuntia tomentella 174
Potted plant of Opuntia leucotricha 175
Joints of Opuntia orbiculata 176
Potted plant of Opuntia pilifera 177
Plants of Opuntia ficus-indica 178
Fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica 178
Plant of Opuntia crassa 179
Potted plant of Opuntia maxima 180
Joint of Opuntia spinulifera 182
Joint of Opuntia lasiacantha 183
Joint of Opuntia zacuapanensis 183
Joint of Opuntia hyptiacantha 183
Joint of Opuntia streptacantha 184
Potted plant of Opuntia megacantha. ... 185
Plants of Opuntia megacantha 186
Joint of Opuntia megacantha 186
Joint of Opuntia deamii 187
Joint of Opuntia eichlamii 188
Joint of Opuntia inaequilateralis 188
Joint of Opuntia pittieri 189
Joint of Opuntia cordobensis 189
Fruit of Opuntia cordobensis 189
Joint of Opuntia quimilo 1 90
Fruit of Opuntia quimilo 190
Joint and flowers of Opuntia quimilo. ... 191
Plant of Opuntia robusta 192
Plant of Opuntia fragilis 194
Joints of Opuntia arenaria 195
Joint of Opuntia trichophora 195
Plant of Opuntia erinacea 196
Joint of Opuntia juniperina 197
Seed of Opuntia juniperina 197
Joint of Optmtia hystricina 197
Joint of Opuntia sphaerocarpa 198
Joints of Opuntia polyacantha 199
Joint of Opuntia stenopetala 200
Upper part of joint and flower of Opuntia
stenopetala 201
THE CACTACEAE.
VII
TEXT-FIGURES— continued .
PAGE.
FIG. 250. Plants of Opuntia palmadora 202
251. Joints of Opuntia palmadora 202
252. Plants of Opuntia nashii 202
253. Potted plant of Opuntia nashii 203
254. Joint of Opuntia bahamana 204
255. Flower of Opuntia bahamana 204
256. Plants of Opuntia macracantha 204
257. Potted plant of Opuntia macracantha. . . 205
258. Potted plant of Opuntia spinosissima. ... 205
259. Plants of Opuntia millspaughii 206
260. Plant of Opuntia moniliformis 206
261. Plant of Opuntia moniliformis 207
262. Plant of Opuntia moniliformis 207
263. Plants of Opuntia rubescens 208
264. Plants of Opuntia rubescens 208
265. Proliferous fruits of Opuntia rubescens. . 209
266. Joint of Opuntia rubescens 209
267. Fruit of Opuntia brasiliensis 209
268. Plant of Opuntia brasiliensis 210
269. Branch of Opuntia bahiensis 210
270. Joint and fruit of Opuntia bahiensis 210
271. Plant of Opuntia bahiensis 211
272. Plant of Opuntia ammophila 211
273. Fruiting joint of Opuntia ammophila .... 211
274. Flower of Opuntia argentina 212
275. Potted plant of Opuntia chaffeyi 212
276. Plant of Opuntia chatTeyi 213
PAGE.
FIG 277. Small joint of Nopalea gaumeri 216
278. Elongated joint of Nopalea gaumeri.... 216
279. Plant of Opuntia depauperata 216
280. Joint of Opuntia depauperata 217
281. Plant of Opuntia pestifer 217
282. Plant of Opuntia discolor 218
283. Joints of Opuntia pestifer 218
284. Joint of Opuntia discolor 218
285. Joint of Opuntia guatemalensis 219
286. Joint of Opuntia pennellii 219
287. Joints of Opuntia caracasana 219
288. Plant of Opuntia aequatorialis 220
289. Joints of Opuntia aequatorialis 220
290. Joints of Opuntia lata 220
291. Fruits of Opuntia lata 220
292. Joint with flower of Opuntia macateci. . . 220
293. Joint of Opuntia macateei 220
294. Plants of Opuntia soederstromiana 221
295. Plants of Opuntia zebrina 222
296. Fruit of Opuntia zebrina 222
297. Plants of Opuntia keyensis 223
298. Section of flower of Opuntia keyensis. . . . 223
299. Flower of Opuntia keyensis 223
300. Joint of Opuntia bonplandii 224
301. Plant of Opuntia dobbieana 224
302. Plant of Opuntia dobbieana (without
legend) 225
THE CACTACEAE
Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus
Family
THE CACTACEAE.
INTRODUCTION.
The writers began field, greenhouse, and herbarium studies of the Cactaceae in
1904 and in the years following they made studies and collections over wide areas
in the United States, Mexico, and the West Indies. It was first intended that
these should be followed by a general description of the North American species
only, but a plan for a more complete investigation of the family was proposed by
Dr. D. T. MacDougal in January 1911. This was approved by the trustees of the
Carnegie Institution of Washington at its next regular meeting and a grant was made
to cover the expenses of such an investigation. Dr. Rose was given temporary
leave of absence from his position as Associate Curator in charge of the Division of
Plants, United States National Museum, and became a Research Associate in the
Carnegie Institution of Washington, with William R. Fitch and Paul G. Russell as
assistants; Dr. Britton, Director-in-Chief of the New York Botanical Garden, was
appointed an honorary Research Associate, while R. S. Williams, of the New York
Botanical Garden, was detailed to select and preserve the specimens for illustration.
Work under this new arrangement was begun January 15, 1912, and thus several
lines of investigation were undertaken in a comprehensive way.
1. Reexamination of type specimens and of all original descriptions: This was
necessary because descriptions had been incorrectly interpreted, plants had been
wrongly identified, and the errors perpetuated; thus the published geographical
distribution of many species was faulty and conclusions based on such data were
unreliable. Not only had specific names been transferred to plants to which they
did not belong, but generic names were interchanged and the laws of priority
ignored. Many valid species, too, had dropped out of collections and out of current
literature and had to be restored.
2. Assembling of large collections for greenhouse and herbarium use: Extensive
greenhouse facilities were furnished by the New York Botanical Garden and the
United States Department of Agriculture, while the herbaria and libraries of the
United States National Museum and of the New York Botanical Garden furnished
the bases for the researches. The New York Botanical Garden has also cooperated
in contributing funds in aid of the field operations, in clerical work, and a large
number of the illustrations used have been made there, the paintings and line
drawings mostly by Miss Mary E. Eaton.
3. Extensive field operations in the arid parts of both Americas: Many of these
deserts are almost inaccessible, while the plants are bulky and if not handled care-
fully are easily destroyed. Many plants require several years to mature, in some
cases many years to flower in cultivation. Through these explorations were obtained
the living material for the greenhouse collections and for exchange purposes, as well
as herbarium material for permanent preservation. Of much importance, also,
were field observations upon the plants as individuals, their form, habit, habitat,
and their relations to other species.
4 THE CACTACEAE.
Early in 1912 Dr. Rose went to Europe to study the collections there and to
arrange for exchanges with various botanical institutions having collections of these
plants. He spent considerable time at London, mainly at the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, where through the courtesy of the Director, Sir David Prain, he was
able to examine the greenhouse, illustrative, and herbarium material for which this
institution has long been famed. The collection at the British Museum of Natural
History and that of the Linnaean Society of London were examined. At Paris he
studied the collections at the Natural History Museum, many of which have historic
interest; one of his interesting discoveries there was that the Pcrcskia blco, collected
by Baron Friedrich Alexander von Humboldt in Colombia, is a very different species
from the plant which for nearly a century has been passing in our collections and
literature under that name. He also visited the famous botanical garden of the
late vSir Thomas Hanbury, at La Mortola, Italy, and through the courtesy of Lady
Hanbury was given every possible facility for the study of this collection; Mr.
Alwin Berger, who was then curator in charge, had brought together one of the most
extensive representations of this family to be found growing in the open in any
place in the world. Here in the delightful climate of the Riviera were grown many
species which were apparently just as much at home as they would have been in
their desert habitats. Dr. Rose also visited Rome, Naples, Venice, and Florence,
where he saw smaller collections in parks and private gardens. At Munich he
examined certain types in the Royal Botanical Museum, then under the charge of
Dr. L. Radlkofer, and saw some interesting species in the Royal Botanical Garden
then being organized by Dr. K. Goebel. At Berlin he examined the herbarium and
living specimens in the Berlin Botanical Garden, through the courtesy of Dr. A.
Engler, and the West Indian collection through the courtesy of Dr. I. Urban. He
then went to Halle and saw L. Ouehl's collection of mammillarias; to Erfurt, where
he saw the Haage and Schmidt, and Haage Jr. collections; to Darmstadt to see the
Botanical Garden under Dr. J. A. Purpus; and to Antwerp to see DeLaet's private
collection.
In 1913 Dr. Britton and Dr. Rose visited the West Indies. Dr. Britton, who
was accompanied by Mrs. E- G. Britton, Miss D. W. Marble, and Dr. J. A. Shafer,
collected on St. Thomas and the other Virgin Islands, Porto Rico, and Curacao.
At the latter island he rediscovered the very rare Cactus iiuuumilhiris, which had not
been in cultivation for many years. Dr. Rose, who was accompanied by William
R. Fitch and Paul G. Russell, also stopped at St. Thomas, and collected on St.
Croix, vSt. Christopher, Antigua, and Santo Domingo.
In 1914 and 1915 Dr. Britton again visited Porto Rico and, assisted by Mr.
John F. Cowell and Mr. Stewardson Brown, explored the entire southwestern arid
coast and the small islands Desecheo, Mona, and Muertos.
In 1914 Dr. Rose went to the west coast of South America, making short stops
at Jamaica and Panama. He made extensive collections in central and southern
Peru, central Bolivia, and northern and central Chile. At Santiago, Chile, he
examined a number of Philippi's types in the National Museum and obtained
some rare specimens from the Botanical Garden through the courtesy of Johannes
Sohrens.
INTRODUCTION. 5
In 1915 Dr. Rose, accompanied by Paul G. Russell, visited Brazil and Argentina
on the east coast of South America, collecting extensively in the scmiarid parts of
Bahia, Brazil, and in the region about Rio de Janeiro, so rich in epiphytic cacti.
In the deserts about Mendoza and Cordoba, in Argentina, collections were also
made. Here he also arranged for exchanges with the leading botanists and collec-
tors. The following persons have made valuable contributions from the regions
visited: Dr. Leo Zehntner, Joazeiro, Brazil; Dr. Alberto Lofgren, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil; Dr. Carlos Spegazzini, La Plata, Argentina; Dr. Cristobal M. Hicken,
Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Dr. Carlos S. Reed, Mendoza, Argentina.
In October and November 1916, Dr. Rose, accompanied by Mrs. Rose, visited
Curasao and Venezuela, studying especially the cactus deserts about La Guaira
and Puerto Cabello. A number of photographs were taken by Mrs. Rose.
While en route for Venezuela, arrangements were made with Mr. Harold G.
Foss to make a collection of cacti at Coro, Venezuela. Among the specimens
obtained were species not found farther east in Venezuela, so far as known.
In 1916 Dr. Britton, assisted by Mr. Percy Wilson, studied the cacti of Havana
and Matanzas Provinces and those of the Isle of Pines, Cuba.
In 1918 Dr. Rose, assisted by George Rose, visited Ecuador on behalf of the
United States Department of Agriculture, aided by the Gray Herbarium of Har-
vard University and the New York Botanical Garden; about thirty rare or little-
known species were obtained.
Through the expenditure of about $2,400, contributed by Dr. Britton, a very
important collection of cacti was made by Dr. J. A. Shafer during a six months'
exploration from November 1916 to April 1917 of the desert regions of northwestern
Argentina, southeastern Bolivia, northeastern Argentina, and adjacent Uruguay
and Paraguay. Fortunately, for the purposes of this work, this collection was
brought back to New York by Dr. Shafer in time for the information yielded by
it and by his field observations to be used in the manuscript. It has given us
first-hand information concerning over 120 species of cacti as to which we have
previously known little.
There are still a few cactus regions which ought to be explored, but the following
summary will show the wide field from which we have obtained information.
Our field investigations have covered practically all the cactus deserts of
Mexico. The most important of these are the vicinities of Tehuacan and Tomellin,
the plains of San Luis Potosi, the chalky hills surrounding Ixmiquilpan, the lava-
fields in the Valley of Mexico and above Cuernavaca, the deserts of Oueretaro, the
west coast of Mexico extending from the United States border to Acaponeta, and
the seacoasts and islands of Lower California. Other regions in Mexico containing
cacti, but not in such great abundance as the foregoing, are those about Pachuca,
Oaxaca City, Mitla, Jalapa, Iguala, Chihuahua City, and Guadalajara. All the
work in Mexico, however, was done prior to 1912, for, owing to political disturb-
ances, no field work there has been feasible since that time.
In the United States our work has extended over the cactus regions of Florida,
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern California, western Kansas, and south-
eastern Colorado.
6 THE CACTACEAE.
In the West Indies we have explored all of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas,
the Virgin Islands, St. Christopher, Antigua, Barbados, and Curasao.
In South America our field study included the most important deserts of Peru,
Bolivia, and Chile, and parts of Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina. The
cactus deserts of South America are so extensive and so remote from one another
that it was possible to visit only a part of them in the four seasons allowed for
their exploration.
Among many enthusiastic volunteers whose contributions of specimens and
data have greatly supplemented our own collections and field studies, the following
deserve especial mention:
Mr. Henry Pittier has made valuable sendings from Colombia, Venezuela,
Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico; Mr. O. F. Cook, from Guatemala and Peru;
Mr. G. N. Collins, the late Federico Eichlam, Mr. R. H. Peters, Mr. C. C. Beam,
Mrs. T. D. A. Cockerell, Baron H. von Tiirckheim, and the late Professor W. A.
Kellerman have sent important collections from Guatemala; Mr. A. Tonduz,
Mr. Oton Jimenez, Dr. A. Alfaro, Mr. C. Werckle, and Mr. Alfred Brade, local
collectors and naturalists in Costa Rica, have sent much good material from their
country; Mr. William R. Maxon has sent new and rare material from Costa Rica,
Guatemala, and Cuba; Professor C. Conzatti and his son, Professor Hugo Conzatti,
Dr. C. A. Purpus, Dr. Elswood Chaffey, Mrs. Irene Vera, M. Albert de Lautreppe,
and the late Mr. E. A. H. Tays have sent us many interesting specimens from
Mexico; Mr. W. E.Saffordmade a valuable collection in Mexico in 1907; E. W. Nelson
and E. A. Goldman, who have collected so extensively in Mexico and the Southwest,
have obtained many herbarium and living specimens for our use; Mrs. Gaillard,
who lived at Panama several years while the late Colonel D. D. Gaillard was a
member of the Isthmian Canal Commission, collected interesting cacti, including
EpiphyUum gaillardac; the late Dr. H. E. Hasse sent specimens from southern
California and Arizona; C. R. Orcutt, the well-known cactus fancier, has aided
us in many ways besides sending us specimens from his collections; Dr. R. E- Kunze
has frequently sent specimens, especially from Arizona; General Timothy E. Wilcox,
for whom Wilcoxia was named, has sent us specimens from the Southwest, while
his son, Dr. G. B. Wilcox, contributed several sendings from the west coast of
Mexico and Guatemala; Dr. D. T. MacDougal has sent many specimens from all
over the Southwest, especially from Mexico, Arizona, and southern California;
he has made several excursions into remote deserts, which have yielded interesting
results, and has contributed many excellent photographs, quite a number of which
are reproduced in this report (Plate i, etc.). Professor F. E. Lloyd, while located
in Arizona and in Zacatecas, Mexico, made large collections of living, herbarium,
and formalin material, often accompanied by valuable field notes, sketches, and
photographs. Dr. Forrest Shreve has sent specimens, especially from northern
Arizona and Mr. W. H. Long from New Mexico; Mr. S. B. Parish and Mr. W. T.
Schaller have furnished interesting specimens and valuable notes on southern Cali-
fornia species; Professor J. J. Thornber has made valuable contributions of material
and notes from Arizona; Mr. M. E. Jones, Mr. I. Tidestrom, Mr. Thomas H.
INTRODUCTION. 7
Kearney, and Professor A. O. Garret t have all sent specimens from Utah; Profes-
sor T. D. A. Cockerell and Mr. Merritt Gary have sent specimens from Colorado;
Dr. P. A. Rydberg has brought many specimens from the Rocky Mountain region;
Messrs. Paul C. Standley, E. O. Wooton, Vernon Bailey, and H. L. Shantz have
sent specimens from the southwestern United States; Brother Leon, of the Colegio
de la vSalle, Havana, and Dr. Juan T. Roig, of the Estacion Agronomica, Santiago
de las Vegas, Cuba, have contributed Cuban specimens, and Dr. J. A. Shafer has
collected widely in Cuba; Mr. William Harris, of Hope Gardens, Jamaica, has col-
lected for us in Jamaica; Dr. John K. Small has obtained collections from nearly
all over the southeastern United States, aided by Mr. Charles Deering. Dr. Henry
H. Rusby and Dr. Francis W. Pennell have contributed plants and specimens from
Colombia, collected in 1917 and 1918. Mr. Frederick V. Coville, of the United
States Department of Agriculture, has made many valuable suggestions during the
progress of the investigation.
In our studies we have also had use of the cacti of the following American
collections: Herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden at St. Louis; the Gray
Herbarium of Harvard University; the Rocky Mountain Herbarium at Laramie,
Wyoming; the collection of the United States Department of Agriculture; the
herbarium of the University of California, especially the Brandegee collection; and
the herbarium of the Field Museum of Natural History.
The types of the new species described in this work are deposited in the herbaria
of the New York Botanical Garden and the United States National Museum, unless
otherwise indicated.
In greenhouse collections many kinds of cacti grow very slowly, and flower
only after many years' cultivation. We have a number of plants of this kind
from various parts of America. It is hoped that some of them may bloom during
the period of publication of this book and thus enable us to include them in an
appendix.
Fio. i. — Percskia pereskia. Grown as a hedge.
THE CACTACEAE.
Order CACTALES.
Perennial, succulent plants, various in habit, mostly very spiny, characterized by specialized
organs termed areoles. Leaves usually none, except in Percskia and Pereskiopsis, where they are
large and flat but fleshy, and in Opuntia and its relatives, where they are usually much reduced
and mostly caducous, terete, or subulate. Spines very various in size, form, arrangement, and
color, sometimes with definite sheaths. The areoles are peculiar and complex organs, situated in
the axils of leaves when leaves are present, and bearing the branches, flowers, spines, glochids, hairs,
or glands; in some genera two kinds of areoles occur, either distinct or united by a groove. Flowers
usually perfect, either regular or irregular, usually solitary but sometimes clustered, sometimes
borne in a specialized terminal dense inflorescence called a cephalium; perianth-tube none, or large
and long, the limb spreading or erect, short or elongated, the lobes few or numerous, often inter-
grading in shape and color, but sometimes sharply differentiated into sepals and petals; stamens
commonly numerous, elongated or short, sometimes clustered in series, the filaments usually borne on
the throat of the perianth, the small oblong anthers 2-celled; style one, terminal, short or elongated;
stigma-lobes 2 to many, usually slender; ovary i -celled, distinct, or immersed in a branch or
forming a part of a branch ; ovules numerous. Fruit a berry, often juicy and sometimes edible,
sometimes dry, in one species described as capsular and dehiscing by an operculum, in others opening
by a basal pore. Seeds various; cotyledons two, accumbent, sometimes minute knobs, often broad
or elongated; endosperm little or copious; radicle terete.
The 'order consists of the following family only :
Family CACTACEAE Lindley, Nat. Syst. ed. 2. 53. 1836.
Characters of the order as given above. The family is composed of three tribes.
KEY TO TRIBES.
Leaves broad, flat; glochids wanting; flowers stalked (sometimes short-stalked), often clustered i. Pereskieae
Leaves (except in Pereskiopsis) terete or subterctc, usually small, often wanting on the vegetative parts;
flowers sessile.
Areoles with glochids (except in Maihuenia)', vegetative parts bearing leaves, which are usually
small and fugacious; flowers rotate (petals erect in Nopalea) 2. Opuntieae
Areoles without glochids; usually no leaves on the vegetative parts (except cotyledonary) ; flowers
with definite tubes (except Rhipsalis) 3. Cereeae
Tribe 1. PERESKIEAE.
.Stems and foliage as in other dicotyledonous plants; inflorescence in some species compound;
flowers more or less stalked, their parts all distinct; glochids wanting; ovule with short funicle;
testa of seed thin, brittle.
The genus Percskia, the only representative of this tribe, is, on account of its similarity
to other woody flowering plants, considered the nearest cactus relative to the other families,
but this relationship is in all cases remote.
The nearest generic relatives of Percskia in the cactus family are doubtless the following:
Pereskiopsis, some of whose species were first assigned to the genus Percskia, but they
have different foliage and the areoles often bear glochids.
( ipitntia, whose species have leaves, though much reduced and usually caducous, other-
wise very different; but some of the species of Opnntia were first referred to Percskia.
Maihuenia (two of whose species have only recently been taken out of Pcreskid), whose
seeds are similar but the areoles lack glochids, otherwise very different.
This tribe has a wide geographic distribution, but is found wild only in the tropics.
1. PERESKIA (Plumier) Miller, Card. Diet. Abr. ed. 4. 1754.
Leafy trees, shrubs, or sometimes clambering vines, branching and resembling other woody
plants; spines in pairs or in clusters in the axils of the leaves, neither sheathed nor barbed; glochids
(found only in the Opuntieae) wanting; leaves alternate, broad, flat, deciduous, or somewhat fleshy;
flowers solitary, corymbose, or in panicles, terminal or axillary, wheel-shaped; stamens numerous;
style single ; stigma-lobes linear; seeds black, glossy, with a brittle shell, the embryo strongly curved ;
the cotyledons leafy; seedlings without spines.
PERESKIA.
Type species: Cactus pcrcskia Linnaeus.
In 1898 about 25 names had been proposed in Pcrcskia, but, in his monograph published
that year, Karl Schumann accepted only 1 1 species. Several new ones have been proposed
since the publication of Schumann's monograph.
The species are native in Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, and South
America. Some of the species are much used as stocks for growing the various forms of
Zygocactus, E[>ir>liylliiin, and other cacti requiring this treatment; /-*. /sis chapistle.
3. Leafy branch of Peres kiopsis pititache. (All natural sixe.)
PERESKIA.
21
De Candolle's plate cited below, and may not be quite correct. This species, so far as
we are aware, has not been again collected.
Cactus zinniaeflora Mocino and Sesse (De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 475. 1828) was given
as a synonym.
Illustrations: Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 135; Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17:
pi. 17; Riimpler, Sukkulenten f. i27;Suppl. Diet. Card. Nicholson f. 624.
Figure 17 is a copy of the second illustration above cited.
FIG. 1 6. — Pereskia grandifolia. Exposed branches are
shown above the other foliage.
FIG. 17. — Pereskia zinniaeflora.
16. Pereskia horrida (HBK.) De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 475. 1828.
Cudiis liorridus Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth, Nov. Gen. et Sp. 6: 70. 1823.
Tree, 4 to 6 meters high, with terete slender branches; spines often solitary, sometimes 2 or
3, slender, dark in color, unequal, the longest 2 to 3 cm. long; leaves solitary, alternate,
narrowly oblong, 3 cm. long, subsessile, entire, glabrous; flowers 3 to 5 together in upper axils,
about 10 mm. long; calyx described as 5-toothed and persistent; petals 5 or 6, red, lanceolate,
spreading; fruit fleshy, many-seeded.
Type locality: "Ad flumcn Maranon prov. Jaen de Bracamoros." (Schumann says
this locality is in Peru.)
Distribution: Northwestern South America.
The above description is compiled from Kunth's original description and from notes
made by Dr. Rose upon the type material in the herbarium of the Museum of Natural
History at Paris, in which there are specimens from both Bonpland and Kunth. Both of
these sheets lack flowers and fruit, and only Kunth's bears leaves. So far as we are aware,
22
THE CACTACEAE.
no other material of this species has been collected since Humboldt's time except that
in 1912 Dr. Weberbauer wrote that he had visited the Maranon, at Humboldt's locality,
and had collected a single specimen, which had been sent to the Botanical Museum at Berlin.
17. Pereskia cubensis Britton and Rose, Torreya 12: 13. 1912.
A tree, 4 meters high, with a trunk 2.5 dm. in diameter and a large, flat, much branched top;
bark brownish, rather smooth, marked here and there by black bands (representing the old areoles),
these broader than high ; young branches slender, smooth, with light-brown bark ; spines from young
areoles 2 or 3, needle-like, brownish, 2 to 4 cm. long, from old areoles very numerous (25 or more),
and much longer (5 cm. or more long) ; leaves several at each areole, sessile, bright green on both
sides, oblanceolate to oblong or obovate, i to 4 cm. long, 10 to 12 mm. wide, acute at both ends or
obtuse at the apex, fleshy, the midvein broad, the lateral veins very obscure; peduncle very short,
jointed near the base, bearing i to 3 leaf -like bracts ; flowers terminal and also axillary, solitary ; sepals
5, obtuse or rounded, ovate-oblong to orbicular, unequal, 7 to 9 mm. long, the larger ones with broad
purple margins; petals 8, about 15 mm. long, deep reddish purple, obovate-elliptic, rounded; stamens
many, about 6 mm. long; anthers light yellow; ovary turbinate, naked, spineless; fruit not seen.
FIG. 18. — Pereskia cubensis.
FIG. 19. — Pereskia cubensis.
Type locality: In Cuba.
Distribution: Near the southern coast of eastern and central Cuba.
The tree is abundant on the plain between Guantanamo and Caimanera, Oriente,
where the type specimens were collected ; it also inhabits coastal thickets at Ensenada de
Mora, in southwestern Oriente, the plants of this colony bearing leaves with less acute
apices than those of the typical ones. A single plant was also observed on La Vigia Hill,
at Trinidad, province of Santa Clara, which had shorter and smaller leaves than either of
the other two. The description of the flower is from one of a plant collected by N. L.
Britton and J. F. Cowell at Ensenada de Mora, southern Oriente, Cuba, in 1912, and
brought to the New York Botanical Garden, where it flowered in May 1917.
Dr. Rose finds that the plant in De Candolle's herbarium which represents the Pereskia
portulacijolia of the Prodromus is undoubtedly Pereskia cubensis. It was collected as
early as 1821.
Illustration: Journ. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 10: f. 22.
Figure 18 is from a photograph taken by Dr. M. A. Howe in the colony of this tree
at Nuevaliches, near Guantanamo, Cuba, studied by Dr. N. L. Britton in 1909; figure 19
represents a leafy branch of the same plant.
PERESKIA. 23
18. Pereskia portulacifolia (Linnaeus) Haworth in De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 475. 1828.
Cactus portulacifoliiis Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 469. 1753.
A tree, 5 to 6.6 meters high, the branches terete, very spiny; spines acicular, sometimes almost
bristle-like, 2 cm. long, on old wood in clusters of 7 to 9, but on new growth usually solitary; leaves
FIG. 20. — Pereskia portulacifolia. Xo.66.
only i cm. long or less, cuneate at base, often retuse at apex; peduncles short but definite, 2 to 5 mm.
long, bearing several small spatulate to broadly obovate leaves; flowers rose-colored, about 3 cm.
broad; sepals about 3, ovate to shortly oblong, obtuse, fleshy, 8 mm. or less long; petals oblong, about
2 cm. long, thin, obtuse; ovary small, truncate, naked or bearing a single small leaf; immature fruit
hard, depressed, 2 cm. long, 2.5 cm. broad, smooth, naked or with a single small leaf 5 to 6 mm. long,
with a broad scar at the top 8 to 10 mm. in diameter; fruit globular, naked; seeds large, black.
Type locality: Tropical America, doubtless Hispaniola.
Distribution: Haiti.
The usual reference for the first publication of the plant under Pereskia is Haworth's
Synopsis (Syn. PI. Succ. 199. 1812), but it was not here formally transferred from the
genus Cactus. His statement is: "Cactus portulacifoUus is another species of this genus."
Our knowledge of this plant is drawn from the illustration below cited and descriptions,
and from a fragmentary specimen collected by W. Buch near Gonaives, Haiti, in 1900,
24 THE CACTACEAE.
where it grows on dry calcareous rocks, and one obtained by Paul Bartsch at Tomaseau in
April 1917. Dr. Bartsch states that the flower reminds one very much of a rose and the
fruit is pendent like a green plum.
Lunan in 1814 (Hort. Jam. 2: 236) described a tree nearly a foot in diameter, growing
at a residence near Spanish Town, Jamaica, stating that it differed from Pereskia by the
absence of tufts of leaves on its fruit. His description points to Pereskia portnlacifolia,
but nothing is known of the species in Jamaica at the present day; according to Grisebach,
Macfadyen recorded it as cultivated there.
Illustration: Plumier, PI. Amer. ed. Burmann pi. 197, f. i.
Figure 20 is copied from the illustration above cited.
19. Pereskia conzattii sp. nov.
Tree, 8 to 10 meters high; bark of stems and branches brown and smooth; leaves orbicular to
obovate, acute, i to 2.5 cm. long; areoles small, with short white wool and a few long hairs; spines 2
to 6 on young branches, 10 to 20 on main stem, acicular, 2 to 2.5 cm. long, at first yellowish brown,
dark brown in age; flowers not known; ovary bearing small scales; fruit naked, pear-shaped, more
or less stalked at base, 3 to 4 cm. long; seeds black, glossy, 3 mm. long, with a small white hilum.
Collected at Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, in February and April,
1913, by Professor C. Conzatti; probably also in Guatemala.
SPECIES UNKNOWN TO Us.
Pcrcsl'in nffiiii'i ;ind /'. haageana Meinshausen, Wochenschr. G;irtn. Pflanz. 2: 118. 1859.
Pereskia cruoita, P. grandifiora, and P.(?) plantaginea, the first two given as synonyms
and the last merely mentioned by Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. pp. 176, 177, and 179) can not be
identified. The same is true of P. grandispina Forbes (Journ. Hort. Tour Germ. 159. 1837).
Tribe 2. OPUNTIEAE.
Plants usually very fleshy, never epiphytic, branched (usually much branched), one to many-
jointed; joints diverse in structure, terete, compressed, or much flattened, with irregularly scattered
areoles, ribless, except one species; leaves usually caducous, but in some species more or less persist-
ent, small or minute, subulate or cylindric, in one genus broad and flat; areoles usually glochidif-
erous (except in Maihuenia; in Grusonia only those of the ovary), mostly spine-bearing; spines
usually slender, straight or nearly so, sometimes sheathed ; corolla mostly rotate (sepals and petals
in .Yo/>i//r<; erect) ; flowers sessile, diurnal, one from an areole; fruit usually a fleshy berry, sometimes
dry, rarely capsular; seed white or black, globular, flattened or even winged, with a thin or hard
testa; cotyledons large, elongated.
This tribe contains 7 genera and at least 300 species, various in habit, flower, fruit,
and seeds. It is more closely related to the Pcrcskieae than to the Ccrccac. The following
characters possessed by some or all genera of the Opiinticae are wanting in the Ccrccac:
Leaves on the stem (see also Harrisia and Hylocercus) ; glochids in the areoles; sensi-
tive stamens; sheathed spines; winged, white, and bony-covered seeds; the separation of
withering calyx, stamens, and style from the ovary; areoles irregularly distributed over the
stem in all the genera except (irnsoiiia, in which they are arranged on ribs as in many of
the Ccrccae.
The tribe is distributed throughout the cactus regions of the Americas, but the genera,
except Opuntia, are localized.
KEY TO GENERA.
Leaves broad and flat i . Pereskiopsis
Leaves subulate or cylindric.
Seeds broadly winged .... ... 2. Pterocactits
Seeds wingless.
Stamens much longer than the petals.
Petals erect; joints flat .3. Nnpalea
Petals recurved; joints terete . . . 4. Tiifinyi
Stamens shorter than the petals.
Joints flat to terete, not ribbed.
Testa of the seed thin, black, shining . 5. Maihuenia
Testa thick, pale, dull . 6. Opuntia
Joints terete, longitudinally ribbed 7. Grusonia
PERESKIOPSIS. 25
1. PERESKIOPSIS Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 331. 1907.
Trees and shrubs, in habit and foliage similar to Percskia; old trunk forming a solid woody
cylinder covered with bark and resembling the ordinary dicotyledonous stem; areoles circular,
spine-bearing or sometimes spineless, also bearing hairs, wool, and usually glochids; flowers similar
to those of Opmitia; ovary sessile (one species described as pedunculate), with leaves at the areoles
(except in one species); fruit red, juicy; seeds bony, few, covered with matted hairs.
Type species: Opinitui brandegeei. Schumann.
The plants are common in hedges and thickets of Mexico and Guatemala.
As to the number of species to be recognized in this genus we are uncertain; about 16
have been described. In our first discussion of the genus (op. cit.) we recognized n
species, including several known only from descriptions. There now seem to be at least
10 species, of which 8 are in cultivation in Washington and New York. Two of the plants
were described, as early as 1828, as species of Pereskia, and here they remained with 2
later-described species until, in 1898, Dr. A. Weber transferred them to Opnntia, placing
them in a new subgenus, Pcrcskiopuntia. The same year Dr. Karl Schumann adopted
Weber's conclusions, publishing his treatment of the subgenus and assigning 5 species to it.
In its large leaves and woody, spiny stems, this group suggests Percskia, but it has
glochids and different flowers, fruit, and seeds; in flowers, fruit, seeds, and glochids it re-
sembles OpiDitia, but on account of habit and foliage must be excluded from that genus.
In view of these differences, Britton and Rose in 1907 established the genus Peres-
kiopsis and listed 1 1 species, 4 of which had been originally described as species of Percskia
and 5 as species of Opnntia. Since then we have grown most of these plants along with
the pereskias and opuntias so as to compare them. Unfortunately we are not able to
describe all the species fully, for they have never been known to flower in cultivation,
although some of the species, at least, bloom freely in the wild state. The leaves on the
lower parts of shoots are sometimes broader and shorter than those on the upper parts,
and in greenhouse cultivation the leaves of some species are narrower than when the plants
are growing under natural conditions.
The generic name is from the Greek and signifies resembling Pereskia.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Stems, ovary, and often the leaves more or less pubescent.
Normal leaves long-acuminate, narrow, with narrow cuneate bases i. P. vein! in a
Normal leaves abruptly pointed, somewhat cuneate at base . . . 2. P. digitclii
Stems, ovary, and leaves glabrous.
Leaves, at least some of them, not much longer than broad.
Fruit without leaves, at least so figured 3. P. opnntiaeflora
Fruit with leaves subtending the areoles.
Areoles white, with few glochids or none.
Leaves orbicular or nearly so, rounded or apiculatc 4. P. rotundifalia
Leaves, at least the upper ones, obovate or elliptic, acute at both ends 5. P. cliaf>is!le
Areoles dark, filled with numerous brown glochids 6. P. porteri
Leaves, at least some of them, twice as long as broad or longer.
Leaves spatulate 7. P. spathulata
Leaves elliptic to oblong, or obovate.
Leaves pale green, glaucous 8. P. pililaclie
Leaves bright gr.en, shining.
Glochids few, yellow 9. P. aqnosa
Glochids many, brown 10. P. kcllcrntdiiii
1. Pereskiopsis velutina Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 333. 1907.
Stems weak and spreading, forming compact bushes 9 to 12 dm. high or sometimes higher;
old stems with cherry-brown bark; young branches green, borne nearly at right angles to the old
stem, velvety-pubescent; areoles bearing long white hairs and several short spines and some glochids;
leaves elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 2 to 6 cm. long by 1.5 to 2.5 cm. broad, acuminate, or acute at both
ends, dull green, more or less velvety-puberulent on both surfaces, when very young brighter green ;
flowers sessile on the second-year branches; ovary obovoid to oblong, pubescent, bearing large
26
THE CACTACEAE.
leaves and areoles similar to those of the stem ; leaves on ovary spreading or ascending and persisting
after the flower falls; flower-bud (above the ovary) 2 to 3 cm. long, acute; sepals green or deep red
tinged with yellow ; petals bright yellow.
Type locality: In hedges about city of Ouere-
taro, Mexico.
Distribution: Table-lands of central Mexico.
This plant is called by the natives nopaleta and
cola de diablo.
Illustration: Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: pi. 44.
Figure 21 is from a photograph of type plant.
2. Pereskiopsis diguetii (Weber) Britton and Rose,
Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 332. 1907.
Opuntia diguetii Weber, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 4:
1 66. 1898.
Tall shrub, larger than the preceding species; old
stems reddish; branches pubescent; areoles when young
filled with long, white, cobwebby hairs, when old large
and filled with short black wool ; leaves elliptic to obovate,
3 to 5 cm. long, usually abruptly pointed, more or less
cuneate at the base ; spines usually i , rarely as many as
4, at first nearly black, in time becoming lighter, some-
times nearly 7 cm. long; glochids brownish, not very
abundant; flowers yellow; fruit 3 cm. long, red, pubes-
cent, its areoles often bearing spines as well as glochids;
seeds white, 5 mm. broad, covered with matted hairs.
Type locality: Near Guadalajara, Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico.
Common in hedges near Guadalajara and
Oaxaca, Mexico. According to W. E. Safford, it
is known in Guadalajara as tasajillo and alfilerillo.
Figure 22 represents a leafy branch of a plant
collected by W. E. Safford in Guadalajara, Mexico,
in 1907.
3. Pereskiopsis opuntiaeflora (De Candolle) Britton and
Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50:332. 1907.
Pereskia opuntiaeflora De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 475. 1828.
Opuntia golziana Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 654. 1898.
Shrubby, glabrous; leaves obovate, mucronate,
often in pairs; spines, when present, solitary, elongated,
2 to 3 times as long as the leaves; flowers subterminal,
short-pedunculate; petals numerous, ovate, subacute,
reddish yellow, arranged in two series; ovary leafless,
bearing areoles filled with glochids.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Known only from the original
description.
This description is drawn from De Candolle's
original description and illustration ; otherwise nothing is known of the plant.
This species, as illustrated by De Candolle, is unlike anything we know. In its pedun-
culate fruit it is like Pereskia, but its leafless ovary and its areoles filled with glochids would
exclude it from that genus. In a general way the illustration looks more like a Pereskiopsis,
and we suspect that the delineation is incorrect or that the leaves had fallen away from the
specimen drawn.
FIG. 21. — Pereskiopsis velutina.
PERESKIOPSIS. 27
Cactus opuntiaeflorus Mocino and Sesse (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 178. 1837) was published
as a synonym of Pcrcskia opuntiaeflora.
Illustrations: Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 137; Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17:
pi. 19, both as Pcrcskia opuntiacjlora.
Figure 23 is copied from the second illustration above cited.
4. Pereskiopsis rotundifolia (De Candolle) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50:333. 1907.
Pereskia rotundifolia De Candolle. Prodr. 3: 475. 1828.
Opunlia rotundifolia Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 652. 1898.
Stem thick, more or less woody; branches slender, glabrous; leaves nearly orbicular, mucronate;
spines elongated, solitary; flowers 3 cm. broad, borne on the second-year branches; petals reddish
yellow, broad, with mucronate tips; ovary leafy; fruit obovoid, red, leafy.
FIG. 22. — Pereskiopsis
diguetii. Xo-5.
FIG. 23. — Pereskiopsis opuntiae-
flora. Xo.5.
FIG. 24. — Pereskiopsis
rotundifolia. Xo.5-
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Known only from the original description and, apparently, from Oaxaca.
Cactus frutescens Mocino and' Sesse (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 178. 1837) and Cactus
rotundifolia Mocino and Sesse (De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 475. 1828) were given as synonyms
of Pereskia rotundifolia, but were never published.
Illustrations: Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: pi. 20, as Pereskia rotundifolia; Schu-
mann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 99, as Opuntia rotundifolia.
Figure 24 is copied from the first illustration above cited ; figure 25 is from a pho-
tograph taken by Dr. MacDougal at Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1906.
5. Pereskiopsis chapistle (Weber) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 331. 1907.
Opuntia chapistle Weber in Gosselin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 388. 1904.
A large, branching shrub, sometimes 3 to 4 meters high, the branches widely spreading, glab-
rous; spines single, white, long (6 cm. long), very stout; leaves fleshy, somewhat persistent, obovate
to elliptic, sometimes nearly orbicular, 3 to 4 cm. long, glabrous; flowers yellow; fruit red.
Type locality: In Oaxaca.
Distribution: Oaxaca and perhaps Morelos, Mexico.
Illustration: Bull. Soc. Nat. Acclim. France 52 : f. 10, as Opuntia chapistle.
Plate in, figure 2, represents a leafy branch of a plant collected by Dr. Rose at
Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 1906.
THE CACTACEAE.
1'iii. 25.— Pereskiopsis, apparently P. rotimdifolia, with other cacti in the background.
6. Pereskiopsis porteri (Brandegce) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50:332. 1907.
Opuntia porteri Brandegee in Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 899. 1898.
Opuutia hriiiidi'Ki'i'i Schtiinaiiii, Gcsamtb. Kakteen 653. 1898.
Pereskiopsis liniinlc^cci Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 331.
1907.
Stems stout, woody, branching, 6 to 12 dm. high, 3 cm. in diameter, the old areoles bearing 3
to 8 stout spines 3 to 5 cm. long, but on the trunk often 15 to 20 spines from an areole; first and sec-
ond year branches usually short, spineless, or with i or 2 brown spines, those of the first year green,
the second-year brownish ; areoles bearing numerous small, brown glochids ;
leaves sessile, 2 to 3 cm. long, obovate, acute, fleshy, in greenhouse speci-
mens sometimes much narrower ; flowers about 4 cm. in diameter ; sepals
few, spatulate, short; petals few, yellow, broad, entire; fruit joint-like,
oblong, 4 to 5 cm. long, orange-colored, with large areoles bearing brown
glochids; seeds i or few, covered with white deciduous hairs.
Type locality: In Sinaloa, Mexico.
Distribution: Common in the Cape region of Lower Cali-
fornia and in the State of Sinaloa, Mexico.
Figure 26 shows a leafy twig of a plant sent in 1904 from
the Missouri Botanical Garden to the New York Botanical Garden
as Opnulia branJcgeci, which had been received by the Missouri Bo-
tanical Garden from Mrs. Katharine Brandegee in 1901.
7. Pereskiopsis spathulata ditto) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll.
5o:333- 1907-
Pereskia sf>nthulnln Otto in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 176. 1837.
Opuntia spathuliita \Vcber, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 4: 165,
1898.
FIG. 26. — Pereskiopsis
porteri. Xo.66
Branching shrub, i to 2 meters high; branches few, glaucescent, deflexed; leaves spatulate,
thick, green, 2.5 to 5 cm. long; areoles distant, woolly, hairy when young; spines i or 2, rigid, white
below, 2.5 cm. long; glochids brown, borne in the upper part of the areoles; flowers red; seeds white.
PIvKKSKIOPSIS.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Probably southern Mexico, but no definite locality is known.
There is some confusion in the literature of this species; Schumann describes it as
pubescent, while in the original description nothing is said about pubescence; this error
is probably due to a misidentification, for Dr. Rose found in the Museum of Paris two
specimens collected by Diguet at Guadalajara, Mexico, which were labeled Opnutia
spctthulata, and which have pubescent branches and leaves; these are undoubtedly O. Jignctii.
Pcrcskia crassicaulis Zuccarini (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 176. 1837) was never published,
simply being given as a synonym of P. spatludata.
8. Pereskiopsis pititache (Karwinsky) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50:332. 1907.
Pereskia pililaclic Karwinsky in Pfciffcr, Knum. Cact. 176. 1837.
Pereskia calandriiiiiicfuliii Link and Otto in Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1X49. 252.
ing to Schumann.)
Opuntia pititache Weber, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 4: i65. 1898.
1850. (Accord-
Stems rather low and somewhat branching; bark light brownish and flaking off; areoles on
main trunk each bearing i to 4 slender acicular spines and a small cluster of yellowish glochids;
branches, even when several years old, bearing a single long, acicular spine from an areole and
no glochids; young and growing branches rather slender and green, their areoles small, black in
the center, with long, white hairs from their margins and no spines; leaves obovate or oblong-
obovate, 4 cm. long or less, pale green, thin, acute or bluntish at the apex, narrowed at the base.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Uncertain, but reported from southern Mexico.
In the original description this species is said to have a very spiny, erect woody trunk,
the branches spreading nearly horizontally, the spines unequal, 3 to 6, 25 to 37 mm. long,
the leaves fleshy, green, lanceolate to ovate, 37 mm. long, 16 mm. broad. It was named by
Baron Wilhelm von Karwinsky and probably collected by him in Mexico, but no definite
locality was given; Weber states it is from Tehuantepec, while Schumann gives Tehuacan
on a statement of Weber.
Pcrcskia calandriuiacfolia we have referred here, follow-
ing Schumann, but the original description is somewhat dif-
ferent from that of P. pititache, the leaves being described
as spatulate to lanceolate, strongly narrowed below, 7.5
cm. long.
Our description is mostly drawn from specimens grow-
in the New York Botanical Garden obtained from
vSimon, of St. Ouen, Paris, in 1901.
Illustrations: Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Miinchen 2 : pi. i,
6, f. i, 2; pi. 2, f. 9, both as Pcrcskia pititache.
Plate in, figure 3, represents a leafy shoot of a plant
sent by M. Simon, of St. Ouen, Paris, France, to the New
York Botanical Garden in 1901.
9. Pereskiopsis aquosa (Weber) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc.
Coll. 50: 331. 1907.
Opuntia aquosa Weber, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 4: 165. 1898
Shrub, with glabrous, glaucous, green branches, the young
shoots with long white hairs at the areoles; leaves bright green,
nearly elliptic, acute, about twice as long as wide, narrowed at the
base, glabrous; spines usually solitary, standing at right angles to
the stem, white; glochids few, yellow; flowers yellow; outer petals
blotched with red; fruit pear-shaped, 4 to 5 cm. ong, 2 to 2.5 ,..„. 27._Pereskiopsis acluosa.
cm. in diameter, yellowish green. Xo.66.
ing
M.
sec
30 THE CACTACEAE.
Type locality: Guadalajara, Mexico.
Distribution: In hedges about Guadalajara, Mexico.
The fruit, called in Mexico tuna de agua and tasajillo, is used in making a cooling
drink and for preserves.
Opuntia spathnlata aquosa (Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 4: 165. 1898) was given as a
synonym of this species, but was never published.
Illustration: Safford, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst. 1908: pi. 10, f. 2.
Figure 27 represents a leafy shoot of the plant collected by W. E. Safford near
Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1907.
10. Pereskiopsis kellermanii Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 332. 1907.
Stem glabrous, herbaceous, weak, and clambering over shrubs to a length of 4 to 5 meters,
about 2 cm. in diameter; second-year branches usually at right angles to main stem, with cherry-
red bark; old stem bearing several slender, acicular brown spines, sometimes only i, sometimes
wanting, and numerous brown glochids; young branches green, fleshy, their areoles circular, white,
filled with long white hairs, brown glochids, and often with several
acicular brown spines; spines on wild plants often stout, usually
solitary, nearly black, 2 to 3 cm. long; leaves various, shining green,
glabrous, thickish, elliptic and two or three times as long as wide,
or suborbicular, acute at the apex, narrowed at the base, 5 cm. long
or less, 2 to 2.5 cm. broad; flowers not known; fruit red, glabrous,
leafy, 3 to 6 cm. long, bearing large areoles filled with brown
glochids; seeds covered with matted hairs.
FIGS 28, 29, and 30. — Pereskiopsis keller-
TypC locality. Trapicllite, Guatemala. manii, showing three leaf forms. Xo.5.
Distribution : Guatemala.
Figures 28, 29, and 30 are copied from sketches of the leaf-forms of the type plant,
made by W. A. Kellerman in Guatemala in 1908.
2. PTEROCACTUS Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 7: 6. 1897.
Stems low, more or less branched above, cylindric, from tuber-like and often greatly enlarged
roots; leaves minute, caducous; spines weak, several or many at each areole; glochids small, cadu-
cous as in Opuntia; flower terminal, regular, without tube; perianth-segments several, erect; fila-
ments and pistil shorter than the petals; ovary nearly turgid, bearing numerous small clusters of
spines; fruit dry, capsular, dehiscent; seeds winged, white; embryo curved.
Type species: Ptcrocactus kuntzei Schumann.
Four species have already been described, but three of these we have combined and
the fourth is referred to Opuntia. Three additional species, however, are here described.
The generic name refers to the winged seeds.
This is a remarkable genus, and it is surprising that it remained unrecognized so long,
for one of its species was known as long ago as 1837 ; the fruit and seeds, however, seem not
to have been known until about 1897. In habit the plants are nearest some of the anom-
alous species of Opuntia, having large roots and short, weak stems like Opuntia chaffeyi,
of Mexico; the seeds, however, differ, not only from those of Opuntia, but from those of
all other cactus genera, in being winged. The fruit, according to Schumann, although
we have not been able to confirm his observation definitely, is a capsule with an opercu-
lum. Another peculiarity is that the fruit is borne in the end of the stem or branch.
While this genus has good characters, it is no more distinct than many others and does
not deserve the relative importance given to it by T. von Post and Otto Kuntze in Lexicon
Generum Phanerogamarum, who treat it as one of the only three cactus genera to be
conserved, in their view.
PTEROCACTUS.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Seeds narrowly winged; spines up to 2 cm. long
Seeds broadly winged; spines 3 to 10 mm. long.
Joints strongly tuberculate
Joints scarcely tuberculate.
Ovary densely covered with weak spines; wing of seed i mm. wide.
Ovary loosely covered with stiff spines; wing of seed 2 mm. wide. . .
. . i. P. liiikcnii
. . 2. P. fischeri
3- P. i
4. P. lubcrosus
FIGS. 31, 32. — Pterocactus
hickenii. Xo.?. FIG. 33. — Pterocactus fischeri. Xi.i2. Photograph
by Paul G. Russell.
1. Pterocactus hickenii sp. nov.
Rootstocks moniliform, consisting of at least 4 joints widely separated; joints above ground
2 or 3, 2 to 3 cm. long, almost hidden by the spines; spines from each areole numerous, slender,
yellow above, brown at base; glochids numerous; fruit and flower not known; seeds thick, 5 mm. in
diameter, with narrow lateral wing.
Collected by Cristobal M. Hicken
(No. 3284) January 10, 1914, near Como-
doro Rivadavia, southeastern Chubut,
Argentina.
Figures 31 and 32 represent a plant
and a seed from the specimen above cited
2. Pterocactus fischeri sp. nov.
Stems low, i dm. high or less, spreading or erect, cylindric, 1.5 cm. in diameter, tuberculate;
leaves minute, acute; tubercles about as long as broad, arranged in spiral ridges somewhat resembling
those of Opuntia u'hipplei; spines numerous, the radials 12 or more, white, setaceous, 6 mm. long,
spreading; centrals usually 4, i to 1.5 cm. long, brownish, the tips and bases often yellowish;
FIGS. 34. 35. 36. — Seeds of three species of Pterocactus.
Natural size.
THE CACTACEAE.
glochids numerous, yellowish, 3 to 4 mm. long; flowers, in only specimen seen, terminal, almost con-
tinuous with the stem; ovary tuberculate and spiny like the stem, deeply umbilicate; seed one, large,
flat-winged.
Collected by Walter Fischer in 1914 in the Province of Rio Negro, Argentina, and
given to Dr. Rose during his visit to Argentina in 1915 by Professor Cristobal M. Hicken.
While this species resembles some of the
species ofCylindropuntia of theUnited States,
the spines are not sheathed.
Figure 33 is from a photograph of the
specimen above cited ; figure 34 shows a seed
of the same specimen.
3. Pterocactus pumilus sp. nov.
Plants low, usually prostrate or ascending;
joints cylindric, i cm. in diameter, covered with
weak appressed spines ; areoles very woolly ; flower
terminal ; ovary sunk in the apex of the terminal
joint, somewhat umbilicate; ovules several; seed
flattened, 7 mm. in diameter, very thin.
Collected by Cristobal M. Hicken (No.
3286), January 8, 1914, at Puerto Piramides,
Chubut, Argentina.
Figure 35 shows a seed of above speci-
men.
4. Pterocactus tuberosus (Pfeifler).
1837.
Kak-
()/>»»//<( Inhcrosa PfcifFcr, Enum. Cact. 146.
J'/i-n'i ni /i/^ L'linlzci Schumann, Monatsschr.
tcenk. 7: 6. 1^97.
Ptcrndiclns kniizci Schumann in Engler and Prant',
Pflan.'enfam. Nachtr. 259. 1897.
Plcroftitlu\ ili-i ipicin Giirkc, Monatsschr. Kaktecnk.
17: 147. 1907.
Roots tuber-like, single or in clusters, usually
small but sometimes large and thick, up to 12 cm.
long by 8 cm. in diameter, deep-seated, giving off
several erect stems, these branching at surface of
the ground; terminal branches purplish, turgid,
3 to 40 cm. long, i cm. in diameter, more or less
clavate; areoles numerous, small, bearing numer-
ous small white appressed spines; flowers terminal,
2 to 3 cm. long; petals long, lanceolate, apiculate,
yellow; ovary with numerous areoles bearing long
bristles; ovules numerous; fruit dry; seeds large,
flat, winged, 10 to 12 mm. in diameter.
Typcloaility: Near Mendoza, Argentina.
Distribution: Western provinces Of Argen- p,G. 37._pteri)cactus Uiberosus. Natural size. Photograph
tina, chiefly in the mountains. h> Paul G- Russe1'-
We have not seen the type of P. kuntzci,
which is doubtless at Berlin, but we have examined cotypes in the Kurtz Herbarium at
Cordoba, Argentina, and at New York.
Ofitntia titbcrosa, described from Mendoza as long ago as 1837, has long been a puzzle
to botanists, who have tried to associate it with various opuntias. Dr. Rose, who visited
Mendoza in 1915, found a tuberous-rooted cactus in the mountains above that city, which
we are convinced is the plant described by Pfeiffer. There is no doubt, on the other
NOPALEA.
33
hand, that it is Ptcrocactits kuntzci, from the same region, which was described as new by
Schumann in 1897.
Opuntia alpina Gillies (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 146. 1837) was not published, but was
given as a synonym of Opuntia tnbcrosa. Schumann referred both names to Opuntia
platyacantha.
Illustrations: Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 7: 7; .Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 107, both
as Pterocactus kuntzci; Bliihende Kakteen 3: pi. 140, as P. dccipicns.
Figure 36 shows a seed of a plant, collected by Dr. Rose near Mendoza, Argentina,
in 1915; figure 37 is from a photograph of same plant; figure 38 is from a photograph
taken by Dr. Carlos Spegazzini.
FIG. 38. — Pterocactus tuberosus.
3. NOPALEA Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 63. 1850.
Much branched cacti with definite cylindric trunks; roots so far as known fibrous; branches or
joints flattened, fleshy, often narrow; glochids usually less abundant than in Opuntia; spines solitary
or in clusters at the areoles, sheathless; leaves small, subterete, soon deciduous; areoles bearing white
wool, glochids, and often spines; flowers originating in the areoles usually at or near the edges of the
joints; sepals ovate, erect; petals red or pinkish, erect, closely appressed against the numerous
stamens and the style; filaments and style slender, much longer than the petals; ovary more or less
tuberculate, naked or spiny, with a very deep umbilicus; fruit a juicy berry, red, edible, usually
spineless; seeds numerous, flat, covered by a hard bony aril.
Nopalea is closely related to Opuntia, with which it is sometimes united; the erect
petals and elongated filaments and style are constant in Nopalea, however.
Three species were included by Salm-Dyck in this genus when it was described, of
which Opuntia cochenillifera Linnaeus was the first and is therefore considered the type.
Karl Schumann described five species in his monograph, but since then two species,
AT. guatemalensis and N. lutca, have been described by Dr. Rose, and one, N. inaperta,
by Dr. Griffiths. N. moniliformis (Linnaeus) Schumann, based on plate 198 of Plumier,
is Opuntia moniliformis (Linnaeus) Steudel.
The species are natives of Mexico and Guatemala, and have been accredited to Cuba,
although none has recently been observed wild on that island. Some of them are widely
34 THE CACTACEAE.
cultivated and may be found throughout the warmer parts of the world. Two are of
some economic importance and two or three are grown as ornamentals.
The name Nofalca is doubtless from nopal, the common name of Mexicans for certain
opuntias and nopaleas.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spineless, or rarely a few short spines on old joints . . . I. TV. cochenillifera
Joints spiny (spines few in TV. attberi).
Spines, at least those of young joints, very slender, acicular, several at each areole.
Spines white 2. N. guatemalcnsis
Spines yellow or becoming brown.
Joints obovate to oblong, 10 to 22 cm. long, 5 to 10 cm. wide . . . 3 TV. hilca
Joints linear-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 6 to 12 cm. long, 2 to 3 cm. wide 30. TV. gaunter i
Spines stouter, subulate.
Areoles with i or 2 spines, or spineless; joints glaucous 4 TV. auben
Areoles with 2 to 4 spines; joints green.
Joints linear or linear-oblong, 4 to 7 times as long as wide 5. TV. dejecta
Joints oblong or oblong-obovate, 2 to 4 times as long as wide.
Spines 2 to 4; joints not tuberculate ... 6. TV. karwinskjana
Spines 4 to 12; joints strongly tuberculate 7. TV. inaperta
1. Nopalea cochenillifera (Linnaeus) Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 64. 1850.
Cactus cochenillifer Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 468. 1753.
Opun'ia cochinelifera Miller, Card. Diet. ed. 8. No. 6. 1768.
Often tall plants, 3 to 4 meters high, with trunks up to 2 dm. thick; branches of ascending or
spreading oblong joints, sometimes 5 dm. long, green, bright green at first; spines none or rarely
minute ones develop on the older joints; glochids numerous, caducous; leaves small, awl-shaped,
soon deciduous; flowers appearing from the tops of the joints, usually in great abundance; flower,
from base of ovary to tip of style, 5.5 cm. long; ovary nearly globular, 2 cm. long, with low diamond-
shaped tubercles, its areoles bearing many glochids; sepals broadly ovate, acute, scarlet; petals a
little longer than the sepals, otherwise similar, persistent; stamens pinkish, exserted i to 1.5 cm.
beyond the petals; stigma-lobes 6 or 7, greenish, exserted beyond the stamens; style swollen just
above its base into a broad disk; fruit red, about 5 cm. long, rarely maturing in greenhouse plants;
seeds about 5 mm. long and 3 mm. wide.
Type locality: Jamaica and tropical America.
Distribution: Cultivated in the West Indies and tropical America; its original habitat
unknown.
Opuntia magnifolia Noronha (Verhandl, Batav. Genootsch. 54 : 22. 1790), published
without description, is referred to this species by Schumann and others. The name
Opuntia mcxicana, although it has been used for more than one species, first appeared in
Pfeiffer's Enumeratio (p. 150. 1837) as a synonym of 0. cochenillifera. Cactus subinermis
Link (Steudel, Nom. ed. 2. i : 246. 1840) is given as a synonym of Opuntia cochenillifera.
The specific name of this plant was given because it is one of the species of cactus from
which cochineal was obtained. Cochineal was long supposed to be a vegetable product;
it was not until 1703 that, by the aid of the microscope, it was definitely determined to be
of insect origin. The cochineal industry is of prehistoric origin. The Spaniards found it well
established when they conquered Mexico in 1518, and began at once to export the product.
As early as 1523 Cortez was ordered to obtain and send to Spain as much as he possibly
could, while during the early colonial days it was one of the chief articles of tribute to the
crown. From Mexico and Peru the industry was taken to southern Spain, India, Algiers,
South Africa, New Granada (Colombia), Jamaica, and the Canary Islands. The industry
grew rapidly and was very profitable. The greatest source of the cochineal was probably the
Canary Islands. In about the year 1868 more than 6,000,000 pounds, valued at $4,000,000,
were exported from these islands alone, of which the largest part was sent to England.
The cochineal insects were placed on the joints or branches of the cactus plants, where
they rapidly multiplied and in about four months were collected by brushing them off
into baskets or bags. Then, after being dried in various ways, they became the cochineal
of commerce. Two or three such collections were made each year.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE IV
M K. Katon del.
1. Upper part of flowering joint of A\>/>a/ci/ cochcnillu
2. Upper part of flowering joint of Nopalca u/r.
(All natural size.
.>. Fruit of A'o/m/t\i mil'
4. Flowering joint of Nopalea dejecta.
NOPALEA.
35
The cactuses upon which the cochineal was raised were often grown in large planta-
tions called nopalries, sometimes containing 50,000 plants in rows about 4 feet apart.
Since the introduction of the aniline dyes, the cochineal industry has almost dis-
appeared. The cochineal colors, while brilliant and attractive, are not very permanent.
According to J. J. Johnson, this plant was introduced into cultivation in England,
in 1688; but according to Ray it was growing in Chelsea before that time.
Illustrations: Hernandez, Nov. PI. Hist. 78 and 479. f. i. 1651, as Nopalnochetzli ;
Andrews, Bot. Rep. 8: pi. 533; Curtis's Bot. Mag. 54: pi. 2741, 2742; Descourtilz, Fl.
Pict. Antilles 7: pi. 516, all as Cactus cochenillifer. Cycl. Amer. Hort. Bailey i: 205.
f. 308; Gard. Chron. III. 34 : 92. f. 41 ; Pfeiffer and Otto, Abbild. Beschr. Cact. i : pi. 24,
all as Opuittia cochcnillifera; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 3, as Opuntia cocci/cm;
Dillenius, Hort. Elth. pi. 297, as tuna, etc.; Agr. Gaz. 25 : pis. opp. p. 884; Amer. Garden
n : 457; Martius, Fl. Bras. 4- : pi. 60. Schumann Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 109, B.
Plate iv, figure i, shows a plant which flowered in the New York Botanical Garden
in 1912.
2. Nopalea guatemalensis Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 330. 1907.
Tree-like, 5 to 7 meters high, branched, sometimes nearly to the base; joints bluish green, ovate
to oblong, 15 to 20 cm. long; areoles numerous, filled with short white wool; spines 5 to 8, unequal,
nearly or quite porrect, white or sometimes rose-colored, the longest 2.5 to 3 cm. long; leaves small,
linear, reflexed; flower, including ovary, 5 to 6 cm. long; sepals ovate, thickened; petals red; fruit
4 to 5 cm. long, clavate, red, more or less tuberculate, deeply umbilicate, without prominent glochids;
seeds irregular, 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: El Rancho, Guatemala.
Distribution: Arid valleys of Guatemala.
Illustrations: Safford, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst. 1908: f. 13, 14; Smiths. Misc. Coll.
50: pi. 41, 42.
Figure 39 illustrates joints of a plant obtained from Frank Weinberg in 1910.
FIG. 39. — Nopalea guatemalensis. Xo.4- FIG. 40. — Nopalea lutea. Xo-4.
3. Nopalea lutea Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 405. 1909.
More or less arborescent, 5 meters high or less, with a short, definite trunk and several large,
lateral, more or less spreading branches; joints obovate to elliptic or oblong, 10 to 22 cm. long, pale
green, slightly glaucous; areoles about 2 cm. apart, large, filled with short brown wool; spines weak,
yellow, acicular or bristle-like, the longest 4 cm. long; flowers 5 cm. long; petals red, 2 cm. long;
36 THE CACTACEAE.
ovary with numerous prominent areoles filled with yellow bristles; fruit red, 4 cm. long; seeds 4 to
5 mm. in diameter.
Type locality: Near El Rancho, Guatemala.
Distribution: Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
This species, although not discovered until 1907, is very common, extending from
altitude 300 meters at El Rancho to altitude 1,100 meters near Aguas Calientes. Accord-
FIG. 41. — Nopalea dejecta
ing to Mr. Charles C. Deam, who has explored extensively in Guatemala, the plant when
growing on river sand-bars is low, but in rich soil is tall.
Our reference of this species to Nicaragua is based on a specimen collected by A. S.
Oersted in 1845-1848 between Granada and Tipitapa. The joints of this, however, are
nearly orbicular or a little longer than broad, with numerous brown spines and glochids.
More material may show that this specimen should be referred elsewhere.
Illustration: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: pi. 58.
Figure 40 shows a joint of a plant from Guatemala, received from F. Eichlam in 1911.
NOPALEA. 37
3 i/st ; tinga = white,
clear; a forest in which one can sec far.
4o
THE CACTACEAE.
Common in the dry parts of Bahia, Brazil, where it was collected by Rose and Rus-
sell in 1915 (No. 19723, type). Dr. Zehntner thinks there may be a second species, as he
has found one with purple flowers; specimens from southern Bahia had purple buds, but
the open flowers were not seen. The type comes from Joazeiro, northern Bahia.
Dr. Rose studied this species in the field and believed it to be new. On reaching
Rio de Janeiro, he found that Dr. A. Lofgren had also studied it, referring it, however,
to Opuiitia, using the above specific name.
Figures 45 and 46 are copied from drawings of the flowers given to Dr. Rose by Dr.
Lofgren ; figures 47 and 48 are from twigs of the plant grown at the New York Botanical
Garden; figure 49 is from a photograph of the type plant.
5. MAIHUENIA Philippi, Gartenflora 32: 260. 1883.
Plants low, cespitose, often forming small, dense mounds; stems jointed; joints small, globular
or short-cylindric; leaves small, usually terete, persistent; leaves of seedlings terete, ascending,
with 2 long white bristles in the axils; areoles filled with white wool; spines 3, the central one
elongated, the 2 lateral ones small and very short; glochids wanting; flowers large for the size of the
plant, yellow or red, usually terminal; petals distinct; flower-tube none; stamens and sty'e much
shorter than the petals; fruit juicy (described as dry in one species), oblong to obovoid, bearing
small scattered, ovate, persistent leaves; wall of fruit thin; cotyledons linear; seed black, shining,
with a brittle testa.
FIG. 50. — Maihuenia valentinii.
Type species: Opnntia pocppigii Otto.
There are five species described, rather closely related, natives of the high mountains
of Chile and Argentina.
The generic name is derived from maihuen, the native name of the plant.
This is a small, localized genus; it is perhaps nearest Opuntia, but is without glochids
and has different seeds. The first species was described in 1837, and a second in 1864,
both as Of'Hiitia. Weber in 1898 transferred them to Pereskia, proposing a new subgenus
for them, but they are much less like Pereskia than Opuntia, for, except as to the seeds,
they have little in common with Pcrcskiii; in habit, leaves, spines, flowers, and fruits they
are quite unlike any of the pereskias.
MAIHUENIA.
FIG. 51. — Maihuenia poeppigii. Xo.
FlG. 52. — Maihuenia brachydelphys.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints subglobose i . Af. patagonica
Joints oblong to cylindric.
Leaves linear, 4 to 6 mm. long . . . .2. M. poeppigii
Leaves ovate to subulate, 2 to 4 mm. IOIIH.
Joints spineless below 3. M. brachydelphys
Joints spiny all over.
Leaves on the ovary with white hairs
in their axils 4. M. valeiiliiiii
Leaves on the ovary without hairs in
their axils 5. M. lehuelchcs
1. Maihuenia patagonica (Philippi).
Opiuitia palagnnica Philippi, Linnaea 33: S2. 1864.
Pertskia philippii Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 939. 1898.
Maihuenia philippii Weber in Schumann, Gesamtb. Kak-
teen 757. 1898.
Low, much branched, and dense, resembling Sempervi-
vum tomenlosum in habit; joints subglobose, i to 1.5 cm. in
diameter; leaves subulate, green; young areoles bearing
white hairs; spines weak, hardly pungent, white, the longest
10 to 15 mm. long; flowers 2.8 to 3 cm. long; fruit 8 to 10 mm. long, thicker than long; leaves on
the ovary ovate to lanceolate, fleshy, naked in their axils, except some of the upper ones; seeds
round, 3 to 4 mm. in diameter.
Type locality: In southern Argentina.
Distribution: Near snow-line on southern mountain ranges of Argentina and Chile.
Opuntia philippii Haage and Schmidt, without description, is given by Weber (Diet.
Hort. Bois 939. 1898) as a synonym of this species.
This is called by the natives espina blanca.
2. Maihuenia poeppigii (Otto) Weber in
Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 755.
1898.
Ofiuiitia poeppigii Otto in PieilTer.
Enum. Cact. 174. 1837.
Opiinlia mailmen Remy in Gay, I'l.
Chilena 3: 29. 1847.
Pereskia poeppigii falm-Dyck, Cact.
Hort. Dyck. 1849. 252. 1850.
Shrubby, much branched, prostrate,
forming dense cespitose masses i meter
broad; joints spiny to the bases, cylin-
dric, 6 cm. long or more, 1.5 cm. in diam-
eter; leaves cylindric, green, 4 to 6 mm.
long; spines 3 from each areole, the 2 late-
rals very short, the central one 1.5 to 2
cm. long; flowers terminal, yellow; fruit
oblong to obovoid, about 5 cm. long and
3 cm. thick.
Type locality: In Chile, without
definite locality.
Distribution: High mountains of
Chile.
Illustrations: Schumann, Ge-
samtb. Kakteen f. 108, B, c.; Gar-
tenflora 32: pi. 1129, f. i to 4, as
Opuntia poeppigii; Diet. Gard. Nich-
olson 3 : f. 82, as Pereskia poeppigii.
Figure 51 is from a fruit obtained
by Dr. Rose at the National Museum
of Chile, Santiago, in 1914.
FIG. 53. — Maihuenia tehuelches
42 THE CACTACEAE.
3. Maihuenia brachydelphys Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 756. 1898.
Cespitose, prostrate; joints cylindric or nearly ellipsoid, naked below, 2 cm. long; spines 2 or 3,
one much stouter and longer, yellow except at base and there brown; leaves terete, 2 to 3 mm. long;
areoles circular, full of white wool; flowers usually from the tips of joints, red, 3.5 cm. long.
•
Type locality: Pasco Cruz, Argentina, 34° south latitude, province of Mendoza.
Distribution: Western Argentina.
Opuntia brachydelphys Schumann is mentioned by Kuntze (Rev. Gen. PI. y '• IO7-
1898) by name only.
Illustration: Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 108, A.
Figure 52 is copied from Schumann's illustration above cited.
4. Maihuenia valentinii Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires II. 4: 289. 1902.
Shrubby, i to 2.5dm. high, dull green; joints cylindric, somewhat clavate, i to 3.5 cm. long;
leaves ovate, small; spines 3, the central much larger, 2 to 6 cm. long; flowers from near the ends of
the branches, 2 cm. broad, the sepals reddish, the petals white to light yellow; stamens indefinite;
filaments white; style 6 mm. long, white, longer than the stamens; stigma-lobes 5, short, 2 mm.
long, purplish; ovary globular to obconic, 5 to 8 mm. long, bearing numerous triangular fleshy
leaves with long white hairs and sometimes i or 2 spines in their axils; fruit unknown.
Type locality: Near Trelew, Chubut, Argentina.
Distribution: Territory of Chubut, southern Argentina.
Related to M. tehuelches and M. poeppigii, but said to be very distinct.
Figure 50 is from a photograph furnished by Dr. Carlos Spegazzini.
5. Maihuenia tehuelches Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires II. 4: 288. 1902.
Shrubby, 2 to 3 dm. high, with many intricate branches, dull green; joints cylindric, ellipsoid
to somewhat clavate, 2 to 8 cm. long by 10 to 12 cm. in diameter; leaves ovate, small, 2 to 4 mm.
long; spines 3, the central one erect, 2 to 4 cm. long, the 2 lateral ones only 5 to 10 mm. long; flowers
at the apex of the branches, 35 to 45 mm. broad, white to yellowish white ; fruit globose, naked, dry,
2 cm. in diameter; seeds black, 3 mm. broad.
Type locality: Between San Julian and Rio Deseado, Argentina.
Distribution: Dry, rocky deserts, southwestern Argentina.
Figure 53 is from a photograph furnished by Dr. Carlos Spegazzini.
6. OPUNTIA (Tournefort) Miller, Card. Diet. Abridg. ed. 4. 1754.
Cactodendron Bigelow, Pac. R. Rep. 3 : 102; 4 : 7, 1 1, iii. 1856.
Consoled Lemaire, Rev. Hort. 1862: 174. 1862.
Tephrocactus Lemaire, Cact. 88. 1868.
Ficindica St. Lager, Ann. Soc. Bot. Lyon 7: 70. 1880.
Cacti, sometimes with definite trunks, or more often much branched from the base, the branches
often spreading, reclining, or prostrate, sometimes clambering, but never climbing (one species
known with annual stems) ; roots fibrous or rarely tuberous and large and fleshy; ultimate branches
(joints or pads) cylindric to globose or flattened, usually very fleshy, sometimes woody; areoles
axillary, bearing spines, barbed bristles (glochids), hairs, flowers, and sometimes glands; leaves
usually small, terete, mostly early deciduous; spines solitary or in clusters, terete or flattened,
naked or sheathed, variously colored; glochids usually numerous, borne above the spines; flowers
usually one at an areole; ovary inferior, one-celled, many-ovuled, bearing leaves, the areoles often
with spines and glochids; sepals green or more or less colored, usually grading into the petals;
petals usually of various shades and combinations of green, yellow, and red (rarely white), widely
spreading; stamens much shorter than the petals, sensitive; style single, thick; stigma-lobes short;
fruit a berry, dry or juicy, often edible, spiny or naked, globular, ovoid or ellipsoid; seed covered
by a hard, bony aril, white, flattened; embryo curved; cotyledons 2, large.
The species grow naturally from Massachusetts to British Columbia south to the
Strait of Magellan. Several have been naturalized and have become very abundant
locally in the Old World and in Australia.
OPUNTIA. 43
The type species is Cactus opuntia Linnaeus.
Karl Schumann recognized 131 species in his " Gesamtbeschreibung der Kakteen,"
published during the years 1897 and 1898. Many have been described since this mono-
graph was published.
The name Opuntia was that of a town in Greece, where some cactus-like plant is said
to have grown.
The genus is important economically. It furnishes the well-known tuna fruit largely
imported into our eastern cities from Italy and which is common in the markets of Mexico.
vSome species are used for hedges, the branches of others are cooked like spinach, and still
others furnish forage for stock.
The species are numerous and very diverse, and have at various times been grouped
by authors into several genera, while other species, now referred by us to Nopalea,
Maihucnia, and Pereskiopsis, were included in Opuntia.
The following genera now referred to Opuntia have been regarded as distinct from it :
Consolea was described by Lemaire in 1862. He described five species, of which
C. rubescens is the first and therefore the type. This group is a striking one, characterized
by a pronounced cylindric trunk in old plants, with an unjointed central woody axis,
peculiar semaphore-like branches at the top, and very small flowers. There are eight species
of this group, described under our series Spinosissimae. They are confined to the West
Indies, although C. rubescens, the spineless race of Opuntia catacantha, was originally
described as from Brazil — doubtless erroneously.
Tephrocactus was described by Lemaire in 1868, and to it he referred eight species of
Opuntia. T. diadcnmtus is the type species. Schumann included it in Opuntia as a sub-
genus, with 15 species. They are all South American, chiefly in Argentina and Bolivia.
Ficindica was established by St. Lager in 1880, based on Opuntia ficus-indica, which
is clearly congeneric with Opuntia opuntia.
In 1856 the name Cactodendron was proposed in an account of Whipple's Expedi-
tion, published in volumes 3 and 4 of the Pacific Railroad Reports. It was apparently
not intended to be a formal publication, but as a definite species is indicated, the name
is published. It will be of interest to record here the evidence upon which we reach
this conclusion:
Cactodendron Bigelow Pac. R. Rep. 3: 102; 4: 7, n; Additional Notes and Corrections Hi. 1856.
"There are * * * Opuntia of many varieties; some with wide leaf-like joints, others of
shrubby form and woody fibre, which the botanist proposes to name Cactodendron." Pac. R. Rep.
3: 102.
"Immediately on our entrance into this valley (November 19 [1856]) we found and collected a
new species of Opuntia, with prostrate, nearly terete joints, entirely devoid of woody fibre ; * *.
Lieutenant Whipple discovered the first specimen of our new Cactodendron, as we were pleased to
call it, to distinguish it from the O. arborescens. " Pac. R. Rep. 4: 7.
"The arborescent Opuntia, first found near Zuni, which, to distinguish from the true O. arbores-
cens, we called Cacto-dendron, finds its western limits near the termination of this region." Pac.
R. Rep. 4: 10.
" 15. 'New arboresent Opuntia,' called also 'our new Cactodendron,' pages 7 and n, is Opunlia
u'hipplei, E. & B., new species." Pac. R. Rep. 4: Additional Notes and Corrections iii.
Opuntias are known under a great variety of names. Among the names for the flat-
jointed species, the most common are: prickly pear in the United States; tuna in Mexico;
sucker and bullsucker in the Lesser Antilles. For the round-stemmed forms we have:
cane cactus, and such Mexican names as cholla and tasajo. Dr. David Griffiths has
published a list of names used in Mexico.
The genus Opuntia, as understood by us, is composed of at least 250 species, but more
than 900 names are to be found in literature. No type specimens of many of the species
44 THE CACTACEAE.
were preserved by their authors, some have, apparently, been lost, and some, which are
probably preserved, we have been unable to study.
The genus shows a great range in stem structure, varying from cylindric to broad and
flat. These extremes suggest different generic types, but these characters can not be used
except in the most general way, for some species have both rounded and flattened stems.
Some with round stems have flowers which suggest a closer relationship with the species
with flattened stems.
The habits of some of the species are very characteristic, while others show a wide
range of forms. Many of the erect or tree-like forms, when grown from cuttings, develop
bushy habits much unlike their normal shapes.
The spines, while somewhat constant in color in some species, vary considerably in
others, and the number of spines is rather inconstant. Species which are normally abun-
dantly spined are sometimes naked when cultivated, while species which are normally
naked sometimes develop spines in cultivation; cultivated specimens usually have weaker
spines and sometimes decidedly different ones from wild plants.
The flowers often vary greatly in color, as is seen especially in 0. versicolor and O.
Hndheimeri, which show wide ranges of color forms. Some flowers vary in color during
the day.
We group the species known to us into 3 subgenera, 46 series, and with the following
characteristics :
KEY TO SUBGENERA AND SERIES OF OPUNTIA.
A. Joints all terete, elongated or short, cylindric to globose.
B. Branches several, many-jointed Subgenus i. CYUNDROPUNTIA
C. Spines with papery sheaths.
D. Spines, at least some of them, solitary, sometimes several,
acicular; ultimate branches slender, rarely more
than i cm. thick.
E. Stem and branches conspicuously marked by flattened,-
diamond-shaped tubercles; fruit dry, covered with
long bristle-like spines Series i. Ramosissimae (N. A.'
EE. Tubercles not flattened nor diamond-shaped; fruit
usually a naked berry Series 2. Leptocaules (N. A.)
DD. Spines always more than i ; ultimate branches stouter.
E. Ultimate branches not over 2 cm. thick Series 3. Tliurberianae (N. A.)
EE. Ultimate branches 2 cm. thick or more.
F. Fruit dry Series 4. Echinocarpae (N. A.)
FF. Fruit fleshy.
G. Tuberclesof young joints scarcely longer than broad. Series 5. Bigelovianae (N. A.)
GG. Tubercles distinctly longer than broad.
H. Tubercles narrow, high, laterally flattened Series 6. Imbricatae (N. A.)
HH. Tubercles broad, low Series 7. Fulgidae (N. A.)
CC. Spines without sheaths.
D. Joints not tuberculate, or with broad or flat tubercles.
E. Areoles long-woolly or with weak hairs (without hairs
in 0. verschaffeltii) Series 8. Vestitae (S. A.)
EE. Areoles neither long-woolly nor long-hairy.
F. Joints clavate or crested Series 9. Clavarioides (S. A.)
FF. Joints neither clavate nor crested.
G. Low, slender species, scarcely, if at all, tuberculate. . Series 10. Salmianae (S. A.)
GG. Tall, stout species, the tubercles broad or flat;
leaves large Series 1 1 . Subtilata; (S. A.)
DD. Joints strongly tuberculate, the tubercles elevated.
E. Tall, shrubby species; joints cylindric Series 12. Miquelianae (S. A.)
EE. Low, prostrate species; joints clavate (transition to
Tephrocactus) Series 13. Clavatae (N. A.)
BB. Branches i to few-jointed, the short joints usually clustered . . . . Subgenus 2. TEPHROCACTUS (S. A.)
C. Joints, at least some of them, cylindric, tuberculate, the
tubercles contiguous (transition to Cylindropuntia) Series i . Weberianae
CC. Joints globose to oblong, mostly little, if at all, tuberculate.
D. Areoles normally bearing many long white hairs, which
often cover the whole plant Series 2. Floccosae
DD. Areoles without hairs.
E. Spines, when present, at least some of them, modified
into fat, papery processes Series 3. Glomeratae
EE. Spines, when present, all subulate or acicular, terete or
somewhat flattened Series 4. Pentlandianae
OPUNTIA.
45
KEY To SUBGENERA AND SERIES OF OPUNTIA — continued.
AA. At least some of the joints flat or compressed Subgenus 3. PI.ATYOPUNTIA
B. Stems perennial, stout or slender.
C. Plants branching from near or at the base, not forming erect,
cylindric unjointed trunks; flowers mostly large.
D. Epidermis glabrous or pubescent, not papillose-tuberculatc
when dry.
E. Flowers perfect; petals obovate to oblong.
F. Fruit a juicy berry (exceptions in Series 5, Basilarcs).
G. Joints readily detached.
H. Joints very readily detached; low, mostly small-
jointed species.
I. Joints little flattened, subtercte (transition to
Cylindropuntia) Scries i . Pumilm' (N. A. ; S. A.)
II. At least the ultimate joints distinctly flattened.
J. Ultimate joints or all joints turgid Series 2. Curassavicae (N. A.; S. A.)
JJ. Ultimate joints flat and thin Series 3. Aiirantiacae (S. A.)
HH. Joints less readily detached; mostly taller and
larger-jointed species Series 4. Tunue (N. A. ; S. A.)
GG. Joints not readily detached, persistent.
H. Areoles small, i to 2 mm. in diameter, not ele-
vated, mostly close together SerL-s 5. Basllarcs (N. A.)
HH. Areoles larger, mostly distant.
I. Prostrate or spreading species; joints relatively
small. (O. austrina suberect.)
J. Joints not tuberculate.
K. Flowers small, brick-red Series 6. Inamoeiiac (S. A.)
KK. Flowers large, yellow Series 7. Tortispinae (N. A.)
JJ. Joints strongly tuberculate Series 8. Sulphureae (S. A.)
II. Bushy, depressed or tall species.
J. Spines, when present, brown or yellow (white
in O. setispina).
K. Spines brown, at least at the base or tip.
L. Bushy or depressed species.
M. Fruit very small Series 9. Strigiles (N. A.)
MM. Fruit large.
N. Spines acicular Series 10. Setispinae (N. A.)
NN. Spines subulate Series 1 1. Phacacanthae (N. A.)
LL. Tall species, sometimes with a definite
trunk (0. galapageia sometimes de-
pnssed).
M. Spines several at each areole Series 12. Elatiores (N. A. ; S. A.)
MM. Spines, when p.esent, i to few at each
areole Series 13. Elaine (S. A.)
KK Spines, if any, yellow, at least partially.
I,. Epidermis glabrous.
M. Areoles close together, bearing long
brown wool Series 14. Schecrinniie (N. A.)
MM. Areoles distant, without long wool. Series 15. Dillenianae (N. A.)
LL. Epidermis, at least that of the ovary,
pubescent Series 16. Macdougalianae (N. A.)
JJ. Spines, when present, white (or faintly yellow).
K. Epidermis pubescent.
L. Spines, when present, acicular Series 17. Tomentosae (N. A.)
LL. Spines several, setaceous, flexible Series 18. Lcucotrichae (N. A.)
KK. Epidermis glabrous.
L. Areoles bearing long, soft hairs Series 19. Orbicttlatac (N. A.)
LL. Areoles without long hairs.
M. Joints green or bluish green.
N. Spineless, or with few, usually short,
spines Series 20. Ficus-indicae (N. A.; S. A.)
NN. Spiny, at least old joints so Series 21. Streptacanlhae (N. A.; S. A.)
MM. Joints blue Series 22. Robustae (N. A.)
FF. Fruit dry, not juicy Series 23. Polyacanlhae (N. A.)
EE. Flowers dicecious; petals very narrow Series 24. Stenopetalae (N. A.)
DD. Epidermis densely papillose-tuberculate when dry Series 25. Palmadorae (S. A.)
CC. Plants with erect, unjointed trunks, the branches with flat
joints; flowers mostly small.
D. Flowers small; joints spreading.
E. Joints all flat, relatively thick Series 26. Spinosissimae (N. A.)
EE. Some joints terete, others flat and very thin Series 27. Brasi/ienses (S. A.)
DD. Flowers large; joints ascending Series 28. Ammophilae (N. A.)
BB. Sterns annual, very slender Series 29. Chaffcyatiae (N. A.)
46
THE CACTACEAE.
Subgenus 1. CYLINDROPUNTIA.
Includes the many-jointed species in which none of the joints is at all flattened.
Series 1. RAMOSISSIMAE.
The series consists of a single bushy species, with slender joints, the nearly flat tubercles
diamond-shaped and contiguous, the acicular spines, when present, usually only i at an areole.
1. Opuntia ramosissima Engelmann, Amer. Journ. Sci. II. 14:339. 1852.
Opuntia tessellata Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 309. 1856.
Frutescent, bushy, sometimes 2 meters high, the branches gray, often widely spreading, and 9 cm.
long; tubercles low, slightly convex, 4-angled to 6-angled, giving the surface an appearance of being
covered with diamond-shaped plates; leaves ovoid,
i to 3 mm. long, acute; areoles on young shoots
circular, with white or tawny wool and pale glochids,
the upper part in age compressed into the narrow
slit between the two adjoining tubercles, the lower
part depressed-linear, with a slightly elevated border;
spines often wanting, but when present abundant,
usually one at each areole, rarely 2, porrect, acicular,
sometimes 6 cm. long, usually reddish when young,
covered by loose, yellow, papery sheaths; flowers,
including ovaries, 3 to 4 cm. long; sepals subulate,
similar to the leaves of the ovary, but longer; petals
greenish yellow, tinged with red, obovate, aristulate,
about i cm. long; stamens greenish yellow; anthers
orange-colored; style and stigma-lobes cream-colored;
ovary narrowly obconic, covered with emarginate
tubercles, the areoles bearing wool and long glochids,
but no spines; fruit dry, obovate, 2 to 2.5 cm. long,
covered with clusters of weak, slender spines, appear-
ing like a bur; seeds few, white, 5 mm. broad.
Type locality: In California, near the Colo-
rado River.
Distribution: Southern Nevada, western
Arizona, southeastern California, northwestern
Sonora and probably northeastern Lower Cali-
fornia.
The flowers of this species have been described as purple, apparently erroneously.
This species is found in the most arid deserts of the southwestern part of the United
States, usually growing on low hills, and is confined chiefly to the lower Colorado; it is
here rather inconspicuous and might easily be overlooked. It is one of the least succulent
species of the genus, the terminal shoots soon becoming hard, and hence the plant is
difficult to propagate from cuttings, and is rarely found in greenhouse collections.
Opnntia tessellata cristata Schumann (Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 8 : 70. 1898) is a striking
monstrosity which Schumann has described and figured.
Illustrations: Cact. Journ. i : pi. [i]; Cycl. Amer. Hort. Bailey 3 : f. 1549; Pac. R. Rep.
4 : pi. 21 ; 24, f. 20, all as Opuntia tessellata.
Figure 54 represents a spiny branch drawn from a specimen sent by Mr. S. B. Parish
from Barstow, California, in 1915; figure 55 shows a portion of an unarmed branch sent
by the same collector from the same locality.
Series 2. LEPTOCAULES.
Bushy species, with slender joints, the ultimate ones 4 to 1.5 mm. thick, often readily detached;
the flowers small.
Inhabitants of the southwestern United States, Mexico, northern South America, and
one species in Santo Domingo.
FIGS. 54, 55. — Opuntia ramosissima. Xo.75-
OPUNTIA. 47
KEY TO SPECIES.
Ultimate joints short, usually at right angles to the branches, 4 to 7 mm. thick.
Bushy plants, 1.5 meters high or less; fruit small, fertile.
Branches scarcely if at all tuberculate.
Leaves ovoid to ovoid-subulate; young arcoles long-hairy 2. 0. mortolensis
Leaves linear; areoles not long-hairy 3. O. leplocaulis
Branches long-tuberculate 4. 0. tesajo
Elongated plants, up to 2 meters long; fruit larger, sterile 5. O. caribaea
Ultimate joints longer, 8 to 15 mm. thick, usually at an acute angle to the branches.
Joints only slightly tuberculate 6. 0. arbuscula
Joints manifestly tuberculate 7. 0. kleiniae
2. Opuntia mortolensis sp. nov.
Slender, 6 dm. high or less, dull green, with dark blotches below the areoles, the ultimate twigs
short, sometimes only 2 cm. long, 4 to 5 mm. thick, scarcely tuberculate; leaves ovate to ovate-
subulate, 2 to 4 mm. long, green, with acute bronze-colored tips; young areoles with numerous, early
deciduous, weak white hairs sometimes longer than the leaves, and several brown glochids; areoles
of old branches with solitary acicular spines 3 to 5 cm. long, these with tightly fitting brownish sheaths ;
flowers and fruit unknown.
Described from No. 25360, New York Botanical Garden, received from the garden of
Sir Thomas Hanbury, La Mortola, Italy, in 1906. Mr. Berger has referred this specimen
to Opuntia leptocaulis longispina, but this was considered by Dr. Engelmann as the "usual
western form" of 0. leptocaulis.
An herbarium specimen collected by Rose, Standley, and Russell at Empalme, Sonora,
Mexico, March n, 1910 (No. 12644), appears to be referable to this species.
The short leaves and long-hairy young areoles appear to distinguish this plant from
0. leptocauUs.
Illustration: Card. Chron. III. 34: f. 37, as Opuntia leptocauUs longispina.
Plate vi, figure i, represents a branch of a plant sent from La Mortola, Italy, in 1906;
figure 2 shows a leafy twig of the same plant.
3. Opuntia leptocaulis De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist.'Nat. Paris 17: 118. 1828.
Opuntia ramitlifera Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 360. 1834.
Opuntia gracilis Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 172. 1837.
Opuntia fragilis frute see ns Engelmann, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 5: 245. 1845.
Opuntia virgata Link and Otto in Forster, Handb. Cact. 506. 1846.
Opuntia vaginata Engelmann in Wislizenus, Mem. Tour North. Mex. 100. 1848.
Opuntia frutescens Engelmann, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 6: 208. 1850.
Opuntia frutescens brevispina Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 309. 1856.
Opuntia frutescens longispina Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 309. 1856.
Opuntia leptocaulis brevispina S. Watson. Bibl. Index 1 : 407. 1878.
Opuntia leptocaulis vaginata S. Watson, Bibl. Index 1 : 407. 1878.
Opuntia leptocaulis stipata Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 456. 1896.
Opuntia leptocaulis longispina Berger, Bot. Jahrb. Engler 36: 450. 1905.
Usually bushy, often compact, 2 to 20 dm. high, but sometimes with a short, definite trunk 5 to 8
cm. in diameter, dull green with darker blotches below the areoles, with slender, cylindric, ascending,
hardly tuberculate branches; branches, especially the fruiting ones, thickly set with short, usually
spineless joints spreading nearly at right angles to the main branches, very easily detached ; leaves
green, awl-shaped, 12 mm. long or less, acute; spines usually solitary at young areoles, very slender,
white, at areoles of old branches 2 or 3 together, 2 to 5 cm. long or less ; sheaths of spines closely fit-
ting or loose and papery, yellowish brown to whitish; areoles with very short white wool; flowers
greenish or yellowish, 1.5 to 2 cm. long including the ovary; sepals broadly ovate, acute, or cuspidate;
ovary obconic, bearing numerous small woolly brown areoles subtended by small leaves, its glochids
brown; fruit small, globular to obovate or even clavate, often proliferous, red or rarely yellow, 10
to 1 8 mm. long, turgid, slightly fleshy; seeds compressed, 3 to 4 mm. broad, with narrow, often
acute, margins.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Southwestern United States and Mexico.
This species has a wide distribution for an Opuntia, extending from southern United
States to Puebla, Mexico.
48
THE CACTACEAE.
The great variation in the length of the spines and in the character of the spine sheaths
has led to the description of several varieties. These all seem to us to merge into the one
species, as above indicated. It sometimes hybridizes with 0. imbricata. See C. B.
Allaire's plant from San Antonio, New Mexico.
The following names, Opuntia leptocaulis laetevirens Salm-Dyck (Hort. Dyck. 184.
1834), 0. gradlis subfatcns Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 73. 1850), and O. Icpto-
canlis major Tourney (Cycl. Amer. Hort. Bailey 3 : 1152. 1901) are printed but not described.
Illustrations: Bull. Torr. Club 32 : pi. 10, f. 9; Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 19 : pi. 21, in part;
Safford, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst. 1908: f. 12; Emory, Mil. Reconn. app. 2. f. 12; Pac. R.
Rep. 4 : pi. 20, f. i ; pi. 24, f. 13 to 15, all as Opuntia vaginata. Cact. Journ. i : 154, as Opunti.i
FIG. 57 — Opuntia leptocau- FIG. 58. — Opuntia ca-
FIG. 56. — Opuntia leptocaulis in the foreground. lis. Xo.a. ribaca. Xo.66.
J'rutcsccns. Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 20, f . 4, 5 ; pi. 24, f. 19, all as Opuntia Jrutcscens brei'ispina.
Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 20, f. 2, 3; pi. 24, f. 16 to iS, all as Opuntia fruiescens longispina.
Plate vi, figure 3, represents a fruiting branch from a plant collected by Dr. Rose near
Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 1913; figure 4 shows a fruiting branch from another Texas plant
obtained by the same collector. Figure 56 is from a photograph taken by Dr. MacDougal
near Tucson, Arizona, in 1913; figure 57 represents a branch with young leafy shoots, of a
specimen collected by Dr. Rose in 1913 at Laredo, Texas.
4. Opuntia tesajo Engelmann in Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 448. 1896.
Bushy, 3 dm. broad and high; joints slender, indistinctly tuberculate, 2 to 5 cm. long; areoles
5 to 6 mm. apart; leaves awl-shaped, 2 to 4 mm. long, often red; spines at first 2, small, dark brown,
4 to 8 mm. long, either erect or reflexed; later a long central spine develops, this porrect, 5 cm. long,
yellow near the tip; flowers yellow, small, 1.5 to 1.8 cm. long, including the ovary; style whitish;
stigma-lobes 5, yellowish.
Type locality: In Lower California.
Distribution: Central part of Lower California.
The type of this little-known species should be in the herbarium of the Missouri
Botanical Garden, at St. Louis, but it can not now be found. The species has been in
cultivation at La Mortola, Italy, but it does not do well under cultivation. Dr. C. A.
Purpus, who has collected the plant in Lower California, regarded it as related to 0.
ramosissima, claiming that the stems have the peculiar marking of that species. This
BRITTON AND ROPF
PLATE VI
M. E. Eaton del
1, 2. Branches of Opuniia m0*tolensis . 5. Flowering branch of Opuntia arbuscula.
3, 4. Branches of Opt/ntia leptocan/is. 6. Flowering branch of Opuntia kleiniae.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTiA.
49
relationship, however, is not shown in the La Mortola plant. With only a very meager
description published and no type specimen preserved, it is difficult to decide the relation-
ship of this species. No exact type locality is cited for it, but it is said to grow "among
rocks, especially towards the west coast, and in the more central portions" of Lower Cali-
fornia, where it was first collected by W. M. Gabb in 1867.
We refer this species with hesitation to the series Leptocaules.
Opuntia tcnajo (Just's Bot. Jahresb. 24- : 380. 1896) is doubtless an error in spelling
for 0. tesajo.
FIG. 59. — Opuntia caribaea forming dense thickets.
5. Opuntia caribaea sp. nov.
Stems i to 3 meters high, forming thickets in open woods and waste grounds; ultimate joints
horizontal, 5 to 10 cm. long, much thicker than in O. leptocaulis, with short, elevated tubercles;
areoles large, bearing white wool and a few long caducous hairs; spines i to 3, porrect, acicular,
2 to 3 cm. long, covered with thin, brown, papery sheaths; glochids dark brown; leaves small, i to
2 mm. long, acute; flowers not known; fruit red, 1.5 to 2 cm. long, usually naked but sometimes
bearing short spines from the upper areoles, so far as known always sterile.
Very common on the cactus plain about Azua and also near Barahona, Santo Domingo ;
collected near Azua, March 1913, by Rose, Fitch, and Russell (No. 3837, type); also by
Paul Bartsch in Haiti, 1917; also on the northern coast of Venezuela, and on Margarita
Island, and apparently in Trinidad, as indicated by a colored drawing in the Kew her-
barium received in 1825 from David Lockhart.
The plant grows in great abundance in Santo Domingo with other cacti, and cer-
tainly appears to be indigenous. Its nearest relative is 0. leptocaulis, from which it
differs in its greater size, thicker joints, and larger fruit.
Figure 58 represents a joint of a plant collected by Rose, Fitch, and Russell at Azua,
Santo Domingo, in 1913; figure 59 is from a photograph of the type plant taken by Paul
G. Russell.
50 THE CACTACEAE.
6. Opuntia arbuscula Fngelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 309. 1856.
Opuntia neoarbuscula Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: 260. 1908.
Forming a bush 2 to 3 meters high, often with a rounded, very compact top with numerous
short branches; trunk short, 10 to 12 cm. in diameter, with several woody branches; ultimate joints
5 to 7.5 cm. long, 8 mm. in diameter, with low, indistinct tubercles; leaves small; spines usually i,
but sometimes several, especially on old joints, porrect, up to 4 cm. long, covered with loose straw-
colored sheaths; flowers greenish yellow tinged with red, 3.5 cm. long; fruit often proliferous, some-
times only one-seeded.
FIG. 60. — Opuntia arbuscula.
e locality: On the lower Gila near Maricopa village.
Distribution: Arizona and Sonora.
Opuntia congcsta Griffiths (Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: 88, pi. 2, f. 4, 7 ; pi. 8; pi. 13, f. 5.
1909), from the description, is near this species and probably a race of it.
Races of the species differ in size, in armament, in the length of the tubercles, and in
size and shape of the fruit.
Illustrations: Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 67: pi. 6, f. 2; Bull. Torr. Club 32 : pi. 9, f. 3;
Plant World n1": f . 1 1 ; Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: pi. 22; 19: pi. 23, in part, this last as
Opuntia neoarbuscula: Carnegie Inst. Wash. 269: pi. n, f. 95.
Plate vi, figure 5, represents a flowering branch from Professor J. W. Tourney's collec-
tion at Tucson, Arizona. Figure 60 is from a photograph taken by Dr. MacDougal near
Tucson, Arizona, in 1906; figure 61 is from a photograph taken by George B. Sudworth in
Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona; figure 62 shows a fruiting branch from the same collection.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE VII
M. E. Eaton del. 1, 3, 4
Krieger del. 2. 5
1. Leafy branch of Opuntia kleiniae. 4. Flowering branch of Opuntia echinocarpa.
2. Terminal branch of Opuntia vivipara. 5. Fruiting branch of Opuntia versicolor.
3. Branch of Opuntia parryi. (All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
7. Opuntia kleiniae De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: 118.
Opuntia wriglilii Kngelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 308. 1856.
Opuntia cacnilescens Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20: 86. 1909.
vStems pale, glaucous, sometimes 2.5 meters tall, woody at base; tubercles long; areoles large,
a little longer than wide, filled with white wool from the very first; spines usually i, but sometimes
more, from the base of the areole, covered with yellow sheaths, on old joints accompanied by several
bristle-like spines from the lower margin of the areole; glochids yellow to brown; leaves linear, 15 cm.
long, acute; flowers 3 cm. long, purplish; petals broad, rounded at apex; fruit red, 2 to 2.5 cm. long,
long persisting; seeds 4 to 5 mm. broad.
FIG. 61. — Opuntia arbuscula.
I-'IG. 62. — Opuntia arbuscula. Xo.7.5.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Texas to central Mexico.
Opuntia kleiniae was originally described as without tubercles on the stems, which has
raised the question whether the plant bearing this name is properly referred; in this
respect 0. arbuscula answers the description better, but it is very doubtful whether 0.
arbuscula could have been known at that time.
Opuntia kleiniae has long been in cultivation and is to be seen in most collections.
In 1910 Dr. Rose collected near Alamos, Mexico, an Opuntia very similar in habit
and joints to 0. kleiniae, but much more spiny.
Opuntia kleiniae cristata (Cat. Darrah Succ. Manchester 55. 1908) is a garden form.
0. kleiniae laetevirens Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 73. 1850) is only a name.
Illustrations: Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Miinchen 2: pi. i, sec. 7, f. 9; Rep. Mo. Bot.
Gard. 19: pi. 21, in part; 20: pi. 6, in part, this last as Opuntia caerulescens.
Plate VI, figure 6, represents a flowering branch of a specimen obtained from M.
Simon, of St. Ouen, Paris, France, in 1901; plate vn, figure i, represents a leafy branch
of a specimen collected by Dr. Rose at Ixmiquilpan, Mexico, in 1905.
Two remarkable opuntias were collected in Lower California by Dr. Rose in 1911,
but as they were not in flower or fruit, and have not developed flowers since they were
brought into cultivation, we are unable to describe them fully; they are doubtless of
this relationship and their characters are given as follows:
OPUNTIA sp.
Stems 1.3 to 2 meters high, rather weak, often clambering over bushes, 10 mm. in diameter,
woody below, pale, when dry the white epidermis peeling off; lateral branches numerous, horizontal,
52 THE CACTACEAE.
short (2 to 6 cm. long) ; areoles on old stems bearing 3 or 4 long (2 to 4 cm. long) needle-like brownish
spines; young areoles usually with a single spine each, filled with brown wool; glochids brown, numer-
ous sheaths on young spines straw-colored, soon deciduous; flowers and fruit unknown.
Description based on field notes and on living and herbarium specimens.
Collected by Dr. Rose on Santa Cruz Island, Gulf of California, April i, 1911 (No. 16845).
OPUNTIA sp.
Procumbent, forming an indeterminable mass of spiny branches, 3 to 10 dm. in diameter; old
stems woody, smooth, brown, and shiny, 2 cm. in diameter; branches 10 to 20 cm. long, bluish green;
spines of two kinds; the 2 to 4 principal ones long (2 to 3 cm. long), needle-like, at first covered with
thin yellow sheaths, straw-colored when young, becoming purplish, finally fading to gray; secondary
spines 4 to 6, radial, inconspicuous; glochids brownish; flowers and fruit unknown.
Description based on field notes and living and herbarium specimens.
Collected by Dr. J. N. Rose on East San Benito Island, off the coast of Lower Cali-
fornia, March 9, 1911 (No. 16085). This is, doubtless, the plant referred to by Walton
(Cact. Journ. 2: 137. 1899) as 0. ramosissima, but it is not that species.
Series 3. THURBERIANAE.
Bushy, arborescent, or depressed species, with slender joints, the ultimate ones tuberculate,
about 2 cm. thick or less, the areoles bearing several spines. We recognize 8 species, 7 of them
natives of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, and i in Lower California.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Bushy or arborescent species, 6 dm. high or higher.
Tubercles narrowly oblong, i cm. long or more.
Joints readily detached 8.0. vivipara
Joints not readily detached.
Longer spines 2.5 cm. long or longer.
Flowers orange to scarlet 9. 0. letracantha
Flowers purple 10. O. recondita
Spines 2 cm. long or less . . . . n. O. llnirberi
Tubercles low, oblong, 6 to 8 mm. long 12. 0. clavellina
Depressed species, 6 dm. high or less.
Spines yellow or brown; flowers green or tinged with yellow.
Spines yellow, up to 5 cm. long; petals i to 1.5 cm. long . 13. O. darisii
Spines brown, 2.5 cm. long or less; petals 2 to 2.5 cm. long. . 14. O. viridiflora
Spines white; flowers yellow 15. 0. whipplei
8. Opuntia vivipara Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 52: 153. 1908.
Plant 2 to 3.5 meters high, usually several strong branches from the base, 8 to 10 cm. in diame-
ter, much branched above, but not compactly so; old stems with rather smooth bark; young branches
bluish green, slender, i to 2 cm. long, 10 to 12 mm. in diameter; tubercles low, oblong, 15 to 20 mm.
long; areoles when young bearing a dense cushion of yellow wool with few or no glochids; spines
i to 4, 2 cm. long or less, porrect or ascending, covered with straw-colored sheaths ; leaves small, terete,
acutish, purple; flowers numerous, borne in clusters at the top of the branches, purplish; ovary
strongly tuberculate, bearing white deciduous bristles; fruit oblong, 4 to 6 cm. long, smooth, with a
somewhat depressed umbilicus, yellowish green, spineless; seeds white, very thick, 5 mm. long.
Type locality: Near Tucson, Arizona.
Distribution: Known only from type locality.
The relationship of this species is doubtful; it resembles certain garden forms of
0. tctracantha, but differs from typical forms of that species in its much larger fruit and
seeds, different armament, and habit. The type grew associated with 0. spinosior and
0. versicolor, but there is no indication that it is the result of hybridization of those species.
Illustrations: Smiths. Misc. Coll. 52: pi. 12; Plant World n10: f. 12.
Plate vii, figure 2, represents a branch drawn by L- C. C. Krieger at the Desert
Botanical Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona; plate vm, figure i, is from a photograph of
the type plant taken by Dr. MacDougal in 1908.
BRITTON ANC' RO^E
PLATE VIM
5*"fer"-1 -'^'*-
1. Type- plant of Ofiinitia :'iri/>ani. near Tucson, Arizona.
_'. A much-branched plant of i)f>n>itiu rvr.f/V
OPUNTIA.
53
9. Opuntia tetracantha Tourney, Card, and For. 9: 432. 1896.
Low bush, 5 to 15 dm. high, branching; central stem woody, 5 to 8 cm. in diameter; young
joints 23 to 30 cm. long, 10 to 15 mm. in diameter, purplish; tubercles at first prominent, elongated,
1 6 to 22 rani, long; areoles bearing wool, light brown glochids, prominent glands and spines; spines
3 to 6, usually 4, slender, somewhat deflexed, 2 to 3.5 cm. long; flowers greenish purple, 1.5 to 2 cm.
broad; fruit 2 to 2.5 cm. ong, yellowish orange to "scarlet," nearly smooth, but rarely bearing a few
spines, deeply umbilicate; seeds 3 to 5 cm. broad, with irregular faces and a thick, spongy commissure.
Type locality: Five miles east of Tucson, Arizona.
Distribution: Known only from the region about Tucson, Arizona.
The species was originally compared by Mr. Tourney with 0. thurbcri, with which he
thought it to be closely associated, but differing in "its longer, more strongly deflexed spines,
smaller and different-colored flowers."
The type specimen was not indicated, but Tourney's own plant, collected in 1895, which
was recently purchased by the U. S. National Herbarium, is doubtless the type.
Illustration: Bull. Torr. Club 32 : pi. 9, f. 2.
Plate ix, figure i, shows a joint painted by L. C. C. Kriegeratthe Desert Botanical
Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona.
10. Opuntia recondita Griffiths, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23: 131. 1913.
"A stout broad-branched shrub, i to 1.5 meters in height; trunk cylindric, 4 to 7 cm. in diam-
eter, with constrictions corresponding to each year's growth, with gray bark, and having a few lateral,
easily detachable, weakly spined joints about 10 cm. long, the remaining joints being 20 to 30 cm.
long, very spiny, in the second year about 2 cm. in diameter, tuberculate; tubercles forming a ridge,
flattening out below, above extending precipitously, about 2 to 5 cm. long, 5 to 6 mm. wide, and 4
to 5 mm. high, remaining recognizable three years, and then disappearing; areoles broadly obovate,
5 to 6 mm. in the longest diameter, in age becoming larger and more prominent, forming new wool
for several years; glochids yellow, in a thick 3 mm. long
cluster on the upper part of the areole, also smaller clusters
on the other parts of the areole, mostly at the base of the
longest and most central spine; spines first 2 to 4, later 6 to
8 or 10, upr ght, spreading, 2,5 to 5 cm. long, in cross-sec-
tion weakly circular, gray at the base, becoming deep red-
dish brown at the tips, surrounded the entire length by a
loose, comparatively bright sheath; between the spines are
scattered a few dirty-black, sheathless bristles about 6 mm.
long; leaves subulate, finely tipped, terete, 12 to 20 mm. long.
"Flowers bright purple, when open about 2.5 cm. in
diameter; petals finely and irregularly serrate, inconspic-
uously but finely irregularly notched; sepals thick, trian-
gular pointed, greenish purple; anthers greenish with purple
tinge; pistil greenish at base, with purple tinge above;
stigma-lobes 6, white; ovary obovoid, tuberculate, with small
areoles, 2 mm. in diameter, short greenish brown glochids
i to 2 mm. long, and i, 2, or 3 brown, caducous spines
sheathed in part; fruit not deciduous, 3 to 3.5 by 2 to 2.4
cm., large, greenish yellow with a reddish tinge on the outer-
most side, only weakly tuberculate in the second year, with
projecting brownish glochids 3 mm. long; seeds white, thick,
mostly flat but often lightly angled with narrowly thickened
edges, and often somewhat concave. "
Type locality: La Perla, Mexico.
Distribution: Known only from type locality, and,
to us, only from the description of which the above
is a translation by Mr. Russell.
11. Opuntia thurberi Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3:308. 1856.
Large bushy plants, 2 to 4 meters high; joints slender, elongated, 1.5 to 2.5 dm. long, 10 to 12
cm. in diameter; tubercles 1.5 to 2 cm. long, flattened laterally; leaves linear, 6 to 8 mm. long, spread-
FIG. 63. — Opuntia tluirberi. Natural size.
54 THE CACTACEAE.
ing; spines 3 to 5, short (10 to 12 mm. long), spreading, covered with thin, brown, papery sheaths,
the lowest one stoutest; flowers 3.5 cm. broad, brownish; fruit 2 cm. to 3 cm. long, spineless; seeds
nearly globular, 4 mm. in diameter.
Type locality: Bacuachi, Sonora, Mexico.
Distribution: Western coast of Mexico.
Opuntia thurberi has long been one of our least-known species. The type, which is
but a fragment, has not been clearly associated with any recent collections, but we are
disposed now to believe that specimens collected on the west coast of Mexico by Dr. Rose
in 1910 belong here. If we are correct, it ranges from Sonora to Sinaloa, Mexico. It is
sometimes associated with Opuntia vcrsicolor in its northern range, but is not so stout and
has fewer and longer spines.
Figure 63 is from a photograph of the type specimen.
12. Opuntia clavellina Engelmann in Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 444. 1896.
Plant i meter high or less, rather openly branched; ultimate joints slender, spreading or ascend-
ing, somewhat clavate, 5 to 10 cm. long, a little over i cm. in diameter; tubercles prominent,
elongated; spines 3 to 6 in a cluster, very long, covered with loose straw-colored or brown sheaths,
the central one much longer and porrect; flowers yellow; fruit clavate, short, tuberculate.
Type locality: Near Mision Purisima, Lower California.
Distribution: Interior of central Lower California.
The above description is based on the original one and on the type If the plant illus-
trated as cited below belongs here, this is a very distinct species, which was referred, however,
by Mrs. Brandegee to Opuntia molesta Brandegee.
Illustration: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. i6:pl. 129, A.
Of this series there is another peculiar Lower California species, perhaps nearest O.
clavellina, but of different habit and spines. It also suggests 0. tctracantha of Arizona.
It was obtained first by Dr. Rose in 1911, but was without flowers or fruit. It may be
characterized as follows:
OPUNTIA sp.
Stems slender (i to 1.5 cm. in diameter), weak, often clambering over bushes, pale green in
color, terete, pointed, 6 to 7 dm. long; areoles set on low tubercles, circular; chief spines 2 to 6,
only slightly spreading, nearly equal, 1.5 to 2.5 cm. long, clothed with loose straw-colored sheaths
(rose-colored when very young) ; accessory spines 3 or 4, almost bristle-like, borne from the lower
parts of the areoles; glochids short, greenish when young, yellow in age; flowers and fruit not seen.
Collected by Dr. J. N. Rose on Cerralvo Island, off southern Lower California, April 19,
1911 (No. 16875), and also by Nelson and Goldman on the same island in 1906 (No. 7524).
13. Opuntia davisii Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 305. 1856.
Plants low, 3 to 5 dm. high, much branched, their dense covering of straw-colored spines making
them conspicuous objects in the landscape; terminal joints slender, 6 to 8 cm. long, about i cm. in
diameter, strongly tuberculate; spines 6 to 12, unequal, the longest ones 4 to 5 cm. long, acicular,
covered with thin sheaths; glochids numerous, yellow; flowers, including ovary, 3.5 cm. long; petals
olive-green to yellow, broad, with rounded mucronate tips; ovary with large areoles bearing a few
spines each; fruit 3 cm. long, somewhat tuberculate, naked; seeds not known.
Type locality: Upper Canadian, about Tucumcari Hills, near the Llano Estacado.
Distribution: Western Texas and eastern New Mexico.
For many years this plant was not collected and the name was confused with other
species, so that at one time it was supposed to extend as far west as California. It is now
believed to have a rather circumscribed range. It is first seen going west on the Texas &
Pacific Railroad about Colorado, Texas.
The plant was named for Jefferson Davis, who was Secretary of War when Whipple's
report was made.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE IX
Krieger del. 1. 6
Kako Morita del. 2 to 5
1. Joint of Opunlia tetracantha. 2 to 5. Flowering joints of Opuntia verslcolor.
6. Proliferous fruits of Opuntia fulgida. (All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
55
Illustrations: Curtis's Bot. Mag. io8:pl. 6652; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 16.
Figure 64 is copied from the second illustration above cited.
14. Opuntia viridiflora sp. nov.
A low, round, bushy plant 30 to 60 cm. high; terminal joints 5 to 7 cm. long, 1.5 to 2 cm. thick,
often quite fragile; areoles prominent, flattened from the sides; areoles circular, filled with short,
yellow or dull-gray wool; spines 5 to 7, somewhat spreading, the longest ones 2 cm. long, dark brown
in color; glochids numerous, very short, yellow; flowers at tips of branches in clusters of 3 to 8, 3.5
to 4.5 cm. long (including ovary), "green, tinged with red"; fruit strongly tuberculate, except for a
few long, deciduous bristles, with a deep umbilicus; seeds smooth, white, 3 mm. broad.
FIG. 64. — Opuntia davisii. Xo-5
Fie;. 65. — Opuntia viridiflora. Xo.5.
FIG. 66. — Opuntia whipplei.
Collected in the vicinity of Santa Fe, New Mexico, altitude about 2,225 meters, by
Paul C. Standley, July 6, 1911 (No. 6493, type) and at the same locality by T. D. A. Cock-
erell in 1912, and by J. N. Rose in 1913 (No. 18776). It is quite common on the hills just
north of Santa Fe about Fort Marcy, where it is one of the dominant plants, but it was
not observed elsewhere in that region.
This species differs from Opuntia inibricata with which it is found, in its much lower
stature, more bushy habit, in its branches, spines, and smaller, differently colored flowers,
different fruit, and smaller seeds.
Figure 65 represents two joints of a specimen collected by Dr. Rose at the type locality
in 1913.
15. Opuntia whipplei Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 307. 1856.
Opuntia whipplei laevior Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 307. 1856.
Low, much branched, with long, fibrous roots; areoles prominent, flattened laterally, 10 to 15
cm. long, circular, filled with light-brown wool; glochids pale yellow, short; spines about 12, the
56 THE CACTACEAE.
longest about 2 cm. long, dark brown, covered with lighter colored papery sheaths; flowers yellow,
small (2 cm. broad); young ovary bearing brown spines in the axils of the leaves; fruit strongly
tuberculate, spineless, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, with a deeply depressed umbilicus, sometimes with only
one seed but usually many; seeds small, 4 cm. broad, smooth.
Type locality: About Zuni, New Mexico.
Distribution: Northern New Mexico and Arizona to southwestern Colorado and prob-
ably southern Utah. Also reported by Coulter in southern California, Lower California,
and Sonora, but not to be expected there.
Illustration: Pac. R. Rep. 4 : pi. 24, f. 9, 10.
Figure 66 is copied from the illustration above cited.
KIG. 67. — Opuntiu acanthocarpa in the foreground. Photograph by MacDougul.
Series 4. ECHINOCARPAE.
Dry-fruited, rather stout-jointed, bushy or depressed species, the areoles bearing several
spines, the flowers red, yellow, or yellowish. Four species, inhabiting the southwestern United
States, Sonora, and Lower Californja.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Tubercles elongated, 2 to 3 times as long as wide.
Fruit long-spiny, strongly tuberculate . .
Fruit short-spiny, little tuberculate
Tubercles short, less than twice as long as wide.
Spines with white or straw-colored sheaths. .
Spines with yellow-brown sheaths
.16. 0. acanthocarpa
.17. 0. parryi
. 18. 0. echinocarfta
.19. O. serpfntina
OPUNTIA. 57
16. Opuntia acanthocarpa Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 308. 1856.
Much branched, 1.5 to 2 meters high; branches becoming woody, alternate, making a narrow
angle with the trunk; terminal joints 4 to 8 cm. long, strongly tuberculate; tubercles elongated,
flattened laterally; spines 8 to 25, acicular, dark brown, covered with thin and lighter colored sheaths,
2 to 3 cm. long; glochids numerous, yellow; flowers large, red to yellow, 5 cm. long, and when fully
open nearly as broad; ovary rather short, turbinate, with few prominent tubercles; fruit dry, about
3 cm. long, naked below, tuberculate above, each tubercle crowned by a cluster of 10 to 12 stout
spines; umbilicus broad and somewhat depressed; seeds 5 to 6 cm. broad, sharply angular.
Type locality: On the mountains of Cactus Pass, Arizona, about 500 miles west of
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Distribution: Arizona and California; reported also from Utah, Nevada, and Sonora.
Illustrations: N. Amer. Fauna 7 : pi. 7, 8; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 18, f. i to 3; pi. 24, f. n.
Figure 67 is from a photograph by Dr. MacDougal of a plant near Pictured Rocks,
Tucson Mountains, Arizona.
17. Opuntia parryi Engelmann, Amer. Journ. Sci. II. 14: 339. 1852.
Opuntia bernardina Engelmann in Parish, Bull. Torr. Club 19: 92. 1892.
Low and bush-like, 2 to 4 dm. high; joints cylindric, 7 to 30 cm. long by 1.5 to 2 cm. in diameter,
strongly tuberculate; tubercles i to 1.5 cm. long; areoles rather large, bearing light-brown wool,
yellow glochids, and spines; spines about 10, dark brown, the longer ones 3 cm. long, covered with
loose sheaths; flowers, several near together at ends of branches, 4 cm. long; sepals greenish or dull
red ; petals yellow, obtuse ; stigma-lobes cream-colored ; ovary tuberculate ; fruit dry, ovoid, 2 cm. long,
strongly umbilicate, when mature and fertile plump, otherwise more or less tuberculate; areoles on
the fruit large, filled with wool and glochids, those at top of fruit often with short spines; seeds
white, 4 to 6 mm. broad, beaked, the margins channeled.
Type locality: Near San Felipe, eastern slope of California Mountains — San Jacinto
Mountains.
Distribution: Interior valleys of southern California.
This is common in some of the interior valleys of southern California, although its
range has not been very definitely determined. It was first collected by Dr. C. C. Parry
in 1851 and named for him by Dr. Engelmann in 1852; but when the latter again took up
this name a few years later, he associated it with a very different species, which most later
writers and dealers accepted as the true Opuntia parryi. Later on Dr. Engelmann segre-
gated a species which he named O. bernardina, including therein Parry's specimen, but this
was not published until after his death. We therefore regard 0. bernardina as a synonym
of 0. parryi, while the O. parryi of most collections becomes 0. parisJiii. We are under
obligation to Mr. C. R. Orcutt for first calling our attention to this confusion.
Mr. Orcutt thinks that this species is near 0. serpentina; but the former has larger
flowers, different spines, much less spiny fruit, and is of different habit.
Opuntia bernardina cristata Schumann (Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 12: 20. 1902), an
abnormal form, has been described.
Plate vu, figure 3, is from a plant collected by W. T. Schaller at Pala, California, show-
ing a leafy joint.
18. Opuntia echinocarpa Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 305. 1856.
Opuntia echinocarpa major Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3 : 305. 1856.
Opuntia echinocarpa nuda Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 446. 1896.
Opuntia echinocarpa parkeri Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3 : 446. 1896.
Opuntia echinocarpa robustior Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 446. 1896.
Opuntia deserta Griffiths, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23: 132. 1913.
Plant usually low, but sometimes 1.5 meters high, much branched and widely spreading, with
a short woody trunk 2 to 3 cm. in diameter, in age with nearly smooth bark; joints short, turgid,
strongly tuberculate; spines numerous, when young bright yellow, when older brownish, or in age
grayish, unequally covered with thin papery sheaths; flowers yellowish, but the sepals often tipped
with red; ovary short, turbinate, densely spiny especially in the upper part; fruit dry, very spiny;
seeds somewhat angular, 4 mm. broad.
THE CACTACEAE.
Type locality: In the Colorado Valley near the mouth of Bill Williams River.
Distribution: Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California, and Lower California.
Coulter has described three varieties of this species, none of which is quite typical, but
without seeing more specimens we can only refer them all to the species proper. His
variety parkeri seems more like a very spiny form of 0. parryi. O. parkeri Kngelmann
(Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3 : 446. 1896) was published as a synonym.
Mrs. Brandegee thought Opnntia ecliinocarpa tntda very near O. alcahes, if not identical
with it (Erythrea 5: 122).
Illustrations: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 18, f.5 to 10; pi. 24, f. 8; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23 :
132, the last as Opuntia desert a.
Plate vn, figure 4, is from a plant collected by Dr. Rose near the Salton Sink, Cali-
fornia, showing a flowering joint.
19. Opuntia serpentina Engelmann, Amer. Journ. Sci. II. 14: 338. 1852.
Cereus californicus Torrey and Gray, Fl. N. Amcr. i: 555. 1840. Not Opuntia ralifornica Engelmann.
1848.
Opitntia culifornica Covillc, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 13: 119. 1899.
Ascending, erect, or prostrate; branches slender, 2 to 2.5 cm. in diameter, bluish green, strongly
tuberculate; leaves minute; tubercles elevated, i to 1.5 cm. long, longer than broad, flattened; spines
7 to 20, brown, covered with yellowish-brown papery sheaths about i cm. long; glochids light brown;
flowers close together at the top of short branches, about 4 cm. broad, greenish yellow, the outer
petals tinged with red; ovary strongly tuberculate, spiny, with a depressed umbilicus; fruit dry, very
spiny.
Type locality: Near the seacoast about San Diego, California.
Distribution: Southern California and northern Lower California.
Cactus californicus Nuttall, although given in the Index Kewensis
( i : 367) , was never published by Nuttall, although he did have the name
in manuscript, as stated in Torrey and Gray's "Flora" in the place cited
above, where it was taken up as a Cereus.
Figure 68 is from a plant collected by Mr. G. Sykes near San
Diego, California.
Series 5. BIGELOVIANAE.
We recognize two species in this series, natives of the southwestern
United States and Lower California. They are low, bushy plants, with
short definite trunks densely covered with short, stout, very spiny branches,
the spines white, straw-colored, or yellow, the tubercles, at least those of
young shoots, little if any longer than broad, and considerably elevated.
Their fruits are fleshy berries.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Larger spines numerous; upper tubercles on fruit larger than lower ones 20. O.bigelovii
Larger spines 4 to 6; tubercles on fruit all alike 21. 0. ciribe
20. Opuntia bigelovii Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 307. 1856.
Usually with a central, erect trunk, i meter high or less, with short
lateral branches, the upper ones erect; joints usually 5 to 15 cm. long, very
turgid, with closely set areoles and almost impenetrable armament; tubercles
slightly elevated, pale green, somewhat 4-sided, about as long as broad, i cm. broad or less; spines,
as well as their papery sheaths, pale yellow; flowers several, borne at the tips of the branches, 4
cm. long including the ovary; sepals orbicular, about i cm. in diameter, tinged with red; petals
about 1.5 cm. long, pale magenta to crimson; ovary 2 cm. long, its large areoles bearing brown wool
and several acicular spines; fruit usually naked, strongly tuberculate, the upper tubercles larger than
the lower.
FIG. 68. — Opuntia ser-
pentina. Xo.66
OPUNTIA.
59
Type locality: Bill Williams River, Arizona.
Distribution: Southern Nevada, Arizona, California, northern vSonora, and northern
Lower California.
Illustrations: Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethn. 26: pi 12; Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 16 : pi.
128, B; Hornaday, Camp-fires on Desert and Lava, facing p. 154; Journ. N. Y. Bot. Card.
5 : f . 16 ; Pac. R. Rep. 4 : pi. 19 ; Plant World 1 11" : f. 10.
Figure 69 is from a photograph by Dr. MacDougal of a plant in Pima Canyon, Santa
Catalina Mountains, Arizona; figure 70 is copied from the Pacific Railroad Report above
cited.
21. Opuntia ciribe Kngelmann in Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 445. 1896.
One meter high or less, with numerous stout branches densely armed; ultimate joints 4 to 5 cm.
in diameter, strongly and regularly tuberculate, 3 cm. in diameter; tubercles about as long as broad
FIG. 69. — Opuntia bigelovii.
FIG. 70. — Opuntia bigelovii. Xo.66.
(5 to 7 cm. broad) ; larger spines 4 to 6, stout, 2 to 3 cm. long, covered with loose yellow sheaths,
accompanied by several bristle-like spines or hairs; glochids numerous; flowers yellow; ovary some-
what bristly; fruit strongly tuberculate, 3 to 4 cm. long, spineless.
Type locality: Comondu and Loreto northward to beyond Rosario, Lower California.
Distribution: Central Lower California.
Opuntia ciribe is near 0. bigelovii, but differs from it in having less spiny stems and
globular, slightly different fruits.
Figure 71 is from a photograph of a plant collected by Dr. Rose at the head of Con-
cepcion Bay, Lower California; figure 72 is from a drawing of a joint from the same plant.
6o
THE CACTACRAR.
Vic,. 71. — Opuntia ciribe.
FIG. 72. — Opuntia ciribe. Xo.S.
Series 6. IMBRICATAE.
The typical species are tall, much branched, very spiny. The terminal joints are fleshy and
strongly tuberculate, the tubercles large and flattened laterally. The fruit is either smooth or
strongly tuberculate. We recognize 8 species, natives of Mexico and southwestern United States.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints cylindric ; tubercles much flattened laterally.
Fruit smooth or but slightly tuberculate.
Branches very stout, 5 cm. thick or more ...2-2.0. cholla
Branches relatively slender, 2 cm. thick or less.
Plant glaucous; spines 4 at an areole ... 23. 0. calmatliana
Plant not glaucous; spines more than 4 at an areole 24. 0. versicolor
Fruit manifestly tuberculate.
Tall species, up to 2 or 4 meters high.
Flowers small; petals 1.5 cm. long. ... . .25. 0. lloydii
Flowers large; petals 2 to 3 cm. long . . .26. 0. imbricate
Low species, 6 dm. high or less.
Flowers yellow . .27. 0. tunicata
Flowers rose-colored . . 28. O. pallida
Joints clavate; tubercles not much flattened laterally. . . .29. 0. molesta
22. Opuntia cholla Weber, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris i: 320. 1895.
Usually tree-like, i to 3 meters high, with a definite trunk 7 to 15 cm. in diameter; trunk
very spiny at first and becoming more spiny each year for some time, but in age spineless and
developing a smooth, brownish yellow bark; top of plant often dense and broad; joints often in
whorls, horizontal, pale, with large compressed tubercles; spines usually numerous, more or less
porrect, covered with loose brownish sheaths; glochids numerous, yellow; flowers rather small,
3 cm. broad, deep purple; fruit often 4 to 5 cm. long, usually proliferous, often in long chains of 8
to 12 individuals or forming compound clusters; seeds numerous, very small, often abortive.
OPUNTIA.
61
Type locality: In Lower California.
I>istribntion: Lower California.
This is one of the commonest opuntias in southern Lower California and was usually
seen by Dr. Rose at every locality visited south of Magdalena Bay on the west coast and on
the east coast as far north as Muleje. It is undoubtedly the plant referred to 0. prolifera by
Mr. Brandegee, but it differs in habit and armament from that species ; the fruit of O. pro-
lifera is nearly or quite devoid of seeds, while this species often has numerous small ones.
In this species, as in a few other opuntias, the fruits are quite proliferous, hanging on for a
number of years and usually remaining green. They are, however, easily detached, and
on falling to the ground, readily
take root and start new colonies.
Our illustration shows some of
the fruits which have already
rooted and have developed young
joints.
The plant here described is
the true "cholla" of the people
of Lower California, and is the
plant cultivated under that name
by A. Berger at La Mortola from
a cutting of Weber's type speci-
men, and by the late Mr. Darrah
at Manchester, England.
Illustrations: Contr. U. S.
Nat. Herb. 16: pi. 128, A; Kar-
sten and Schenk, Vegetations-
bilder 13 : pi. 17, B.
Figure 73 is from a photo-
graph of a plant collected by Dr.
Rose at Cape San Lucas; figure
74 represents a joint of the same
plant; figures 75 and 76 repre-
sent its proliferous fruits devel-
oping new joints.
23. Opuntia calmalliana Coulter,
Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 453.
1896.
"Habit and height unknown;
joints cylindrical, i to 2 cm. in
diameter, glaucous, with linear-
oblong crested (mostly distinct) tubercles 20 to 25 mm. long; pulvini densely covered with yellow-
ish wool, and with a penicillate tuft of whitish bristles at upper edge; spines usually 4, the upper
one stout and porrect, reddish with yellowish tip (as are all the spines), 2 to 2.5 cm. long (occa-
sionally i to 2 short upper ones added), the usually 3 (sometimes 4) lower ones more slender and
sharply deflexed, i to 1.5 cm. long (occasionally one of them longer); flowers apparently purple;
ovary covered with very prominent woolly pulvini which are more or less bristly and spiny, but
ripening into a smooth juicy obovate fruit; seeds discoid and beaked, irregularly angular, with
broad commissure, about 4 mm. broad." (Coulter, /. c.)
Type locality: Calmalli, Lower California.
Distribution: Lower California.
Type in the Brandegee Herbarium, University of California.
FIG. 73. — Opuntiu cliollu.
62
THE CACTACEAE.
Referred by Mrs. Brandegee (Erythea 5 : 122) to 0. nwlcsta Brandegee. It is closely
related to 0. molcsta, but its spines are different, though on the same general plan, and its
seeds are quite different.
I'IGS. 74. 75, 76. — Opuntia cholla. Xo.66.
24. Opuntia versicolor Engelmann in Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 452. 1896.
Opunlia arborescciis versicolor E. Dams, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 14: 3. 1904.
Bush or tree-like, 2 to 4 meters high, with a large, open top sometimes 5 meters broad; trunk
and larger stems woody throughout, except the younger branches; terminal joints 10 to 20 cm.
long, 2.5 cm. in diameter, variously colored, not strongly tuberculate when living; tubercles 1.5
cm. long; spines 5 to n, 5 to 25 mm. long, dark colored, with close-fitting sheaths; glochids red-
dish brown; flowers variously colored, yellow, greenish, reddish, or brown, 3 to 5.5 cm. broad;
ovary tuberculate, with large areoles bearing wool, glochids, and long deciduous bristles; fruit
persisting for months, sometimes for a year, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, at first somewhat tuberculate, becom-
ing pear-shaped or globose, sometimes proliferous; seeds white, 5 mm. broad.
Type locality: Tucson, Arizona.
Distribution: Arizona and northern Mexico.
This species is common on the lower foothills and is only rarely found on the mesas.
It is of slow growth, propagating almost entirely from seed. As the name suggests, it has
flowers of many colors ; each plant has its own color and the color of the flowers is to a
greater or less extent paralleled in that of the branches. The contrast in color shown by
a colony of these plants is very striking and one's first impression is that more than one
species exists.
Named specimens of this species were distributed by the late Dr. C. G. Pringle in
1 88 1, but the species was not published until 1896.
Illustrations: Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 67: pi. 6, f. i; Bull. Torrey Club 32: pi. 9, f.
4 to 8; Hornaday, Camp-fires on Desert and Lava, pi. facing p. 18, 116, 320; N. Mex. Agr.
Exp. Sta. Bull. 60 : pi. 6, f. i ; Plant World nin: f. 8; Sargent, Man. Trees N. Amer. f. 561.
Plate vii, figure 5, represents a fruiting joint; plate vin, figure 2, is from a photo-
graph taken by Dr. MacDougal near the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona ;
plate ix, figures 2 to 5, are paintings made at the Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Ari-
zona, by Kako Morita, showing the range in color of the flowers.
OPUNTIA.
25. Opuntia lloydii Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 292. 1909.
Much branched, 2 to 3 meters high and nearly as broad; joints terete, 2 cm. in diameter;
tubercles prominent, oblong; spines few, on last year's joints 3, reddish, 1.5 cm. long; leaves terete,
6 to 8 mm. long; flowers 3 cm. long, opening after midday; petals 15 mm. long, dull purple; lila-
ments olive-green below purplish above; style rose-colored; stigma-lobes white; ovary yellowish,
strongly tuberculate, naked; fruit 3 cm. long, yellow to orange, slightly tuberculate.
Type locality: On foot slopes, Hacienda de Cedros, Zacatecas, Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico.
According to F. E. Lloyd, for whom this species was named, it is known to the Mexi-
cans as tasajo macho.
We have had this plant in cultivation for several years, but it does not grow well
under glass; these specimens have white areoles; no glochids are developed the first
FIG. 77. — Opuntia Iloydii.
FIG. 78. — Opuntia lloydii. Photograph by F. E. Lloyd.
year, but on old branches dark-brown bunches of glochids are developed in the upper
edges of the areoles, and the several brownish spines are acicular.
Illustration: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: f. 34; pi. 25.
Figure 77 represents two joints of the type specimen; figure 78 is from a photograph
of the type plant.
26. Opuntia imbricate (Haworth) De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 471. 1828.
Cereus imbricatus Haworth, Rev. PI. Succ. 70. 1821.
Cactus cylindricus James, Cat. 182. 1825. Not Lamarck. 1783.
Cactus bleo Torrey, Ann. Lye. N. Y. 2: 202. 1828. Not Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth.
Opuntia rosea De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 471. 1828.
Opuntia decipiens De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: 118. 1828.
Opuntia exuviata De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: 118. 1828.
Opuntia exuviata atigustior De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: 118. 1828.
Opuntia exuviata spinosiar De Candolle. Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: 118. 1828.
Opuntia exuviata stellala Lemaire, Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 67. 1839.
Opuntia exuviata viridior Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 48. 1845.
Opuntia arborescens Engelmann in Wislizenus, Mem. Tour North. Mex. 90. 1848.
Opuntia imbricata crassior Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 249. 1850.
1823.
64 THE CACTACEAE.
Opuntia imbricata ramosior Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 73. 1850.
Opuntia imbricata teiniior Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 73. 1850.
Opunlia vcxans Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 22: 28. 1912.
Opuntia ntagna Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 23. 1914.
Opuntia spinotecta Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 24. 1914.
Tree-like, often 3 meters high or higher, with a more or less definite woody trunk 2.5 cm. in
diameter; ultimate joints 2 to 3 cm. in diameter, strongly tuberculate; leaves 8 to 24 mm. long,
terete; tubercles 2 to 2.5 cm. long, flattened laterally; spines 8 to 30, 2 to 3 cm. long, brown, covered
with papery sheaths; flowers borne at ends of branches, 4 to 6 cm. long, sometimes 8 to 9 cm. broad,
purple; ovary tuberculate, bearing a few bristles from some of the upper areoles; fruit naked, yellow,
2.5 to 3 cm. long, strongly tuberculate or, when long persistent, smooth; seeds 2.5 to 3.5 mm. in
diameter.
Type locality: Unknown; introduced into England by L,oddiges in 1820.
Distribution: Central Colorado to Texas, New Mexico, and central Mexico.
The plant is hardy in southwestern Kansas, and has been recorded as a native of
that State; it has existed through three winters out of doors at the New York Botanical
Garden, but has made little growth.
We have followed Schumann and Weber in uniting Opuntia arborcsccns and 0. inibri-
chta. As thus treated, the species has a wide geographic distribution, and in our view
con sists of many slightly differing races. In its northern limits it is much smaller than in
its southern range.
Opuntia cristata tcninor Salrn-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 49. 1845, name only),
0. dccipiens major Hort. in Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 49. 1845, as synonym), O.
cristata Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 50. 1842), and 0. stcllata Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort.
Dyck. 50. 1842) are unpublished names. 0. nitlici is a garden name mentioned by Berger.
Opunlia cxitriata major (Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 49. 1845) is an unpub-
lished name.
Opuntia cardcnche Griffiths (Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: 259. pi. 21, in part. 1908) is
described as standing between Opnniia klciniac and (>. imbricata, being stouter than the
FIG. 79. — Opuntia imbricata.
OPUNTIA.
one and more slender than the other. It resembles very closely specimens collected by
Dr. Rose at Ixmiquilpan, Mexico, in 1905, which we have referred to 0. kleiiiiac.
Opuntia galcotiii de Smet (Miquel, Nederl. Kruidk. Arch. 4: 337. 1858) and 0.
costigera Miquel (Nederl. Kruidk. Arch. 4 : 338. 1858), if really from Mexico, may belong
here, but the descriptions are indefinite. Dr. Schumann did not know them.
Opuntia mendocienses (Cat. Darrah Succ. Manchester 56. 1908) is said to be "prob-
ably only a form of 0. imbricata."
Opuntia nnditlata Link and Otto (Verh. Ver. Beford. Gartenb. 6: 434. 1830) was not
published. According to Pfeiffer, it is the same as 0. exuviata, which we refer here.
Opuntia decipiens minor (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 172. 1837) is unpublished.
Cactus subquadrifolius Mocino and Sesse (De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 471. 1828) was given
as a synonym of Opuntia rosca and therefore belongs here.
-,
FIG. 80. — Opuntia tunicata.
FIG. 81. — Opuntia pallida.
Illustrations: Agr. Gaz. N. S. W. 22 : pi. opp. p. 696; Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. 31 : pi.
5 ; pi. 6, f. i ; Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 73, f. 7, 8 ; Curtis's Bot. Mag. 135 : pi. 8290; N. Mex.
Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: pi. 7, f. 2; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 134; Mem. Mus. Hist.
Nat. Paris 17: pi. 15; W. Watson, Cact. Cult. f. 85, the last three as Opuntia rosea. W.
Watson, Cact. Cult. f. 8, in part, this as Opuntia decipiens. Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethn.
26: pi. 8, f. a; Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 75, f. 16, 17; Gard. Chron. III. 34: f. 36; Gard.
and For. 9 : f . i ; Illustr. Fl. 2 : f. 2533; ed. 2. 2 : f . 2992; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 78 :
pi. [10]; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 17, f. 5, 6; pi. 18, f. 4; pi. 24, f. 12; Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22:
pi. 7, in part; all as Opuntia arborescens. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22 : pi. 6, 7, in part, these
two as Opuntia vcxans.
Plate xi, figure i, represents a joint of a plant collected by W. L. Bray in western
Texas. Figure 79 is from a photograph taken by Professor F. E. Lloyd in Zacatecas,
Mexico, in 1908.
27. Opuntia tunicata (Lehmann) Link and Otto in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 170. 1837.
Cactus tiniicatits Lehmann, Ind. Sem. Hort. Hamb. 6. 1827.
Opuntia stapeliae De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: 117. 1828.
Opuntia hystrix Grisebach, Cat. PI. Cub. 117. 1866.
Opuntia perrita Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22 : 33. 1912.
66 THE CACTACEAE.
Very variable, sometimes low and spreading from the base and forming broad clumps, at other
times 5 to 6 dm. high, with a more or less definite woody stem and numerous lateral branches; joints
easily detached, sometimes short and nearly globular to narrowly oblong, 10 to 15 cm. long, strongly
tuberculate; spines reddish, normally 6 to 10, elongated, 4 to 5 cm. long, covered with thin, white,
papery sheaths ; flowers 3 cm. long, yellow; petals obtuse; ovary often bearing long spines at the
areoles, but usually naked.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Highlands of central Mexico; also in Ecuador, Peru, and northern Chile.
Opuntia stapcliae has long puzzled collectors and students of cacti. We are convinced
now that it is only starved or stunted greenhouse specimens of the common 0. tunicata.
When grown in cultivation, 0. tunicata takes on abnormal shapes, for the joints, which
break off easily, rarely grow to their full size. In its native home many small dwarf plants
are found everywhere about the larger plants. We have discussed this explanation of
O. stapcliae with Mr. A. Berger, and he agrees with our conclusion.
No specimens of the type of 0. stapeliae are preserved in the De Candolle Herbarium.
The plant figured as Opuntia stapelia: (?) by Goebel in Pflanzenbiologische (f. 36) does not
belong here. It is erect, has strongly tuberculate joints, very short spines and narrow
elongated leaves.
Cereus tunicatus (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 170. 1837) is given as a synonym of Opuntia
tunicata, but has never been formally taken up.
We believe Opuntia hystrix Grisebach, collected by C. Wright in Cuba, belongs here,
probably being an escape from a garden. Dr. Rose examined the specimens in the Krug
and Urban Herbarium in Berlin in 1912; the loose sheaths of the spines of these specimens
are now brown, while the flowers seemed a little smaller than those of the Mexican speci-
mens. The flowers were described as red.
Opuntia furiosa Wendland (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 170. 1837) is referred to O. tunicata
by Pfeiffer, while Salm-Dyck refers it to his variety 0. tunicata laevior (Cact. Hort. Dyck.
1849. 73. 1850).
Illustrations: Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. 31 : pi. 4; Cact. Journ. i : October; The Garden 62 :
425; SafTord, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst. 1908: pi. 10, f. 5; Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 2;
Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22 : pi. 13, 14, these two as Opuntia pcrrita.
Plate x, figure i, represents a joint of a plant collected by Dr. Rose near Cuzco,
Peru. Figure 80 is from a photograph of the same plant.
28. Opuntia pallida Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 507. 1908.
Stems 5 cm. in diameter, about i meter high, with widely spreading branches, the whole plant
often broader than high ; old areoles very spiny, often bearing 20 spines or more, often 3 to 4 cm. long,
with white, papery sheaths; young areoles bearing few spines; ovary tuberculate, the areoles
either naked or bearing a few bristly spines; flowers pale rose-colored; petals 15 mm. long.
Type locality: Near Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Distribution: State of Hidalgo, Mexico.
This species is known only from near Tula, Mexico, where it was discovered by Dr.
J. N. Rose in 1905, and afterwards collected near the same station by Mr. E. W. Nelson.
It grows interspersed with O. inibricata, but is much lower in stature and has smaller leaves
and lighter-colored flowers. It is much like 0. tunicata, but that species has yellow flowers
and is always smaller.
Illustration: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: pi. 17, A.
Figure Si is from a photograph of the type specimen.
29. Opuntia molesta Brandegee, Proc. Cal. Acad. II. 2: 164. 1889.
Stems i to 2 meters high, or in cultivation only 6 dm. high, with few, long, spreading branches;
joints clavate to subcylindric, 10 to 40 cm. long, sometimes as much as 4 cm. in diameter at the top,
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE X
•^W:?
w^Avt*.3»fe
/a
»
*f
k«v
M. E. Eaton del. 1. 4. 5
Kako Morita del . 2, 3
1. Joiut of Opuntia tunicata. 2 to 5. Joints of Opuntia spinosior.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
67
pale green, with low, broad tubercles, these elongated and often 4 cm. long or more; leaves linear,
10 mm. long or less; spines few, 6 to 10, unequal, the longest ones 2.5 to 5 cm. long, straw-colored,
with loose, papery sheaths; flowers purple, 5 cm. in diameter; fruit ovoid, 2.5 cm. long, somewhat
spiny or naked; seeds 6 mm. in diameter, irregular in shape.
Type locality: San Ignacio, Lower California.
Distribution: Lower California.
The type of the species is deposited in the Brandegee Herbarium, now a part of the
herbarium of the University of California. Living plants have been distributed by A.
Berger from La Mortola, Italy, and are now to be found in various collections.
In the Index Kewensis, first supplement, this species is wrongly entered as Opiintia
modesta!
Figure 82 is from a photograph of a plant sent
from La Mortola, Italy, to the New York Botanical
Garden in 1913.
Series 7. FULGIDAE.
Much branched, bushy plants, usually with the termi-
nal joints very fleshy, the tubercles broad and low, about as
broad as long. The species, of which we recognize five,
inhabit the southwestern United States and western Mexico.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints very readily detached, freely falling ...
Joints not very readily detached, persistent.
Spines brown or reddish, at least at base.
Branches slender; fruit not proliferous . . 31
Branches stout; fruit proliferous 32
Spines white or yellow.
Spines white; petals greenish yellow, i cm.
long orl ess 33
Spines yellow; petals red, 2 cm. long 34
30. 0. fiilgi/Ja
0. spinosior
0. prolifcrn
0. alcahes
O. burrageaiia
30. Opuntia fulgida Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3:306.
1856.
Opuntia mamillata Schott in Engelmann, Proc. Amer.
Acad. 3: 308. 1856.
Opuntia fulgida mamillata Coulter. Contr. U. S. Nat.
Herb. 3 : 449. 1896.
Plant sometimes 3 meters high or even more, with a
rather definite woody trunk 10 to 20 cm. in diameter,
much branched, sometimes almost from the base, and
forming a compact flattened crown; terminal joints 10 to
20 cm. long, 3 to 5 cm. in diameter, very succulent, strongly
tuberculate, easily breaking off; spines 2 to 12, yellowish
to brown, 2. 5 to 3. 5 cm. long, acicular, covered with loose,
papery sheaths; glochids small, whitish to light yellow;
flowers light rose, 2.5 to 3 cm. broad; petals few, obtuse;
FIG. 82. — Opuntia molesta.
stamens and style very short; fruit at first tuberculate, in age smooth, somewhat pear-shaped, 2 to
5 cm. long, green, usually very proliferous; seeds rather small, 4 mm. broad, often wanting.
Type locality: Mountains of western Sonora, Mexico.
Distribution: Gravelly and sandy situations, southern Arizona, Sonora, and Sinaloa.
We consider 0. mamillata as synonymous with 0. fulgida; in herbarium and green-
house specimens we can find no constant differences. Professor J. J. Thornber, who has long
studied this group, says there is no difference between the flowers and fruits, and that there
is no difference in distribution (Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 67 : 501). In the field, however,
one can see two rather distinct forms which differ in armament, the typical plant being
the more spiny.
This is one of the most characteristic opuntias of southern Arizona, being very abun-
dant on the valley slopes and lower foothills. It often forms dense colonies almost to the
exclusion of other cacti, or it may be associated with other species, especially of Opuntia.
68 THE CACTACEAE.
It is a most troublesome plant to come in contact with, for, as the sharp, barbed spines
pierce the flesh, the joints easily break loose from the plant and are detached with difficulty
from the unfortunate victim.
The flowering season extends from early spring to September. The fruit is markedly
proliferous, often developing in chains, and so persisting for several years, possibly eight
or ten years, as suggested by Professor D. S. Johnson. They grow in chains of 8 or 9
fruits (12 to 14 have been reported), several chains hanging from a single joint and forming
a large cluster. We have seen as many as 38 fruits (40 to 50 have been reported) in a
single cluster, ,and doubtless under favorable conditions many more would be found.
These juicy fruits, usually spineless, are much sought by grazing animals.
According to Professor Johnson, who has studied this species several years, the seeds
are not known to germinate in nature. Only by cutting away a part of the hard, bony coat
could they be made to germinate in the greenhouse. The species is propagated easily
by the terminal joints, which come off readily and are transported far and wide like burs,
and soon strike root on reaching the soil. New plants are also started occasionally by the
fruits themselves.
This species appears to hybridize with 0. spinosior.
Illustrations: Ariz. Agr. Hxp. Sta. Bull. 67 : pi. i, f. 2; Bull. Torr. Club 32 : pi. 9, f. i ;
Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 75, f. 18; Card, and For. 8: f. 46; Hornaday, Camp-fires on Desert
and Lava opp. p. 42, 320; Lumholtz, New Trails in Mex. opp. p. 18; Monatsschr. Kakteenk.
18: 153; Nat. Geogr. Mag. 21: 710; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: pi. 6, f. 2; Plant
World ue: f. i, in part; ii'": f. 9, in part; Sargent, Man. Trees N. Amer. f. 559; Ariz. Agr.
Exp. Sta. Bull. 67: pi. 5, f. i; Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 75, f. 19; Lumholtz, New Trails in
Mex. opp. p. 152; Nat. Geogr. Mag. 21 : 710; Plant World n1': f. i, in part; n10: f. 9, in
part, the last six as Opuntia mamillata; Carnegie Inst. Wash. 269: Frontispiece; pi. i to
7; pi. 8, f. 76 to 79; pi. 12.
Plate ix, figure 6, represents the proliferous fruit ; plate xn, figure i , is from a photo-
graph taken by Dr. MacDougal near Tucson, Arizona, showing the typical plant to the
left and the less spiny plant to the right.
31. Opuntia spinosior (Engelmann) Tourney, Bot. Gaz. 25: 119. 1898.
Opitntia u'hipplci spinosior Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3 : 307. 1856.
Plants 2 to 4 meters high, tree-like in habit, with a more or less definite, woody trunk, openly
branched; ultimate joints i to 3 dm. long, 1.5 to 2.5 cm. in diameter, often bright purple,
strongly tuberculate; tubercles about 6 to 12 mm. long, longer than broad, more or less flattened
laterally; spines 6 to 12, but on old branches sometimes as many as 25, 10 to 15 mm. long, diver-
gent, gray to brownish, covered with thin sheaths; glochids yellowish white; flower-buds short,
acute; flowers 5 to 6 cm. broad, purple to pink, ye'low, or even white; petals about 10, broad at
apex, narrowed at base; style thick, cream-colored or pinkish; ovary tuberculate, bearing small,
purple leaves and long, white, easily detached bristles; fruit strongly tuberculate, spineless, yellow,
globose to broad'y oblong, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, with a depressed umbilicus; seeds white, 4 mm. broad,
smooth, with a very indistinct marginal band.
Type locality: South of the Gila River.
Distribution: Arizona, western New Mexico, and northern Mexico.
Opuntia spinosior neomexicana (Tourney, Bot. Gaz. 25: 119. 1898) seems to be a
yellow-flowered form of this species. Mr. Tourney writes that his original material of
this variety came from the low foothills north of the Rillito River near Tucson.
Opuntia spinosior was described by Engelmann in 1856 as a variety of 0. whipplci, to
which it is only remotely related, but it was not separated until 1898, when it was described
as distinct by Professor J. W. Tourney.
Illustrations: Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 67 : pi. i, f. i ; pi. 5, f. 2 ; Gard. and For. 9 : f . i ;
N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: pi. 7, f. i; Plant World n10: f. 7; Sargent, Man. Trees
N. Amer. f. 560.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XI
M. E. Eaton del
1. Leafy branch of Opunlia inihricata. 3,4. Forms of Opuntia alcahes.
2. Flowering branch of Opuntia pro/iiera. 5,6. Opunlia vestita.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
Plate x, figures 2 and 3, are from paintings showing different flower-colors, made at
the Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona; figure 4 represents a fruiting joint of a plant
collected by F. Gilman at Sacaton, Arizona; and figure 5 represents a leaf -bearing joint
of the same plant; plate xn, figure 2, is from a photograph of the plant in the Tucson
Mountains, Arizona, by Dr. MacDougal.
32. Opuntia prolifera Engelmann, Amer. Journ. Sci. II. 14: 338. 1852.
Stems i to 2 meters high, the trunk and old branches terete and woody; terminal joints 3 to
12 cm. long, easily breaking off, fleshy, covered with short, more or less turgid tubercles; spines 6
to 12, brown, 10 to 12 mm. long; glochids pale; flowers small; sepals orbicular, obtuse, dark red;
petals red; filaments yellow; style stout; stigma-lobes red; ovary i cm. long, strongly tuberculate;
upper areoles bearing 2 to 6 reddish spines or the joints naked throughout; fruit proliferous, 3 to
3.5 cm. long and often without seeds; seeds, if present, large, regular, 6 mm. broad.
Type locality: Arid hills about San Diego, California.
Distribution: Southern California and coast of Lower California.
The range of this species is not well known. We have referred here, with some doubt,
specimens collected by Dr. Rose on Guadalupe Island, off the coast of Lower California, as
well as specimens from the south end of Lower California, but we have seen no flowers from
these Lower California collections. A peculiar form less than 5 dm. high with bluish-green
joints and small seeds, from near Newport, Orange County, California, deserves further study.
This species, although common in southern California, has never been fully and accu-
rately described. It is often confused in collections with 0. scrpcutina, with which it grows,
although they are very different.
In greenhouse specimens the joints and spines are not well developed.
Illustration: Meehan's Monthly 3 : pi. i.
Plate xi, figure 2, represents a flowering joint of a plant col-
lected by E. W. Nelson and E. A. Goldman in Lower California,
which bloomed at the New York Botanical Garden in April 1914.
Figure 83 represents a joint of a plant sent from La Mortola,
Italy, in 1912; figure 84 is from a photograph of this plant.
Of this relationship, but of very different habit, is the species
collected by Dr. Rose on West San Benito Island in 1911. Unfor-
tunately no flowers or fruits could be obtained, and hence we have
not named it here. It may be briefly characterized as follows:
OPUNTIA sp.
Low, much branched plants; joints short (10 cm. long), thick, and
fleshy; leaves cylindric, 10 mm. long, acute; areoles distant, circular,
bearing brown wool, tawny glochids and numerous spines; spines 6 to
8, often 4 cm. long, slender, reddish brown, inclosed in loose, thin, brownish
sheaths. Collected by Dr. J. N. Rose on West San Benito Island, off
the west coast of Lower California, March 9, 1911 (No. 16043).
33. Opuntia alcahes Weber, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris i: 321. 1895.
Plant about i meter high, much branched, very spiny, especially when FIG. 83 .-Opuntia prolifera
old; branches terete; spines on young joints about 12, short, covered with
white or very pale sheaths; tubercles prominent, diamond-shaped; leaves small, i cm. long, terete,
somewhat bronzed; sepals small, brownish, closely imbricated, hardly spreading at tips' petals
sometimes wanting, or, if present, about i cm. long, greenish yellow, obtuse; stamens numerous-
stigma-lobes very short, 6 to 8, at first exserted beyond the sepals, yellowish; fruit globular'
small, becoming turgid in age, yellowish, more or less proliferous, the umbilicus truncated or
slightly depressed.
Type locality: In Lower California.
Distribution: Lower California.
70 THE CACTACEAE.
Plate xi, figure 3, represents a leaf -bearing joint of a plant obtained by the same col-
lector on Espiritu Santo Island, Lower California; figure 4 is from a plant sent to the New
York Botanical Garden from La Mortola, Italy, in 1906. Figure 85 is from a photograph
of a plant collected by Dr. Rose at San Francisquito, Lower California.
34. Opuntia burrageana sp. nov.
Usually low and bushy, rarely i meter high; stems slender, i to 2 cm. in diameter, densely
spiny; leaves small, 2 mm. long, green, early deciduous; old stem and branches terete; young
FIG. 84. — Opuntia prulifera
FIG. 85. — Opuntia alcahes.
joints cylindric to narrow-clavate, 15 cm. long or less; areoles closely set; tubercles rather low,
not much broader than long; spines numerous, similar, spreading, rarely 2 cm. long, all covered
with thin, bright-yellow sheaths; wool in areoles short, brown; glochids, when present, short, light
yellow; flower 3 to 4 cm. broad; petals few, brownish red with green bases ; filaments green ; stigma-
lobes white; ovary very spiny; fruit not proliferous, globular, 2 cm. in diameter, somewhat tuber-
culate, probably dry; seeds pale, 4 mm. in diameter.
Common on the hills along the coast of southern Lower California.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XII
- VJMC ?#M3£*tf>
2
' -'-L
'"'-'" ""'•• **^-;'
•P, '^^^EPswdteJfcBi^.7 *'•" ' — "- •- . -. •*- _. • •• ""
Jf^"^^v
1. Plants of Ofwntia fnlgida.
2. A very open plant of Of>nntia spinosior.
OPUNTIA. 71
The following specimens were collected by Dr. J. N. Rose in 1911 : Near Pichilinque
Island (No. 16533, type); near San Jose del Cabo (No. 16468); near Cape San Lucas
(No. 16379); on Carmen Island (No. 16630); on San Josef Island (No. 16552).
Plate xiv, figure i, is from a plant collected by Dr. Rose on San Josef Island, Lower
California, in 1911, which flowered the next year at the New York Botanical Garden.
Series 8. VESTITAE.
The series Vestitae contains three or perhaps four species, two of which possibly represent green-
house forms of species of Tephrocactus, natives of the high Andes. They are low species with elon-
gated cylindric joints sometimes arising from subglobose ones, and form a connecting link between
the true species of Tephrocactus and Cylindropuntia. Opuntia vestita in the field was supposed to
be a form of 0. pentlandii, but in cultivation it has developed quite differently : 0. floccosa, a Teph-
rocactus, sometimes develops like the Vestitae; one specimen which we have grown shows a slender
cylindric stem with few long hairs or none. Opuntia boliviano and O. pentlandii, both from Bolivia
and described at the same time by Salm-Dyck, and which we have united, seem to represent two
forms of the same species, 0. pentlandii being the abnormal form. The same condition seems to
exist in 0. verschaffeltii and its variety digitalis, the variety being the normal form. Schumann had
these species in his series Tereles (our series Subulatae), but 0. sitbulata and O. cylindrica are tall
woody, much branched plants.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Arcoles with hairs; joints not or scarcely tuberculate.
Joints i to 1.5 cm. thick; spines 2.5 cm. long or less; fruit mostly sterile 35. O. vestita
Joints 2.5 to 3 cm. thick; spines up to 5 cm. long; fruit many-seeded ... 36. 0. shaferi
Areoles without hairs; joints distinctly tuberculate 37-0. verschaffeltii
Of this series? 38. O. hypsophila
35. Opuntia vestita Salm-Dyck, Allg. Gartenz. 13: 388. 1845.
Opuntia teres Cels in Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 898. 1898.
Roots fibrous ; stems much branched, weak, forming small clumps 3 dm. broad or less and nearly
as high, fragile ; joints short or elongated, becoming in greenhouse cultivation 2 dm. long or more, ob-
long or cylindric, i to 1.5 cm. thick, very spiny, easily breaking apart; areoles circular, conspicuous,
bearing short wool, spines, and several long hairs; spines about 6 in each cluster, acicular, brownish,
2 to 2.5 cm. long ; leaves minute, acute ; flowers small, including the ovary; 2 cm. long, deep red ; petals
i cm. long; areoles on ovary conspicuous, filled with white wool and long hairs; fruit red, usually
sterile, globular or a little longer than broad, usually naked, generally truncate at apex, often bearing
small spiny joints at the areoles.
Type locality: In Bolivia.
Distribution: Common on the sterile hills about La Paz, Bolivia.
Specimens were collected by Miguel Bang some years ago and segregated as a new
species by the late Karl Schumann, but this was never published ; others were obtained by
Dr. H. H. Rusby in 1885, and by R. S. Williams in 1901. It was again collected by Dr.
Rose in 1914, and living plants are now growing at the New York Botanical Garden. As
seen wild, it is a strange little plant, growing in low clumps, its fragile stems easily breaking
apart, especially at the terminal joints. The bright red fruits remain on the parent plant
until they produce a number of spiny joints, often as many as five, which, after falling
off, strike roots and start new colonies.
Dr. Rose suspected at the time he collected his material that it might be Opuntia
vestita, and suggested that it should be carefully compared with it. This he was not able
definitely to prove in the field, but the living specimens sent to the New York Botanical
Garden put out new branches which are long, slender, and cylindric, and are devoid of long
acicular spines, quite unlike the wild plants but almost identical with the specimens re-
ceived from La Mortola, Italy, some years ago as 0. vestita.
Opuntia teres Cels must belong here, at least in part. Weber states that the flowers
are very similar to 0. vestita, while the fruit is said to be small, red, and proliferous, just as
found in 0. vestita. The leaves are described as 2 cm. long, however, and there is a pos-
sibility that 0. exaltata may be partly represented in the description, as we find herbarium
material of both species, from Bolivia, mounted on the same sheet.
THE CACTACEAE.
Plate xi, figure 5, shows the plant collected by Dr. Rose in 1914; figure 6 is from a
plant received from La Mortola, Italy, in 1912.
36. Opuntia shaferi sp. nov.
Plants in clusters of 2 to 4, erect, about 3 dm. high; joints terete, 2.5 to 3.5 cm. in diameter,
elongated, very spiny; tubercles low, often indistinct; leaves deciduous, 6 mm. long; areoles i cm.
apart or less, circular, white-felted; glochids numerous, whitish from the upper margin
of the areole; spines about 6 at an areole, brownish, acicular, often 4 to 5 cm. long
and associated with long white hairs; flowers not known; fruit globular, about 2 cm.
in diameter, bearing numerous large areoles, the areoles white-felted, with glochids and
hairs, but no spines; seeds turgid, pointed at base, 4 mm. long.
Collected by J. A. Shafer among stones between Purmamaria and Tum-
baya, Argentina, February 6, 1917 (No. 90).
Nearest 0. vcstita but less cespitose, taller and larger, and with fertile fruit.
37. Opuntia verschaffeltii Cels in Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 898. 1898.
Opuntia verschaffeltii digitalis Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 898. 1898.
Forms low, in dense clumps, much branched; joints globular to short-cylindric>
i to 4 cm. long, somewhat tuberculate, pale green; spines i to 3, yellowish, weak.
and bristle-like, i to 3 cm. long; in cultivated plants joints elongated, 6 to 21 cm-
long, slender, i to 1.5 cm. in diameter, strongly tuberculate, spineless; glochids few,
white; areoles narrow, longer than broad, filled with short white wool.
Type locality: In Bolivia.
Distribution: Bolivia.
In 1914 Dr. Rose collected this species on the barren hills about La Paz,
Bolivia, and from his observations it seemed to be only a form of Opuntia
pentlandii. In cultivation, however, it behaves very differently from his spec-
imens of the latter, and in fact has developed a phase very unlike its normal
type but identical with other greenhouse specimens sent out by Mr. Berger
some years ago under the name of 0. vci'schaffcltii.
Opuntia digitalis Weber (Diet. Hort. Bois 898. 1898) was given as a
synonym of 0. verschaffeltii digitalis.
Figure 86 represents an elongated joint, from a greenhouse specimen; this
grew from the short normal joint, collected by Dr. Rose near La Paz, Bolivia,
in 1914.
38. Opuntia hypsophila Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4:509. 1905.
Cespitose, branching, small, 5 to 10 cm. high, pale green; joints
globose to cylindric, 1.5 to 3 cm. long; tubercles depressed; spines 3 to
5, subulate, weak, spreading, white at first, in age brownish; flowers
and fruit unknown.
Type locality: In the Province of Salta, Argentina, in the
Andes, at an altitude of 2,500 to 4,000 meters.
Distribution: Salta, Argentina.
We do not know this species, but Dr. Spegazzini thought
it might be a Tephrocactus and associated it with Opuntia
verschaffeltii digitalis.
Series 9. CLAVARIOIDES.
This series is the same as the Etuberculatae of Schumann and contains but a single species,
recorded as a native of Chile. According to Schumann, the stems are cylindric to clavate, not
tuberculate, the leaves are small and caducous, and the spines are very small and appressed. The
fruit is said to contain one woolly seed.
39. Opuntia clavarioides PfeifTer, Enum. Cact. 173. 1837.
Low, much branched, grayish brown, 4 dm. high or less, truncate or cristate at apex; joints not
tuberculate, rather fragile, short-cylindric or clavate, 1.5 cm. in diameter; leaves minute, 1.5 mm.
FIG. 86. — Opuntia verschaffeltii.
OPUNTIA.
73
long, reddish, caducous; areoles minute, closely set, filled with wool and minute spines; spines 4 to
10, white, appressed; flowers 6 to 6.5 cm. long; sepals linear, pointed, reddish; petals light brown,
narrowly spatulate, slightly crenate ; ovary bearing minute leaves with wool and short bristles in their
axils; filaments white, shorter than the petals; style white, with 7 stigma-lobes; fruit ellipsoid, 1.5
cm. long, one-seeded.
Type locality: In Chile.
Distribution: Originally described from Chile, but often referred to Mexico.
Very little is known of this species, although it was described as long ago as 1837, and
it is rare in collections. We have never seen it in flower and have seen only one record of
its flowering in cultivation. The peculiar structure of the stem, narrow petals and single
lanate seed, join a combination of characters separating it from other opuntias, and lead
Schumann to refer it to a distinct series which he calls Etuberculatae. The question has
been raised in our own minds if this is a true Opuntia. In cultivation the plant is usually
grafted on some Platyopuntia.
Variety cristata is offered in the trade journals.
Opuntia microthele, Cereus clavarioides, and Cereus scriccus are usually given as
synonyms, but all these were cited by Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. 173. 1837) as synonyms
of this species at the place commonly given as their first
publication. The varieties fasciata Schumann (Mon-
atsschr. Kakteenk. 10: 159. 1900), fastigiata Mundt
(Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 3: 30. 1893), and monstruosa
Monville (Labouret, Monogr. Cact. 489. 1853) are anom-
alous greenhouse forms.
Illustrations: Gartenflora 44: f. 7; Monatsschr. Kak-
teenk. 3: 9; 16: 169; Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f.
104; Gard. Chron. III. 30: f. 75, this last as Opuntia
clavarioides cristata.
Figure 87 is copied from the illustration used by
Schumann cited above.
Opuntia clavarioides grafted on
another species.
Series 10. SALMIANAE.
This series {Frutescentes of Schumann) , by some supposed to
be composed of five species but here treated as containing but one, FIG. 87.-
is confined to central South America. It is characterized by
slender, bushy, often vine-like habit, terete branches, and red
fruit, the latter crowned by proliferous spiny joints. Seeds are unknown. Greenhouse specimens
often resemble Opuntia leptocaulis, but the flowers are somewhat larger, and the spines are not
sheathed.
40. Opuntia salmiana Parmentier in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 172. 1837.
Opuntia spegazzinii Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 898. 1898.
Opuntia albiflora Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen Nachtr. 152.
1903.
A bushy plant, 3 dm. to 2 meters high, much branched at base; branches often weak, terete,
1.5 cm. in diameter or less, often purplish, etuberculate ; areoles small, bearing wool, yellow glochids,
and spines; spines sometimes wanting, usually several, 1.5 cm. long or less, white; flowers 2 to 3.5
cm. broad, scattered along the stem; buds pinkish or even scarlet; petals obovate, pale yellow to
white, sometimes tinged with pink; stamens and style short; stigma-lobes yellowish green; fruits
sterile, clavate, scarlet, with few or no spines.
Type locality: In Brazil.
Distribution: Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.
After careful consideration, we have combined three species of Schumann's series
Frutescentes into one. We have examined considerable living material and all the illus-
trations, but have found no grounds for separating the group into species. All were
described as proliferous and sterile. 0. spegazzinii was supposed to be unarmed, but this
74
THE CACTACEAE.
character is not constant; flower differences are described, but these are inconstant. One
species, O. albiflora, has already been referred to synonymy.
Opuntia salmiana is said to have come from Brazil, but no definite locality is given for
it, and it has not been collected there in recent times. If really from Brazil, and there is
no good reason to question this reference, it is doubtless from the southern part, possibly
on the border of Paraguay; indeed, 0. albiflora, one of the three, was described from a
Paraguay collection ; the other, 0. spegazzinii, is a native of the deserts of northern Argentina.
Cactus salnriaiins Lemaire (Cact. 87. 1868, name only) has been referred here as a
synonym; as has also 0. floribunda Lemaire (Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 68. 1839).
Opuntia schickendantzii Weber, included by Schumann in this relationship, we refer
to our series Aurantiacae.
FIG. 88. — Opuntia salmiana.
FIG. 89. — O. salmiana. Xo.6.
Opuntia wagneri Weber in Gosselin (Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 393. 1904), de-
scribed without flower or fruit, is probably to be referred here; at least Roland-Gosselin
believed it to be of this group. We have not seen any of the specimens from Chaco,
Argentina, obtained by M. Emile Wagner in 1902.
Illustrations: Bluhende Kakteen 3: pi. 123; Curtis's Bot. Mag. 76: pi. 4542; Fl. Serr. 7:
pi. 670; Jard. Fleur. 2: pi. 194; Loudon, Encycl. pi. ed. 3. f. 19406; Pfeiffer and Otto, Abbild.
Beschr. Cact. i: pi. 6; Castle, Cactaceous plants f. 15; Bluhende Kakteen 2: pi. 103, this
last as Opuntia spegazzinii: Hogg, Veg. King. 340. f. in.
Figure 88 is from a plant in the greenhouses of the United States Department of Agri-
culture at Washington; figure 89 represents a joint of a plant collected by Dr. Rose at
Cordoba, Argentina, in 1915.
OPUNTIA. 75
OPUNTIA MALDONADENSIS Arechavaleta, Anal. Mus. Nac. Montevideo 5: 286. 1905.
Cespitose, erect; branches cylindric, entangled or intertwined; joints 3 to 10 cm. long, about 2
cm. in diameter, the terminal ones obovate-spherical, dark green to olive-colored; areoles each sur-
rounded by a violet blotch, small or prominent, orbicular; spines 5 or more, stout, spreading, elon-
gated, unequal, the longest one 2 to 2.5 cm. long, reddish to brown; flowers and fruit unknown.
Type locality: Punta Ballena, near Maldonado, Uruguay.
Distribution: Uruguay.
This species, referred to the subgenus Cylindropuntia by Arechavaleta, inhabits the
coast of Uruguay and is known to us only from description; we append it to the series
Salmianac, but its nearest relationship may be elsewhere.
Series 11. SUBULATAE.
This series is confined to South America and represents a very distinct group, differing greatly
from the tall cylindric-jointed species of North America. They lack sheaths to the spines, and the
typical species has elongated persistent leaves. Although several of the species have long been in
cultivation, at least two of them being known only from garden plants; for a long time the flowers
were unknown and the plants were as frequently called Cereus or Pereskia as Opuntia.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Leaves long-persisting, elongated.
Leaves up to 12 cm. long; spines yellowish white . . . 41. 0. subulata
Leaves i to 7 cm. long; spines brownish .... 42. O. exaltala
Leaves early deciduous, short.
Stem i meter high; leaves 4 mm. long. . ... 43. 0. pachypus
Stem 3 to 4 meters high; leaves 10 to 13 mm. long 44. 0. cylindrica
41. Opuntia subulata (Mtihlenpfordt) Engelmann, Card. Chron. 19:627. 1883.
Pereskia subulata Mtihlenpfordt, Allg. Gartenz. 13: 347. 1845.
Opuniia ellemeetiana Miquel, Nederl. Krudk. Arch. 4: 337. 1858.*
Opuntia segelhii Philippi, Bot. Zeit. 26: 861. 1868.
Either with a simple erect stem or with several main branches from the base, 2 to 4 meters high;
trunk 6 to 10 cm. in diameter, the old bark smooth and brown, its areoles bearing clusters of 8 spines
or more ; branches numerous, more or less clustered but not whorled, at first almost at right angles
to main stem but soon erect, bright green; leaves persistent, green, nearly at right angles to branch,
straight or somewhat bowed above, nearly terete, pointed, 5 to 12.5 cm. long, grooved on the under
side; tubercles large, depressed, becoming obliterated on old branches, arranged in longitudinal or
spiral lines, more or less diamond-shaped, but retuse at apex and pointed or attentuate below, 2 to
4 cm. long; areoles in the retuse grooves of the tubercles bearing a few short yellow spines or some-
times spineless, but usually having i or 2 slender spines ; flowers borne toward the ends of the branches ;
sepals reddish, minute, 4 to 8 mm. long or less; petals broader than the sepals, orange or greenish
yellow; style rose-red except the whitish base, including the stigma-lobes about 3 cm. long, about as
long as the longest stamens; stigma-lobes 5 or 6, slender, orange-yellow; fruit oblong, more or less
persistent, 6 to 10 cm. long, leafy, with a deep umbilicus, sometimes proliferous; seeds few, 10 to 12
mm. long.
Type locality: Valparaiso, Chile, but doubtless described from cultivated plants.
Distribution: Chile is usually given as the home of this plant, but it is not found wild
there. It may be a native in Argentina.
This species has long been in cultivation, it having originally been sent from Valpa-
raiso, but Dr. Rose did not find it wild there or in any other part of Chile. It is rarely seen
in cultivation in Chile. For many years it passed as a species of Pereskia, but in 1883 Dr.
George Engelmann pointed out that it could not be retained in that genus and transferred
it to Opuntia. The leaves are the largest in the genus, and it has larger seeds than any
other Opuntia.
We have referred Opuntia ellemeetiana (originally described from Chile), a species
with very long leaves, to 0. subulata, although we have never seen specimens. Schumann
did not know it and only lists it.
*Schumann says iS.sy.
76
THE CACTACEAE.
We have been able more definitely to refer here Opuntia scgcthii, for we saw not only
Philippi's type specimens in his herbarium, but also living specimens grown fromPhilippi's
original stock. The type specimen was from plants cultivated at Santiago, but in a later
publication he states that his species grows spontaneously near Arequipa. A part of this
latter material is preserved in his herbarium at vSantiago, which Dr. Rose was able to study ;
he also examined the Arequipa plant alive, and is convinced that it is quite different, being
the plant common in Peru and Bolivia described below as Opuntia exaltata.
Illustrations: Engler and Prantl, Pflanzenfam. 36a: f. 56, L; Card. Chron. III. 34: f.
33, 38; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 8: 7; 9: 183; Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 103; Neub.
Gart. Mag. 1893: 291, this as Pereskia subulata; Bot. Zeit. 26: pi. 13, C. f. i ; Gartenflora 32:
pi. 1129, f. 5, the last two as Opuntia segetliii.
Figure 90 is from a photograph of a plant
at the New York Botanical Garden grown
from a cutting brought by Mrs.H. L. Britton
from the Riviera, Italy, in 1907.
42. Opuntia exaltata Berger, Hort. Mortol. 410.
1912.
Stem 2 to 5 meters high, with a definite trunk
5 to 30 cm. in diameter when well grown, much
branched; ultimate joints fleshy, easily detached,
somewhat curved upward, clavate, strongly tuber-
culate; tubercles large, 1.5 to 3 cm. long, more
or less diamond-shaped, elevated, and rounded;
areoles rounded, filled with short white wool; glo-
chids often wanting, when present brown; leaves
fleshy, terete, i to 7 cm. long; spines on young joints
i to 5, mostly i to 3, dark yellow or brownish,
unequal, the longest ones 5 cm. long; spines on old
wood numerous, sometimes 12 or more, often 13
cm. long, brown, with roughened tips; flowers, in-
cluding ovaries, 7 cm. long; sepals and petals brick-
red; outer sepals ovate, small, the inner ones pass-
ing into petals; petals 2 cm. long, broadly obovate
to broadly spatulate, sometimes nearly truncate
at apex; stamens numerous, short, pinkish above,
nearly white below; style swollen below, pinkish;
stigma-lobes greenish; ovary 4 cm. long, deeply
umbilicate, with large flat tubercles; areoles on
ovary circular, filled with short brown and white
wool, long, loosely attached brown spines, and a few
shorter glochids, and subtended by small, tardily de-
ciduous leaves; fruit green, pear-shaped, 9 cm. long,
usually sterile; seeds large, irregular, 10 mm. broad.
FIG. 90. — Opuntia subulata.
Type locality: Not cited; described from cultivated plants.
Distribution: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and probably northern Chile.
This Opuntia is called pataquisca by the Cuzco and Arequipa Indians, and is also
known as espina.
This species was the most widely distributed Opuntia seen by Dr. Rose on the west
coast of South America ; but it is difficult to decide whether it is really native there, for it
is widely cultivated as a hedge plant in many places. It seems to be native along the
upper Rimac of central Peru; at least it is well established on the hills. Although very
common in southern Peru and about La Paz, Bolivia, it is probably introduced for it grows
only about towns and cultivated fields and seems never to produce fertile fruit. About
Cuzco it is likewise cultivated, but maybe a native there also, for the fruit is generally fertile.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XIII
1. Opuntia cxaltata as seen in the highlands of Peru.
2. Clump of Opuntia ftoccosa as it grows in the valleys of the Andes of eastern Peru.
OPUNTIA.
77
Opuntia maxillarc Roezl (Morren, Belg. Hort. 24: 39. 1874), published without
description and probably collected in the high mountains above Lima, may belong here.
Opuntia cumingii, of European gardens, belongs here. It was briefly mentioned in
the journal of the Berlin Cactus Society (Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 7: 160. 1897), but not
formally described. Schumann referred it to 0. pentlandii.
This species is near Opuntia subulata, but probably is distinct, although it is not
always easy to distinguish them in greenhouse plants. Berger speaks of the similarity
of the two as follows :
"This new species stands very close to 0. subulala, and may be easily mistaken for it, but when
grown side by side the differences are quite obvious. 0. exaltata is a taller plant with generally
longer branches, and somewhat glaucous instead of grass-green. The tubercles are more elongated
and differently marked. The leaves are shorter, the spines, when young, are not white, but yellowish
brown, generally stouter and stiffer. I have not yet seen a flower of it.
It is an old inhabitant of our gardens."
Plate xiu, figure i, is from a photograph taken by Hiram
Bingham, July 7, 1912, near Tipon, Cuzco Valley, Peru, showing
the plant near the upper left-hand corner; plate xv, figure i, repre-
sents a leaf-bearing joint of a plant sent to the New York Botanical
Garden from La Mortola, Italy, in 1915; figure 2 represents the
lower part of a fruiting branch obtained! by Dr. Rose at Cuzco,
Peru, in 1914.
43. Opuntia pachypus Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 14:26. 1904.
Plant about i meter high, much branched and candelabrum-like;
branches cylindric, 3 to 5 cm. in diameter, either straight or curved, marked
with broad tubercles; leaves subulate, pointed, constricted at the base, 4
mm. long, early deciduous; areoles circular, borne at the upper edges of the
tubercles, 4 mm. in diameter, filled with short wool ; spines 20 to 30, subu-
late, 5 to 20 mm. long; glochids yellow; flowers scarlet, 7 cm. long, including
the ovary; petals variable, the longest ones 1.4 cm. long; style very thick, 9
mm. long; stigma-lobes 5 mm. long; ovary more or less spiny.
Type locality: Near Santa Clara, Peru.
Distribution: Central Peru, near the coast.
We know this species only from the description and illustra-
tions. In 1914 Dr. Rose made several unsuccessful efforts to find
it at Santa Clara, the type locality.
Illustrations: Engler and Drude, Veg. Erde 12: pi. 5b; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 14: 27.
Figure 91 is copied from the second illustration above cited.
44. Opuntia cylindrica (Lamarck) De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 471. 1828.
Cactus cylindricus Lamarck, Encycl. i: 539. i?83-
Cereus cylindricus Haworth, Syn. PI. Succ. 183. 1812.
More or less branched, 3 to 4 meters high, the old trunk becoming smooth; joints cylindric,
obtuse at apex, green, with slightly elevated tubercles; leaves deciduous, 10 to 13 mm. long, terete,
acute; areoles depressed, filled with white wool, bearing some long hairs and at first 2 or 3, afterwards
more, short white spines (spines often wanting on greenhouse plants) ; flowers appearing just below
the ends of the terminal branches, small, inconspicuous, about 2.5 cm. broad, scarlet; petals small,
erect, obtuse; stamens numerous; style slender, 2.5 cm. long; ovary strongly tuberculate, depressed
at apex; fruit about 5 cm. long, yellowish green; seeds more or less angled, 4 to 6 mm. in diameter.
Type locality: In Peru.
Distribution: Highlands of Ecuador and Peru.
The home of this species is usually given by recent writers as Chile, but Lamarck, who
described it first in 1783, said it came from Peru. Dr. Rose, who visited Peru and Chile in
FIG. yi . — Opuntia pachypus.
78 THE CACTACKAE.
1914, was not able to find it wild in either country but found it abundant in Ecuador
in 1918. This species was introduced into England in 1799, but flowers were not known
until about 1834.
There are two abnormal forms in cultivation which are offered under the names variety
cristata and monstruosa. Several varieties of this species are given in catalogues: cristata
(Haage and Schmidt, Haupt-Verzeichnis 1908: 228. 1908) ; cristata minor Haage and
Schmidt (Verzeichnis Blumenzwiebeln 1913: 37. 1913); and robustior (Haage and Schmidt,
Haupt-Verzeichnis 1908: 228. 1908).
Illustration: Curtis's Bot. Mag. 61: pi. 3301; Carnegie Inst. Wash. 269: pi. 10, f. 88.
Plate xiv, figure 2, shows a leaf -bearing top of a plant grown at the New York
Botanical Garden.
Series 12. MIQUELIANAE.
Bushy plants, with elongated cylindric bluish joints; tubercles large, elevated; leaves minute,
early deciduous. The series consists of but one species, confined to the deserts of northern Chile.
45. Opuntia miquelii Monville, Hort. Univ. i: 218. 1840.*
Opuntia pulrerulenta Pfeiffer, Allg. Gartenz. 8: 407. 1840.
Opuntia pulvenilcnta miquelii Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 49. 1845.
Opuntia geissei Phiiippi, Anal. Univ. Chile 85: 492. 1894.
Opuntia rosiflora Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 686. 1898.
Often growing in colonies 2 to 5 meters broad; stems cylindric, much branched, usually less than
i meter high, but occasionally 1.5 meters high, with numerous lateral branches; branches rather
short, usually only 8 to 20 cm. long, thick (5 to 6 cm. in diameter); old branches bluish green, with
low tubercles sometimes 2 cm. long; young joints bright green, with high tubercles flattened laterally;
spines tardily developing, but formidable on old branches, very unequal, in clusters of 10 or more,
the longest ones nearly 10 cm. long, whitish in age; glochids numerous, brownish, caducous; leaves
minute, 2 to 3 mm. long; areoles circular, when young filled with white wool, in age somewhat ele-
vated on the areoles; flowers rather variable in length, 4 to 8 cm. long including the ovary, rose-
colored to nearly white; petals broad, apiculate, 2 to 2.5 cm. long; filaments rose-colored; ovary
strongly tuberculate; areoles filled with numerous brown glochids and subtended by minute leaves;
style white; stigma-lobes green; fruit ovoid to oblong in outline, nearly white; umbilicus truncate;
seeds small, 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: In South America, but no definite locality.
Distribution: Province of Atacama, Chile.
Opuntia miquelii and 0. pulverulenta have long been considered identical. We have
not seen the types of either, but are following such authorities as Salm-Dyck (in 1850),
Labouret (1853), and Riimpler (1885) in uniting them. They seem to have been pub-
lished in the same year.
Opuntia gcissci, according to a statement made to Dr. Rose by Juan Sohrens, of San-
tiago, is the same as O. miquelii, and this the former was able to verify by later herbarium
and field studies.
Opuntia rosiflora Schumann was based on Philippi's unpublished name 0. rosca: while
O. rosea was made by Phiiippi the type of 0. geissei. This is clearly shown by Philippi's
herbarium, where he has erased the name O. rosea and substituted 0. geissei. Dr. Rose
also obtained from William Geisse a part of Philippi's original specimen, which came, as the
label states, from near Bandurrias, in the valley of Carrizal, in the Province of Atacama.
Later on, while making field observations in Atacama, Dr. Rose found this species very com-
mon from north of Castillo to Vallenar. This is in the general region of 0. geissei (0. rosea
and O. rosiflora) and in the river valley of the Huasco. Huasco, the type locality of
0. miquelii, is 25 miles lower down this valley, and we have no hesitancy in uniting them all.
Although this species is not uncommon in cultivation, it has rarely been seen in flower,
and we believe that the fruit has not heretofore been described.
*Schumann states that this book was published in 1839.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XIV
M. E. Eaton del.
1. Flowering branch of Opuntia bnrrageana. 3,4. Joints of Opuntia stanlvi.
2. Opuntia cylindrica. 5. Flowering joint of Opuntia macrorhiza.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA. 79
Dr. Rose observed a single plant infested by Loranthus apliyllus, the parasite which is
so abundant on Cereus chilocnsis.
Opuntia heteromorpha Philippi (Anal. IMus. Nac. Chile i8gi'2: 28. 1891) we refer here
on the authority of Schumann, but we have seen no specimens, the type specimen being
missing from the Philippi herbarium in Santiago; it was collected at Chiquito, Tarapaca,
Chile.
Dr. Weber thought that Opitntia tcgclliii belonged here, but we have referred it to
0. subulata.
Opuntia carrizalensis Philippi is only mentioned by Schumann (Gesamtb. Kakteen
Nachtr. 152. 1903). It is doubtless to be referred here.
Plate xvi, figure i, is from a plant collected by Dr. Rose at Vallenar, Chile, in 1914.
Series 13. CLAVATAE.
Here we include nine prostrate or spreading, low species, natives of the southwestern United
States and Mexico, characterized by clavate joints and by sheathless spines, although rudimentary
sheaths have been observed on young spines in some of the species; they appear to form a transition
between the subgenus Cylindropuntia and the South American subgenus Tcphrocactus, from which they
differ essentially in having clavate joints.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines flattened.
Stems very stout.
Stems hardly clavate; ovary very prickly . 46. 0. im-iila
Stems strictly clavate; ovary only slightly prickly ... 47. O. slanlyi
Stems more slender and weak.
Spines brown, slender, long (4 to 6 cm. long) . . .48. 0. schottii
Spines stout, white, when old very flat.
Bristles on ovary and fruit white . . 49. 0. clavata
Bristles on ovary and fruit brown ... 50. 0. parislrii
Spines terete, elongated, and flexible, or the central ones somewhat flattened.
Flowers pinkish or purple.
Bristles on ovary numerous, brown .51.0. pulchella
Bristles on ovary few, white .. . 52. 0. vilis
Flowers yellow.
Spines comparatively short, swollen at base. . . 53. 0. bulbispina
Spines long and flexible, not swollen at base. . 54. O. grahamii
46. Opuntia invicta Brandegee, Proc. Calif. Acad. II. 2: 163. 1889.
Plants growing in large clusters 2 meters in diameter and 2 to 5 dm. high, with many ascending
or spreading branches; joints obovoid to clavate, dark green, 8 to 10 cm. long, strongly tuberculate;
tubercles large, flattened laterally, 3 to 4 cm. long; areoles large, i to 1.5 cm. in diameter; leaves
linear, 8 to 14 mm. long, reddish, curved, acute, deciduous; spines very formidable, when young
reddish or purple with carmine-red bases, chestnut-brown at tips and grayish between, but in age
dull in color; radial spines 6 to 10; central spines 10 to 12, much stouter than the radials, strongly
flattened; wool white; glochids few, white, 2 to 4 mm. long; flowers yellow, 5 cm. in diameter; sepals
ovate, acuminate; ovary 2 cm. in diameter, almost hidden by the numerous reddish, acicular spines;
seeds yellowish, 2 mm. broad.
Type locality: About San Juanico, Lower California.
Distribution: Central Lower California, at low elevations.
Mr. Brandegee has called attention to the strong resemblance in habit of this species
to some of the species of Echinocereus, and Dr. Rose states that when he first saw it he
supposed it to be some strange Echinocereus. It grows in great tufted masses and does
not suggest in the remotest degree any of our North American opuntias. The species
clearly belongs to Engelmann's series Clavatae, where it was placed by Schumann, who
associated it with 0. cereiformis, but it is undoubtedly much nearer to 0. stanlyi. So far
as we know, the plant has never been in the trade ; it does not succeed well in cultivation.
Considerable living material was brought back by the Albatross in 1911, most of which was
sent to the New York Botanical Garden ; but some of the plants were sent to collections at
St. Louis, Washington, and Los Angeles.
Illustration: Cact. Journ. i: February.
80 THE CACTACEAE.
Plate xvi, figure 2, represents a plant collected by Dr. Rose at San Francisquito,
Lower California, in 1911.
47. Opuntia stanlyi Engelmann in Emory, Mil. Reconn. 158. 1848.
Opimtia emoryi Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 303. 1856.
Opuntia kunzei Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 505. 1908.
Stems low, usually less than 3 dm. high, much branched, creeping, forming broad, impenetrable
masses 2 to 3 meters in diameter; joints 10 to 15 cm. long, clavate, more or less curved, strongly
tuberculate; tubercles 3 to 4 cm. long, flattened laterally, 4 to 6 cm. apart; spines numerous, stout,
elongated, somewhat roughened, reddish brown, the larger ones strongly flattened, 3.5 to 6 cm. long;
flowers yellow, 5 to 6 cm. broad; fruit ovate, clavate at base, yellow, 5 to 6 cm. long, very spiny,
with a depressed umbilicus; seeds flattened, 4.5 to 6.5 mm. in diameter.
Type locality: On the del Norte and Gila, New Mexico.
Distribution: Southwestern New Mexico to eastern Arizona and adjacent Mexico.
0. stanlyi was first found October 22, 1846, by W. H. Emory on his first trip across
the continent; he reported the plant as abundant on the Del Norte and Gila. There
has been much speculation as to what this species is, for no specimens were preserved. Dr.
George Engelmann, who named the species, based it upon a sketch made by the artist of
the expedition, Mr. J. M. Stanly. By a reference to Emory's itinerary we find that on
October 22, 1846, he was in southwestern New Mexico. In 1908 Dr. Rose visited this
region where he collected the various species of cacti to be found there. The only plant
which we know from that part of New Mexico which could represent O. stanlyi is Opuntia
emoryi; this was the conclusion reached by Wooton and Standley, who, in their Flora of
New Mexico, have restored the name 0. stanlyi.
We have referred Opuntia knnzei here because recent specimens sent in by Dr. Kunze
have taken on a phase very much like the true 0. stanlyi. There is a possibility that 0. knnzei
should be maintained, for we are not altogether convinced that certain material we have
seen should be merged into 0. stanlyi. To clear up this point, it is hoped that someone
will collect and preserve a full series of specimens showing flowers, fruits, and seeds.
Illustrations: Emory, Mil. Reconn. App. 2. f. 9; Amer. Garden n: 531?; Cact. Journ.
i: 154; Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 70, 71, these last three as Opuntia emoryi; Hornaday, Camp-
fires on Desert and Lava opp. p. 116, this as Opuntia knnzei.
Plate xiv, figure 3, represents a plant collected by Dr. R. E. Kunze near Gunsight
Mountains, Arizona, in 1912 ; figure 4 shows a leaf-bearing joint of the same plant.
48. Opuntia schottii Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 304. 1856.
Prostrate, rooting from the areoles, forming dense clusters sometimes 2 or 3 meters in diameter ;
joints clavate, curved, ascending, easily breaking off, 6 to 7 cm. long, 2 cm. in diameter at thickest
part, strongly tuberculate; leaves subulate, bronze-colored, 6 to 8 mm. long, acuminate; areoles i
to 1.5 cm. apart; spines white and sheathed when young, soon brown, the larger ones sometimes as
many as 12, very slender, sometimes 6 cm. long, somewhat flattened; wool white when young, turning
brown; glochids white when young, turning brown, 4 mm. long or less; flowers yellow, 4 cm. long
including ovary; sepals narrow, acuminate; petals acuminate; fruit yellow, narrowly oblong in out-
line, a little narrowed at base, 4 cm. long, closely set with areoles bearing numerous short spines,
bristles, and white wool, the umbilicus depressed; seeds yellow, flattened, 4 mm. in diameter, notched
at base.
Type locality: Arid soil near the mouth of the San Pedro and Pecos, western Texas.
Distribution: Southern and western Texas and northern Mexico.
Opuntia schottii greggii Engelmann (Cact. Mex. Bound. 68. pi. 73, f. 4. 1859), which
came from near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where it was collected by Dr. J. Gregg, in Decem-
ber 1848, is much out of the range of the normal form and probably belongs elsewhere ; but
no specimens have been examined except the type, which is fragmentary. Engelmann at
first considered it a distinct species.
Illustration: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 73, f. i to 3.
Figure 92 represents joints of a plant collected by Dr. Rose at Langtry, Texas, in 1908.
BRITTON AND RO
PLATE XV
•i i i-aton del
1, 2. Parts of joints of Ofiuntid ,- \\illala. 3. Upper part of joint of Opinttia wacrarthra.
4. Upper part of joint of O/vnitia tortis/'ina. (All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
Si
49. Opuntia clavata Engelmann in Wislizenus, Mem. Tour North. Mex. 95. 1848.
Plants low, not over 1.5 dm. high, much branched at base, spreading, forming large patches
sometimes 2 meters in diameter; joints short, 3 to 7 cm. long, turgid, ascending, clavate; areoles
close together; leaves subulate, 4 to 5 mm. long; spines pale, somewhat roughened, the radial ones
6 to 12, slender and acicular, 4 to 16 mm. long; central spines 4 to 7, much longer than the radials,
more or less flattened, the largest one dagger-like; glochids numerous, yellowish, 3 to 5 mm. long;
flowers yellow, 3.5 to 4 cm. long; fruit 4 to 5 cm. long, with numerous areoles filled with yellow, radiat-
ing glochids; seeds white, 5 mm. broad.
Type locality: Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Distribution: New Mexico, chiefly in the central part of the State.
This is one of the most characteristic species of the genus and has no near relative
except 0. parishii, of the deserts of California and Nevada. It is a great pest to grazing
stock.
Illustrations: Bull. Agr. Exper. Station N. Mex. 78: pi. [i, 2], Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 22,
f. i to 3; pi. 24, f. 6.
Figure 93 represents joints of a plant collected by W. T. H. Long at Albuquerque, New
Mexico, in 1915.
FIG. 92. — Opuntia schottii. Xo 75.
FIG. 93. — Opuntia clavata. Xo.75-
50. Opuntia parishii Orcutt, West Amer. Sci. 10: Si. 1896.
Stems low, creeping, rooting along the under surface and forming dense, broad clusters; terminal
joints short, clavate, ascending but almost hidden under the dense armament; tubercles prominent
but short, 5 to 7 mm. long; spines at first reddish but soon grayish and finally nearly white; radial
spines numerous, slender; central spines about 4, strongly angled and more or less flattened, 2 to 4
cm. long; glochids numerous; flowers not known; fruit 5 cm. long, the numerous large areoles bearing
many long yellow glochids and short spines forming a radiating band about the margin; seeds dark,
4 mm. broad.
Type locality: Mohave Desert.
Distribution: Southern California and Nevada.
The species here described is the Opuntia parryi as described by Engelmann in 1856,
although he then suspected it was different from that species. It has been renamed
Opuntia parishii by Orcutt, who wrote as follows:
"We propose this name for that interesting plant of the Mohave desert region, hitherto called
0. parryi, and under which it has been well described. The Messrs. Parish have hardly earned this
light honor in many laborious trips through these desert regions, and I take pleasure in dedicating
this species to them; Opuntia parryi (type from San Felipe), along with bernardlna and echinocarpa,
and a bewildering host of nameless forms, I unhesitatingly class under serpentina!"
Illustrations: Cact. Journ. i: 132; N. Amer. Fauna 7: pi. 10; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 22, f.
4 to 7; pi. 24, f. 7, all as Opuntia parryi.
Figure 94 represents joints of a plant collected by S. B. Parish in southern California.
82
THE CACTACEAE.
51. Opuntia pulchella Engelmann, Trans. St. Louis Acad. 2: 201. 1863.
Low, 10 to 20 cm. high, densely branched, sometimes forming compact heads 6 dm. in diameter;
main stem more or less definite, covered with areoles bearing yellow glochids 10 to 12 mm. long;
lateral joints 5 to 6 cm. long, narrowly clavate, strongly tuberculate, purplish; areoles 6 to 8 mm.
apart, 2 to 3 mm. broad; spines 10 to 16, slender, reddish, the longer ones 5 to 6 cm. long, somewhat
flattened; flower 5 cm. long, when open, fully as broad; petals purple, 3 cm. long; ovary 2 cm. long,
bearing numerous areoles filled with white wool and purple glochids 10 to 12 mm. long; fruit about
2.5 cm. long; seeds (according to Coulter) thick and round, 4 mm. in diameter, with broad flat com-
missure.
Type locality: Sandy deserts on Walker River, Nevada.
Distribution: Nevada and Arizona.
The plant was first collected by Henry Engelmann in 1859, and brought to his brother,
Dr. George Engelmann. The species does not succeed well in cultivation under glass.
Illustration: Simpson's Rep. pi. 3.
Figure 95 is from an herbarium specimen collected by Thomas H. Means at Fallen,
Churchill County, Nevada, in 1909.
FIG. 94. — Opuntia parishii. Xo.66.
FIG. 95. — Opuntia pulchella Xo.66.
52. Opuntia vilis Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 293. 1909.
Low, creeping, often forming mats several meters in diameter and only 10 to 15 cm. high; joints
prostrate, becoming erect or ascending, the ultimate vertical ones clavate, 5 cm. long, the others 2
to 4 cm. long, very turgid, pale green, with low tubercles; leaves terete, 2 to 3 mm. long, acute, red;
young areoles bearing white wool; radial spines upward of 12, the number increasing with age by
the addition of very small whitish ones; central spines on prostrate joints 4, reddish, white-tipped,
i to 4 cm. long, terete, slightly scabrous, with a sheath 5 mm. long, those of clavate joints white,
reddish on the upper surface at the base, and along the whole of the lower surface flattened; flowers
4 cm. long; petals brilliant purplish, 2 cm. long; filaments bright yellow with green bases; style
white; stigma-lobes yellow ; fruit pale green, blackening in drying, 2 to 2.5 cm. in diameter, 2.5 to
3 cm. long, tuberculate, especially about the margin of the umbilicus, spiny, fluted above, somewhat
dry, with large white seeds.
Type locality: Foot-slopes and plains of Zacatecas, Mexico.
Distribution: State of Zacatecas, Mexico.
Illustrations: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: pi. 27; f. 36.
Figure 96 is from a photograph of the type plant taken by F. E. Lloyd in Zacatecas,
Mexico, in 1907.
OPUNTIA.
FIG. 96. — Opuntia vilis.
53. Opuntia bulbispina Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 304. 1856.
Stems low, forming wide-spreading clumps 6 to 12 dm. broad; joints ovoid in outline, 2 to 2.5
cm. long by 10 to 12 mm. in diameter; tubercles prominent, 6 to 8 mm. long; radial spines 8 to 12,
acicular, 3 to 6 mm. long; central spines 4, much stouter than the radials, 8 to 12 mm. long, bulbose
at base; flower and fruit not described in original description and as yet unknown.
Type locality: Near Perros Bravos, north of Sal-
tillo, Mexico.
Distribution: Coahuila and probably into Durango,
Mexico.
The type of this species was collected by Josiah
Gregg in 1 848 and it has not with certainty been found
since ; it has been reported from one or two localities ,
but doubtless erroneously. At one time we supposed
certain plants collected by Dr. Palmer in Chihuahua
were to be thus referred. It is possible that specimens
collected by Dr. Chaffey near lyerdo, Durango, may be
referred here, as they have the short joints of this
species, but the central spines are much longer, often
reaching 2.5 to 3.5 cm. long. The type is deposited in
the Engelmann Herbarium at St. Louis, and although
the material is poor, it may yet serve to clear up this
species definitely.
As stated by Coulter, this species has been re-
garded as the same as O. tunicata, a plant to which it
is very remotely related.
Illustration: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 73, f. 5, 6.
Figure 97 is copied from the illustration above cited.
54. Opuntia grahamii Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3 : 304. FIG. 97.— Opuntia bulbispina.
1856.
Roots at first thick and fleshy, becoming woody, 2 cm. thick or more; plant low, much branched,
spreading, forming low mounds often half buried in the sand, sometimes giving off roots at the are-
oles; terminal joints erect, clavate, bright green, 3 to 5 cm. long, with large oblong tubercles; leaves
thick, bronze-colored, ovate, acute, 3 to 4 mm. long; areoles about 3 mm. broad; wool white; spines
8 to 15, slender, slightly scabrous, terete or some of the larger ones slightly compressed, white when
young, soon reddish, the longest 3.5 to 6 cm. long; glochids numerous, slender, 4 mm. long or less,
84
THE; CACTACEAE.
FIG. 98. — Opuntia grahamii. Xo.75.
white, turning brown, persistent on the old stems; flowers yellow, 5 cm. broad; sepals ovate, acute,
about 5 mm. long ; fruit oblong to ovoid, 3 to 4.5 cm. long, its numerous areoles bearing white glochids
and some slender spines; seeds beakless, 5 to 5.5 mm. in diameter, the commissure indistinct, linear.
Type locality: Near El Paso, Texas.
Distribution: Western Texas, New Mexico, and
adjacent parts of Mexico.
This species was named for James Duncan
Graham, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, United States
Army, who died December 28, 1865, at Boston,
Massachusetts. Colonel Graham was for a time
chief of the scientific corps of the United States
and Mexican Boundary Commission, and caused
the specimens of this plant to be transmitted to Dr.
George Engelmann.
The plant succeeds rather well in cultivation under glass.
Illustrations: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 72; Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 102.
Figure 98 represents joints of a plant collected by Dr. Rose on hills near Sierra Blanca,
Texas, in 1913.
Subgenus 2. TEPHROCACTUS.
Includes all the South American species of Opuntia which have short, oblong, or globular joints.
It is hardly to be distinguished from the North American series Clavatae. Four series are recog-
nized. The plants are confined to Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. (See key to series, p. 44.)
Series 1. WEBERIANAE.
Plants low, forming dense clumps; joints subcylindric, strongly tuberculate and bearing numer-
ous spines. This series suggests Plalyopuntia, while the other series show closer relationship with
the Cylindropuntia. Only one species known, inhabiting the dry part of northern Argentina.
55. Opuntia weberi Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 509. 1905.
Densely cespitose, forming clumps 2 to 3 dm. in diameter and 10 to 18 cm. high; joints yellowish
green, erect, cylindric, strongly tuberculate, 2 to 6 cm. long, 1.5 to 2 cm. in diameter, densely spiny;
FIG. 99. — Opuntia weberi as it grows wild.
OPUNTIA. 85
leaves described as wanting; tubercles spirally arranged, obtuse, somewhat 4-angled, 5 to 6 mm.
broad; areoles somewhat depressed; spines 5 to 7, brown, 3 to 5 cm. long, flexuous, the upper ones
erect; flowers borne near the top of the plant, small, solitary; ovary somewhat woolly below and with
short spines above; flower rotate, yellow; fruit dry, white, 10 mm. in diameter; seeds somewhat
contorted, bony, glabrous.
Type locality: In Sierra Pie de Palo, Province of San Juan, Argentina.
Distribution: Mountains of Provinces of San Juan and Salta, Argentina.
This description, though largely drawn from Dr. Spegazzini's full account of this
species, has been amplified from examination made of the type. Dr. Spegazzini refers it
FIG. 100. — Opuntia weberi. Natural size.
to the subgenus Tephrocactus, and we have followed him in this; but it differs widely from
any other known species of that group and its true affinity may be elsewhere. If the plant
is leafless, as Dr. Spegazzini's description implies, this is a most interesting exception to
the character of Opuutia.
Figure 99 is from a photograph of the plant at Molinos, Argentina; figure 100 is from a
photograph of the type specimen in the collection of Dr. Spegazzini, to whom we are
indebted for both of these illustrations.
86
THE CACTACEAE.
Series 2. FLOCCOSAE.
Low plants, forming dense clumps or mounds; joints short, thick, and fleshy, usually covered
with long, white, silky hairs. The two species are common in the high valleys of the Andes of Peru
and Bolivia.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines yellow, stout 56. O. fluccosa
Spines white, acicular 57. 0. lagopus
56. Opuntia floccosa Salm-Dyck, Allg. Gartenz. 13: 388. 1845.
Opuntia senilis Roezl in Morren, Belg. Hort. 24: 39. 1874.
Opuntia floccosa denudata Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 897. 1898.
Opuntia hempeliana Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 690. 1898.
Plant growing in clumps or low mounds sometimes i to 2 meters in diameter, with hundreds of
short, erect branches; joints oblong, 5 to 10 cm. long, usually hidden under a mass of long white
hairs coming from the areoles; spines usually one from an areole, sometimes as many as three, yellow,
i to 3 cm. long; leaves minute, green or pinkish; tubercles somewhat elevated, elongated; flowers,
small, 3 cm. long, yellow; fruit globular, 3 cm. in diameter: seeds 4 mm. in diameter, with very nar-
row margins.
>i. — Opuntia floccosa.
Type locality: Said to be from vicinity of Lima, Peru, but doubtless only from the
high mountains east of Lima.
Distribution: High mountain valleys and hills of the Andes from central Peru to
central Bolivia.
0. floccosa is one of the most unusual and striking species of all the opuntias. One
who is familiar only with the opuntias of North America would not suspect that it belongs
to the genus. It does not grow on the hot mesas in the low country, as one would expect,
but in the high, cold valleys and hills near the top of the Andes. The following paragraph,
taken from John Ball's notes, is interesting in this connection :
Reserving some remarks on the botany of this excursion, there is yet to be mentioned here one
plant of the upper region so singular that it must attract the notice of every traveler. As we ascended
from Casapalta we noticed patches of white, which from a distance looked like snow. Seen nearer
OPUNTIA. 87
at hand, they had the appearance of large, rounded, flattened cushions, some five or six feet in diam-
eter, and a foot high, covered with dense masses of floss silk that glistened with a silvery lustre. The
unwary stranger who should be tempted to use one of these for a seat would suffer from the experi-
ment. The plant is of the cactus family, and the silky covering conceals a host of long, slender,
needle-like spines, that penetrate the flesh, easily break, and are most difficult to extract. Unfor-
tunately, the living specimen which I sent to Kew did not survive the journey.
Dr. Rose found the plant very abundant in the Andes from 3,600 to 4,260 meters
altitude, while others have reported it as high as 4,570 meters altitude. It is very common,
forming everywhere great, conspicuous, usually white mounds. Dr. Rose also found it
quite common between Cuzco and Juliaca, in southwestern Peru.
Mr. O. F. Cook, in the Journal of Heredity (8: 113. 1917), who has named this plant
the polar bear cactus, wrote of it as follows:
Many exposed slopes on the bleak plateaus of the high Andes are dotted with clumps of pure
white cacti that look from a distance like small masses of snow. On closer view, the shaggy white
hair of these cacti make them appear like small sheep or poodle-dogs, or like reduced caricatures
of the denizens of the arctic regions. We are so accustomed to think of cacti primarily as desert
plants, peculiarly adapted to hot, dry deserts, that they seem distinctly out of place on the cold
plateaus of the high Andes of southern Peru.
While most of the plants are covered with long white hairs, plants without hairs
are not uncommon. These naked plants, which are characteristic of the whole clump
or colony, appear at first sight very unlike the other forms, but they grow in the same region
and have the same kind of flowers and fruits. In cultivated plants few hairs are developed.
The variety denudata Weber seems to be only one of these naked forms.
Opuntia involuta Otto (Forster, Handb. Cact. 505. 1846) was not published, but was
given as a synonym of this species. It was used the year before (Salm-Dyck, Allg. Gar-
tenz. 13: 388. 1845) as a synonym of 0. vestita.
Illustrations: Engler and Drude, Veg. Erde 12: pi. 14; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. n: 41,
44, these last two as Opuntia hempeliana; Journ. Heredity 8: f. 3 to 8.
Plate xni, figure 2, is from a photograph taken by Mr. O. F. Cook in the high moun-
tains of eastern Peru. Figure 101 is from a photograph of a fragment of the plant col-
lected by Dr. Rose in 1914, at Araranca, Peru.
57. Opuntia lagopus Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen Nachtr. 151. 1903.
Plants cespitose, growing in compact mounds; joints stout, cylindric, 10 cm. long, 3 to 3.5 cm. in
diameter, densely covered with long white hairs; leaves minute, hidden under the wool, 7 mm. long;
spines solitary, white, 2 cm. long, slender; glochids white, bristle-like; flowers probably red; fruit
not known.
Type locality: Mountains of Bolivia above Arequipa, Peru.
Distribution: On the plains of the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia (altitude 4,000
meters) .
This species is related to 0. floccosa, with which it often grows, but it takes on a very
different habit, growing in very dense, peculiar rounded mounds much higher than those
formed by 0. floccosa.
Illustration: Engler and Drude, Veg. Erde 12: pi. 14.
Figure 102 is from a photograph by H. L,. Tucker, near L,axsa, Peru, in 1911.
Series 3. GLOMERATAE.
Plants low, composed of globose or oblong joints, the spines, or some of them, modified into
flat papery processes. We recognize two species, confined to western Argentina.
KEY TO SPECfES.
Central spines papery; radial spines subulate 58. O. australis
Spines, when present, all developed into long papery processes . . .59. O. glomerata
88
THE CACTACEAE.
FIG. 102. — Opuntia lagopus, grow
58. Opuntia australis Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois
896. 1898.
Pterocactits valenlinii Spcgazzini, Anal. Soc.
Cient. Argentina 48: 51. 1899.
Plants often with large roots, these 5 to 8 cm.
long by 2 to 3 cm. in diameter and larger than
the parts above ground; joints described as
cucumber-shaped, usually 6 to 8 cm. long by i to
2 cm. in diameter, but apparently often much
smaller, tuberculate; radial spines 10 to 15,
spreading, white, short, 3 to 4 cm. long; central
spines i or 2, much longer than the radials, 2
cm. long, erect, flattened, and somewhat papery;
flowers yellow, 2 to 3 cm. broad; seeds said to
be rugose.
Type locality: Between Santa Cruz
River and the Strait of Magellan, Argentina.
Distribution: The southernmost parts of
Argentina.
We have recently examined three col-
lections of this plant made by Carl Skotts-
berg in the Territory of Santa Cruz, which in
the main agree with Weber's description.
We have also seen Ptcrocactus valcntiiiii,
which is the same as Skottsberg's plant.
Dr. Spegazzini records this species as being in Santa Cruz, Argentina ; but as he regards
the plant collected there by him as only a variety of O. damnnii, we are inclined to believe
he must have collected something else.
This species, which is found at the Strait of Magellan, extends farther south than any
other cactus known to us.
FIG. 103. — Opuntia australis. Showing large roots, joints,
and flower. Natural size.
OPUNTIA.
89
y
Figure 103 is from a photograph of an herbarium specimen collected by Carl Skotts-
berg in the Territory of Santa Cruz, Patagonia, in 1908.
59. Opuntia glomerata Haworth, Phil. Mag. 7: in. 18.30.
Opuntia articulata Otto, Allg. Gartenz. i: 116. 1833.
Cereus articulatiis Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 103. 1837.
Cereus syringacanthus Pfeiffer, Enura. Cact. 103. 1837.
Opuntia platyacantha Salm-Dyck in Pfeiffer, Allg. Gartenz. 5: 371. 1837.
Opuntia tuberosa spinosa Pfeiffer, Knum. Cact. 146. 1837.
Opuntia andicola Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 145. 1837.
Opuntia diademata Lemaire, Cact. Aliq. Nov. 36. 1838.
Opuntia turpinii Lemaire, Cact. Aliq. Nov. 36. 1838.
Opuntia andicola elongata Lemaire, Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 72. 1839.
Opuntia andicola fulvispina Lemaire, Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 72. 1839.
Opuntia andicola major Lemaire, Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 72. 1839.
Opuntia caha Lemaire, Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 73. 1839.
Opuntia platyacantha gracilior Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 43. 1845.
Opuntia platyacantha momillei Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort Dyck. 1849. 71. 1850.
Opuntia platyacantha deflexispina Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849 245. 1850.
Opuntia papyracantha Philippi, Gartenflora 21: 129. 1872.
Opuntia syringacantha Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 6: 156. 1896.
Opuntia plumosa nivea Walton, Cact. Journ. i: 105. 1898.
Forming low, spreading clumps, the branches either erect or prostrate; joints globular, 3 to 6
cm. in diameter, often in cultivated specimens even smaller, dull grayish brown, hardly tuberculate
except in drying; areoles large, bearing numerous long, brown glochids; spines often wanting, when
present i to 3, long, weak, thin and papery, hardly pungent, either white or brownish, sometimes
10 cm. long; flowers light yellow, small; fruit globose, i to 1.5 cm. long, dry; seeds corky.
Type locality: Brazil, according to Haworth,
but erroneously.
Distribution: Western Argentina. It has also
been referred to Brazil and Chile, but surely not
found in Brazil, and we should not expect it to
inhabit Chile.
The plant figured by Nicholson (Diet. Card.
2: f- 755) as 0. platyacantha hardly belongs here.
0. glomerata, which is common on the dry
hills about Mendoza, is very variable, especi-
ally as to whether it is spine-bearing or not;
while the spines — which are really not spines but
thin ribbon-like processes — vary much as to their
color, markings, and length. These variations
are partly the cause of so many synonyms for the
species. Dr. Rose, who visited the region in
which this species grows, found wide variation in
the size of the joints, as well as in the absence or
presence of spines.
Tephrocactus diadcmatus Lemaire (Cact. 88.
1868), T. turpinii Lemaire (Cact. 88. 1868), FIG. io4.—oPuntia glomerata. XQ.S.
Opuntia polymorpha Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. 103. 1837), and Opuntia turpinii poly-
morpha Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 71. 1850) are usually given as synonyms
of Opuntia diademata, but none of them was actually published. Opuntia polymorpha
Pfeiffer was used by Pfeiffer as a synonym for Cereus articulatiis Pfeiffer.
Tephrocactus andicolus, T. cahits, and T. platyacanthus, all of Lemaire (Cact. 88. 1868),
without descriptions, are referred here by inference.
Spegazzini (Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 511. 1905) describes three varieties
of this species under O. diademata, from Argentina, as follows: incrinis, oligacantha, and
polyacantha; while Weber (Diet. Hort. Bois 896. 1898) under the same name describes var.
caha, but these all seem to be forms of this very variable species.
90 THE CACTACEAE.
The following varietal names, under Opuntia glomerata var. albispina Forster (Handb.
Cact. 472. 1846), var.flavispina Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 43. 1845), and var.
minor Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 71. 1850), are mentioned in the places cited,
but not described.
Opuntia horizontalis Gillies (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 145. 1837) was used as a synonym
of Opuntia andicola, and should be referred here.
Opuntia pelaguensis (Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 71. 1850) was published as
a synonym of Opuntia platyacantha deflexispina.
Opuntia andicola minor, an unpublished variety, is mentioned by name only in Monats-
schrift fur Kakteenkunde (10: 48. 1900).
Illustrations: Cact. Journ. i: 100, as Opuntia andicola: Hngler and Prantl, Pflanz-
enfam. 36a: f. 56, K.; Card. Chron. III. 34: f. 39; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 13: 23, these
three as Opuntia diademata. Cact. Journ. i: February; Diet. Gard. Nicholson Suppl.
f. 607; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 125; Gard. Chron. III. 23: f. 129; 2g:f. 63 ; Gartenflora
21 : pi. 721, f. 2, all as Opuntia papyracantha; Cact. Journ. i: 105, as Opuntia plumosa
nivea.
Figure 104 represents a plant collected by Dr. Rose at Mendoza, Argentina, in 1915.
Opuntia scluiniannii Spegazzini (Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 511. 1905,
not Berger, 1904) is a homonym, and we hesitate to give it a new name until it is better
known. The type comes from Salta, Argentina, from a region where we already have a
number of species of Tephrocactus. Spegazzini, who described it, says it is related to
0. diademata, which is now referred to 0. glomerata,but is very distinct. It is without spines
and the flowers are unknown.
Series 4. PENTLANDIANAE.
Plants often growing in large mounds; joints globular to oblong; spines usually slender, acicular
to subulate. Seventeen species are here recognized.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines very long and stout, up to 15 to 20 cm. long 60. O. aoracanlha
Spines slender, 10 cm. long or less.
Spines appressed to the joints.
Spines 12 to 20, flexuous; joints 7 cm. long 61. 0. raitppiana
Spines 6 or 7; joints 2 to 4 cm. long . 62. 0. stiblerranea
Spines straight, not appressed.
Spines flat or semiterete.
Spines 7 to 10 cm. long. ... 63. 0. htckemt
Spines 6 cm. long or less.
Longer spines i to 3.
Joints ellipsoid, 4 to 5 cm. thick . 64. O. darwmn
Joints oblong, i cm thick . 65. 0. tarapacana
Longer spines 4 or 5.
Spines gray • 66- O. atacamensis
Spines yellow . 67. 0. russellii
Spines terete.
Spines white, at least when young.
Joints tuberculate ... 68. 0. corrugata
Joints not tuberculate.
Joints oblong 69. 0. ovate.
Joints globose . 70. O. sphaenca
Spines yellow to brown or nearly black.
Roots large and woody; spines nearly black . 71- 0. skoitsbergii
Roots fibrous.
Spines purple-black • 72. 0. nigrispma
Spines yellow to brown.
Plants forming large clumps.
Fruit about 2.5 cm. long, nearly unarmed 73-0. pentlandii
Fruit 5 to 6 cm. long, copiously armed with long spines above. . ,. 74. O. ignescens
Plants isolated, not forming clumps.
Old joints globose; spines acicular . 75. O. campestns
Joints all oblong; spines subulate 76- 0. ignota
OPUNTIA.
60. Opuntia aoracantha Lemaire, Cact. Aliq. Nov. 34. 1838.
Cereus ovatus Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 102. 1837. Not Opuntia mala PfeifTer, 1. c. 144.
Opuntia formidabilis Walton, Cact. Journ. i: 105. 1898.
1837-
Usually low, cespitose, forming clumps 2 to 5 dm. in diameter and sometimes i to 2 dm. high;
branches grayish, either erect or prostrate, made up of 5 to 10, perhaps even more, globular joints;
joints easily detached, freely rooting and starting new colonies, 5 to 8 cm. in diameter, strongly tuber-
culate especially when young, the lower part spineless, the upper areoles large, spine-bearing; spines
brown or blackish, i to 7, the longer ones 13 cm. long, straight, a little flattened, roughish to the
touch; flowers white; fruit short-oblong, 3 cm. long, red, weakly tuberculate, bearing numerous
areoles, usually naked but sometimes bearing a few short spines near the top, becoming dry; umbili-
cus of fruit broad and depressed; seeds white, flattened, 4 to 5 mm. broad, the margins thick and
corky.
KlG. 105. — Opuntia
>.66.
Type locality: Not cited, but doubtless from Mendoza.
Distribution: Western provinces of Argentina, from Mendoza to Jujuy.
Opuntia gilliesii Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. 102. 1837, as synonym) and Tephrocactus
aoracanthus Lemaire (Cact. 89. 1868) are usually given as synonyms of this species, but
they were not described in the places usually cited, and as here given. Opuntia acra-
cantha Walpers (Repert. Bot. 2: 354. 1843) is a typographical error.
0. aoracantha, although described nearly 80 years ago, is practically unknown in col-
lections and has been very poorly described. The fruit has heretofore been unknown.
Dr. Rose found it in 1915 in great abundance growing on dry, rocky hills west of Mendoza,
THE CACTACEAE.
although in but one locality. A bountiful supply of living material was sent home, several
photographs were taken, and fruit and seeds obtained.
Opuntia tuberiformis Philippi (Anal. Mus. Nac. Chile i8gi2: 28. 1891), referred here
by Schumann, doubtless belongs elsewhere. It may possibly belong to some Platyopuntia,
for it is described as having ovate joints only 5 mm. thick. It comes from the foot of the
Andes in the Province of Tarapaca, Chile.
Illustrations: Gard. Chron. III. 34: f. 40; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 12: 172; Cact. Journ.
i: 105, the last as 0. fonnidabilis.
Figure 105 represents a joint of a plant collected by Dr. Rose at Mendoza, Argentina,
in 1915.
61. Opuntia rauppiana Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 9:118.
1899.
Joints ellipsoid, rounded at each end, somewhat tubercu-
late, dark green or becoming grayish green, 7 cm. long by 4 cm.
in greatest diameter; glochids yellow, 5 cm. long; spines 12 to
14, sometimes as many as 20, very weak, almost bristle-like,
2 cm. long, hardly pungent.
Type locality: In the Andes.
Distribution: Bolivia, according to Schumann.
Little is known of the habit of this plant, as only one
joint is figured and this appears to be a sickly greenhouse
specimen. It suggests some of the species which grow in
large clumps like the one figured as Opuntia grata by Fries.
Illustrations: Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 9: nS; Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen Nachtr.
f. 36 (same).
Figure 106 is copied from the illustration above cited.
62. Opuntia subterranea R. E. Fries, Nov. Act. Soc. Sci. Upsal. IV. i1: 122. 1905.
Almost buried in the sand, simple or few-branched from a thick root 7 to 12 cm. deep: joints
terete, 2 to 4 cm. long; tubercles low; spines i to 7, all radial, short, whitish, recurved, appressed;
FIG. 106. — Opuntia rauppiana.
FIG. 107. — Opuntia subterranea
FIG. 108. — Opuntia hickenii. Xo.6.
OPUNTIA. 93
flowers lateral, brownish; ovary small, with a depressed umbilicus, its areoles bearing small glochids
and a little wool; fruit 12 to 15 mm. long; seeds 3 mm. broad, irregular.
Type locality: Near Moreno, Jujuy, Argentina.
Distribution: Northern Argentina and adjacent Bolivia.
This peculiar little plant, heretofore known only from the type collection, was obtained
by Dr. Shafer on stony plains at Villazon, Bolivia, in February 1917, but was not in bloom.
Illustration: Nov. Act. Soc. Sci. Upsal. IV. i1: pi. 8, f. 4 to 8.
Figure 107 is copied from the illustration above cited.
63. Opuntia hickenii sp. nov.
Low, cespitose, forming clusters i meter in diameter; joints globular, 3 to 5 cm. in diameter,
strongly tuberculate, the lower tubercles usually spineless; areoles rather large, circular; spines 2 to 5,
flat and thin, narrow, weak, pungent, 5 to 12 cm. long, silvery-colored but nearly black in age;
flowers yellow; fruit not known.
Type in United States National Herbarium, No. 603229, from Puerto Madryn, Chubut,
Argentina, collected by Cristobal M. Hicken.
Common in Chubut and Rio Negro, southern Argentina, where it was collected several
times by Dr. Hicken.
Figure 108 represents the type specimen above cited.
A photograph of a plant from San Juan, Argentina, communicated by Dr. Spegaz-
zini, indicates another species of this relationship.
64. Opuntia darwinii Henslow, Mag. Zool. Bot. i: 466. 1837.
Low, perhaps not more than 2 to 4 cm. high, much branched at base from a more or less elon-
gated woody root; joints normally few, nearly globular, about 3 cm. in diameter, or often nearly
cylindric, frequently numerous and small and growing out from the main axis, then only 5 to 10 mm.
in diameter; areoles large, filled with wool, the lower ones spineless; spines i to 3, nearly erect, the
longest one 3 to 3.5 cm. long, yellow or reddish yellow, decidedly flattened; flowers originally de-
scribed as larger than the joints, but certainly often much smaller; petals yellow, broad, with a trun-
cate or depressed top and usually with a mucronate tip; ovary, in specimens seen, only 2 cm. long,
covered with large woolly areoles; styles described as stout, with 9 thick radiating stigma-lobes.
Type locality: Port Desire, Patagonia, latitude 47° south.
Distribution: Southern Argentina.
This species seems to be common in that part of Patagonia known now as the Ter-
ritory of Santa Cruz, Argentina. We have recently examined four separate collections
made in this region, especially one from about Lake Buenos Aires and on the Fenix River
by Carl Skottsberg, in 1907-1909.
The plant is in cultivation in Europe and is offered for sale by cactus dealers.
It was first collected by Charles Darwin, but only a single joint was taken, which was
described and figured by Rev. J. S. Henslow. The illustration of the flowers seems too
large, but otherwise represents fairly well the plant as we know it. The following interest-
ing note is taken from Mr. Henslow's article as it appeared in the Magazine of Zoology and
Botany, volume i, page 467:
I have named this interesting Cactus after my friend C. Darwin, Esq., who has recently
returned to England, after a five years' absence on board H. M. S. Beagle, whilst she was employed
in surveying the southernmost parts of South America. The specimen figured was gathered in the
month of January, at Port Desire, lat. 47° S. in Patagonia. He recollects also to have seen the
same plant in flower as far south as Port St. Julian in lat. 49° S. It is a small species growing close
to the ground on arid gravelly plains, at no great distance from the sea. The flowers had one day
arrested his attention by the great irritability which their stamens manifested upon his inserting a
piece of straw into the tube, when they immediately collapsed round the pistil, and the segments of
the perianth soon after closed also. He had intended to procure fresh specimens on the following
day, and returned to the ship with the one now figured, but unfortunately she sailed immediately
afterwards, and he was prevented from obtaining any more. The geographical position of this
94
THE CACTACEAE.
species is beyond the limits hitherto assigned to any of the order, which are not recorded as growing
much south of the tropic of Capricorn. The climate is remarkably dry and clear, hot in summer,
but with sharp frosts during the winter nights. He found Cacti both abundant and of a large size,
a little farther to the north at Rio-Negro in latitude 41° S.
Illustration: Mag. Zool. Bot. i: pi. 14, f. i.
Figure 109 is copied from a photograph of an herbarium specimen collected by Carl
Skottsberg in Patagonia in 1908.
65. Opuntia tarapacana Philippi, Anal. Mus. Nac. Chile i8gi2: 27. 1891.
Opuntia rahmeri Philippi, Anal. Mus. Nac. Chile iSpi1: 27. 1891.
Low, cespitose plants; joints small, ovoid, about 2 cm. long by i cm. thick, bearing spines from
white woolly areoles at tips; spines usually 3, straight, 12 to 15 mm. long, white with yellowish tips;
flowers yellow; petals 21 mm. long; ovary elongated, 2 cm. long.
Type locality: Calalaste, Chile.
Distribution: Known only from type locality, although Schumann in his Keys refers
this species to Bolivia.
Although the type of this species is preserved in the Museum at Santiago, Chile, it is
insufficient to enable us to give a very full description. It seems distinct from the other
species of the group.
KIG. 109. — O. darwinii. Xo.6.
FIG. no. — O. atacamensis. Xo.6.
FIG. in. — O. russellii. Xo 6.
66. Opuntia atacamensis Philippi, Fl. Atac. 24. 1860.
? Pereskia glomerata Pfeiffer, Enutn. Cact. 179. 1837. Not Opitnlia glomerata Haworth. 1830.
Growing in large, dense clusters sometimes 6 dm. broad and 3 dm. high; joints ovoid, 2.5 cm.
long by 2 cm. in diameter; areoles in 5 to 7 series, the lower ones with wool and very short spines;
upper areoles each bearing i erect central spine 1 8 to 25 mm. long, yellow or reddish; radial spines
2 to 4, strongly appressed, 2 mm. long; flowers yellow.
Type locality: Prof etas, Chile; also Puquios, 23° 50' south latitude.
Distribution: On the high central deserts of northern Chile at an altitude of 2,700
to 3,300 meters.
We have not seen the type of this species, and our reference of Pereskia glomerata here
may not be correct.
Illustration: Nov. Act. Soc. Set. Upsal. IV. i1: pi. i, as Opuntia grata.
Figure no represents a plant obtained by Dr. Rose at the Botanical Garden, Santiago,
Chile, in 1914.
67. Opuntia russellii sp. nov.
Forming small, compact clumps i to 2 dm. in diameter; joints small, globular to obovoid, dull
green to more or less purplish, 2 to 4 cm. long, very spiny near the top; leaves minute, acute, soon
falling; prominent spines 3 to 6, yellow, 2 to 3 cm. long, slightly flattened; accessory spines i to
OPUNTIA. 95
several, i cm. long or less; glochids at first inconspicuous, but in time very abundant, sometimes 2
cm. long, somewhat persistent; flowers not known ; fruit globular, 2 to 2.5 cm. in diameter, spineless;
seeds pale, 4 mm. broad.
Collected by J. N. Rose and Paul G. Russell on the dry hills at Potrerillos, Mendoza,
Argentina, September 2, 1915 (No. 21002).
This is a common species in the foothills of the Andes, in the Province of Mendoza,
where it forms low mounds along with other cacti.
Figure 1 1 1 represents joints of the type specimen above cited.
68. Opuntia corrugata Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 360. 1834.
Opuntia eburnea Lemaire, Cact. Aliq. Nov. 35. 1838.
Opuntia retrospinosa Lemaire, Cact. Aliq. Nov. 35. 1838.
Opuntia parmentieri Pfeiffer, Allg. Gartenz. 6: 276. 1838.
More or less cespitose; joints 3.5 cm. long, 8 to 12 mm. in diameter, orbicular to cylindric, often
erect, attenuate at both ends, light green, the terminal one often flattened; glochids minute, yel-
lowish; spines 6 to 8, acicular, 8 to 12 mm. long, white; flowers reddish; fruit red.
Type locality: None given.
Distribution: Northwestern Argentina, according to later writers.
Lemaire (Cact. 88. 1868) uses the names Cactus corrugatus and C. cburneus, both of
which Schumann refers here.
Tephrocactus retrospinosus Lemaire (Cact. 88. 1868) is placed by Lemaire in his third
section of Tephrocactus, but it is without description. It is doubtless the same as Opuntia
retrospinosa Lemaire, which belongs here.
Opuntia aulacothclc Weber (Gosselin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10:392. 1904),
which was described without flowers or fruit, may be of this alliance. It comes from San
Rafael, Argentina.
Opuntia cornigata, mentioned in Bailey's Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture (4: 2367 .
1916), is a misspelling of this name.
Opuntia corrugata monvillei Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 72. 1850) was not
described.
Opuntia longispina Haworth (Phil. Mag. 7: in. 1830), when first described, was sup-
posed to have come from Brazil; the Index Kewensis refers it to Chile; while Schumann
treats it in a note under 0. corrugata as an Argentine species. It may not be an Opuntia
but a Maihuenia.
69. Opuntia ovata Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 144. 1837.
Opuntia ovallei Remy in Gay, Fl. Chilena 3: 29. 1847.
Opuntia grata Philippi, Linnaea 30: 211. 1859.
Opuntia monticola Philippi, Linnaea 33: 82. 1864.
Low, branching, cespitose plants; joints yellowish green,
some deep purple when young, subcylindric to ellipsoid, 3
cm. long; spines 5 to 9, 4 to 10 mm. long, when young brown-
ish, in age white; fruit ovoid; umbilicus curved outward.
Type locality: Mendoza, Argentina.
Distribution: Mountains of Argentina and Chile. FIG. 112.— Opuntia ovata. xo,5.
Opuntia ovoidcs Lemaire (Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 73. 1839) and Cactus ovoidcs Lemaire
(Cact. 88. 1868) are usually cited as synonyms for Opuntia ovata; they are unpublished names.
This species forms low clumps, each branch consisting of 2 to 5 joints. Dr. Rose found
it abundant in the Andes above Mendoza and it has also been reported from the Chilean
side of the Andes. Colonies differ in armament. In cultivation some of the joints are
elongated and club-shaped.
Illustration: Schumann Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 105, as Opuntia grata.
Figure 112 shows joints of the plant collected by Dr. Rose in 1915 at Potrerillos,
Argentina.
96
THE CACTACEAE.
70. Opuntia sphaerica Forster, Hamb. Gartenz. 17: 167. 1861.
Opuntia dimorpha Forster, Hamb. Gartenz. 17: 167. 1861.
Opuntia leonina Haage and Schmidt in Regel and Schmidt, Gartenflora 30: 413.
Opuntia leucop/iaea Philippi, Anal. Mus. Nac. Chile 1891'-: 27. 1891.
Opuntia coro/illa Schumann in Vaupel, Bot. Jahrb. Engler Beibl. in: 28. 1913.
1881.
Plants often erect, always low, usually few-branched, often forming large patches; joints usually
globular, 12 to 40 cm. in diameter; areoles large, numerous, sometimes nearly hiding the surfaces of
the joints with their short brown wool; spines variable as to number, sometimes few, sometimes
numerous, brown at first, in age sometimes gray, i to 4 cm. long, usually stiff; flowers 4 cm. long,
deep orange; petals obtuse; fruit globular, often very spiny; seed globular, white, 4 mm. in diameter,
surrounded by a thin, broad band.
Type locality: Near Arequipa, Peru.
Distribution: Central Peru to central Chile.
The three illustrations cited below were made from the same cultivated plant. They
look very much like a poor specimen of Opuntia glomcrata, and, if such it should prove,
the name 0. leonina should be re-
ferred to the synonymy of that
species.
We have referred Opuntia di-
morfha here with some hesitancy.
This plant often passes for
Opuntia ovata and, from herbarium
specimens we have seen, it has been
so identified by Rudolph Philippi.
This species is very common in
sandy places on hills, dry flats, and
in mountain valleys, often cover-
ing the ground to the exclusion of
all other plants. The joints readily
break loose and, falling to the
ground, start new colonies. We
found the species very common
both above and below Arequipa,
Peru, where it is called corotilla;
in central Chile it grows at lower
altitudes but in similar situations.
In Chile it is called leon or leoncito, which is probably the origin of the name Opuntia
leonina.
Opuntia pJiyllacantlia Haage and Schmidt (Regel and Schmidt, Gartenflora 30: 414.
1881), if it actually came from Chile, as stated, may belong here. The joints are more
elongated, although the habit is somewhat similar. The illustration is poor and has doubt-
less been made from a greenhouse specimen. This name was given, with Salm-Dyck as
authority, by Forster (Handb. Cact. 508. 1846), but without any description.
Illustrations: Cact. Journ. i: 100; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 133; Gartenflora 30:
413, all as Opuntia leonina.
Figure 113 is from a photograph of joints of the plant collected by Dr. Rose above
Arequipa, Peru, in 1914.
71. Opuntia skottsbergii sp. nov.
Roots thick and fleshy, sometimes 10 cm. long, the plant doubtless more or less cespitose; joints,
at least some of them, globular, 3 cm. in diameter, almost hidden by the numerous closely set spines;
areoles close together, small, at times producing long tufts of white wool; spines about 10, black
except the yellowish tips, i to 2 cm. long; glochids numerous, elongated; flowers, including the very
FIG. 113. — Opuntia sphaerica.
OPUNTIA.
97
spiny ovary, about 6 cm. long; petals about 3 cm. long, drying reddish or reddish green; areoles of
the ovary bearing 5 to 7 spines, which are brown or blackish below and with more or less yellowish
tips; fruit not known.
Collected near Lake Buenos Aires, Territory of Santa Cruz, Argentina, December 12,
1908, by Carl Skottsberg (No. 675); and again on the Rio Fenix, north of the locality
above given, December 10, 1908 (No. 625, type).
This species belongs to the subgenus Tephrocactus, but is not closely related to any of
the described species. The flower resembles very much the one figured by Henslow
as O. (Airo.1/;;/;, and it is possible that he may have had some of this species in his 0. dar-
•iciuii; the plant bodies, however, are so different that one could hardly confuse the two.
Figure 114 is copied from a photograph of the type specimen above cited.
72. Opuntia nigrispina Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 695. 1898.
Opitn/ia purpiirea R. E- Fries, Nov. Act. Soc. Sci. Upsal. IV. i1: 123. 1905.
Described as a shrub, i to 2 dm. high and much branched, the branches upright; joints dull
green or reddish violet, 2 to 4 cm. long, i to 2 cm. in diameter, oblong-ellipsoid, terete, when young
bearing decurrent, spirally arranged tubercles; areoles 2 to 3 mm. in diameter, bearing abundant
FIG. 114. — Opuntia skottsbergii. FIG. 115. — Opuntia nigrispina. Xo.8. FIG, 116. — Opuntia pcntlandii. Xo.4-
wool and glochids; spines 3 to 5 from upper areoles, 2.5 to 3 cm. long, straight, spreading, subterete,
weak, purplish black; flowers small, purple, 2.2 to 2.5 cm. long; petals spatulate, 1.5 cm. long, 6
mm. broad; stigma-lobes 5; ovary i cm. long, obovoid, nearly smooth.
Type locality: On the puna of Humahuaca, Bolivia.
Distribution: Rare in stony mountains, altitude 3,500 meters, Jujuy, Argentina, and
southern Bolivia.
Figure 115 represents a fruiting joint collected by J. A. Shafer at La Quiaca, Argen-
tina, February 2, 1917 (No. 79).
73. Opuntia pentlandii Salm-Dyck, Allg. Gartenz. 13: 387. 1845.
Opuntia boliviana Salm-Dyck, Allg. Gartenz. 13: 388. 1845.
Opuntia pyrrhacantha Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 694. 1898.
Opuntia dactylifcra Vaupel, Bot. Jahrb. Engler Beibl. in: 29. 1913.
Opuntia ciicum'iformis Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 524. 1916. (From the description.)
Plant much branched, forming low, rounded, compact mounds sometimes a meter broad with
hundreds of short stubby branches; joints obovoid to oblong-cylindric, plump, 2 to 10 cm. long,
sometimes 4 dm. in diameter, more or less pointed, pale green or sometimes purplish, tuberculate ;
areoles small, circular, filled with short wool and yellow glochids, the upper ones sometimes also
having spines; spines sometimes wanting, when present mostly from the upper areoles, erect, 2 to 10,
usually bright yellow, sometimes brownish becoming dull brown, the longest one 7 cm. long; flowers
98
THE CACTACEAE.
FIG.
very variable in color and size, lemon-yellow to deep red, 2 to 3 cm. long, sometimes 5 cm. broad when
fully expanded; petals obtuse; filaments short; style thick; stigma-lobes very short; ovary short with
few areoles ; areoles on ovary subtended by minute leaves, filled with short wool, the upper ones with
bristle-like spines ; fruit globular to short-oblong, 2 to 3 cm. long, dry ; seeds numerous, 4 to 5 mm. long.
Type locality: In Bolivia.
Distribution: Very common on the high pampas of southeastern
Peru and Bolivia, and adjacent Argentina.
Cactus pcntlandii Lemaire (Cact. 88. 1868), name only, is sup-
posed to apply to this species.
This is one of the most characteristic plants of the high pampas
of the Andean region, mostly growing at elevations of 12,000 feet or
higher, forming low, broad, compact clumps, sometimes made up
of a hundred plants or more.
Illustrations: PDict.Gard. Nicholson 2: f. 751 ; PForster, Handb.
Cact. ed. 2. f. 124; ?W. Watson, Cact. Cult. f. 77, all as Opuntia
boliviano; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 24: 175, as Opuntia dactylifcra.
Figure 116 represents a joint of the plant collected in
1914 by Dr. Rose at Comanche, Bolivia; figure 117 shows a
flowering joint collected by Dr. Rose in 1914, at Juliaca, Peru.
74. Opuntia ignescens Vaupel, Bot. Jahrb. Engler Beibl. in: 30.
1913-
Plants forming clumps 2 dm. high or less, with hundreds of
erector spreading joints; joints bluish green, 8 to 10 cm. long, very
fleshy, naked below ; upper areoles very spiny ; spines 6 to 1 5 from
each areole, nearly equal, 4 to 5 cm. long, erect, acicular, yellow;
flowers very showy, deep red; ovary oblong, 3 to 4 cm. long, naked
below, but the upper areoles producing numerous spines 4 to 7 cm.
long; fruit red, 7 cm. long, spiny and tuberculate above, terete
below, with a deep umbilicus; seeds nearly globular, about 5 mm.
in diameter.
Type locality: Near Sumbay, southern Peru.
Distribution: On the pampas of southern Peru and
northern Chile, at altitude of 3,000 to 3,600 meters. FIG. us.— Opuntia ignescens. XQ.S.
17. — Opuntia pent-
landii. Xo-4-
FIG. 119. — Opuntia ignescens forming large mounds.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XVI
M. E. Eaton del.
1. Top of Opuntia miquelii. 2. Old and young joints of Opuntia invida.
3. Upper part of joint of Ofiuntia ignescens. (All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
99
Plate xvi, figure 3, represents old and young joints of the plant collected above Ay-
rampl, Peru, by Dr. Rose in 1914. Figure nS shows a fruit from thesame plant ;figure 119
is from a photograph taken by H. L. Tucker at Coropuna, Peru, in 1911.
75. Opuntia campestris sp. nov.
Much branched, often forming low, dense masses, 3 to 6 dm. in diameter; terminal joints readily
breaking off; joints globular or a little longer than thick, 3 to 5 cm. long, with numerous prominent
areoles, the tubercles conspicuous when young; leaves minute, i to 1.5 mm. long, caducous; glochids
conspicuous, numerous, yellow; spines usually wanting at the lower areoles, present above, very
unequal, 5 to 10, acicular, the longest ones 3.5 cm. long; flowers rosy white to light yellow, 2 to 3 cm.
long; ovary naked or spiny; fruit thicker than long, 2.5 cm. long, with deep umbilicus, often very
spiny.
Common just below railroad station at
Pampa de Arrieros, Peru, where it was col-
lected by Dr. Rose, August 23, 1914 (No. 18957).
Figure 120 represents joints of the type
specimen above cited.
FIG. 120. — Opuntia campestris. Xo.8.
FIG. 121. — Opuntia ignota. Xo.8.
76. Opuntia ignota sp. nov.
Low, much branched, spreading; joints small, narrow, 2 to 3 cm. long, more or less purplish;
leaves minute, often purplish; spines 2 to 7 from an areole, brownish, acicular, the longest ones 4 to
5 cm. long; glochids, when present, yellow; areoles large, full of grayish wool; flowers and fruit not
seen.
Collected by Dr. Rose on the hills below the railroad station at Pampa de Arrieros,
Peru, August 23, 1914 (No. 18974).
Plants grown in greenhouses are dark green and develop few spines or none.
This plant grows in the same region as 0. campestris, but is quite different from it.
Figure 121 shows joints of the type specimen above cited.
Subgenus 3. PLATYOPUNTIA.
Includes all the species with flattened joints ; a few species have nearly terete joints ;
others have some of the joints terete. Twenty-eight series are recognized. The species
are most abundant in North America, but several series are found only in South America,
while others have representatives in both Americas. (See Key to the Series, p. 45.)
IOO
THE CACTACEAE.
Series 1. PUMILAE.
Low, spiny species, with slightly flattened, narrowly cylindric or linear-oblong, readily detached
ultimate joints, the main stem terete. We know three species, the typical one in Mexico and Guate-
mala, one from Oaxaca, Mexico, and one Peruvian. In the structure of their joints they form a
transitional series between Cylindropuntia and Platyopuntia, and might be included in either of these
subgenera with about equal reason.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Young areoles with only i to 3 spines; joints 2 to 3 cm. thick.
Plant i to 5 meters high; joints tubercled; spines yellowish. . . . . 77. O. pumila
Plants about 2 dm. high; joints not tubercled; spines reddish to brown. . 770. O. depauperata
Areoles with 3 to 7 spines; plants i to 4 dm. high.
Joints i to 1.5 cm. thick; areoles not blotched; spines brownish . . . 78. O. pubescens
Joints 2 to 3 cm. thick; young areoles dark-blotched; spines yellowish. . ... 79. 0. pascoensis
FIG. 122. — Opuntia pumila forming low thickets.
77. Opuntia pumila Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 521. 1908.
Stems low, very much branched, the joints readily falling off when touched, 6 to 20 cm. long,
velvety-pubescent, terete or sometimes slightly flattened, turgid, bearing more or less prominent
tubercles ; areoles small, those of old stems bearing several slender spines, the longer ones 3 cm. long ;
areoles of young joints usually bearing 2 yellowish spines; ovary pubescent, with few spines or none;
petals yellow, tinged with red, 15 mm. long; fruit globular, red, 15 mm. long.
Type locality: Near Oaxaca City, Mexico, on the road to Mitla.
Distribution: Central and southern Mexico.
When this species was described, attention was called to various forms which belonged
here or to one or more related species. These we now refer to 0. pubcsccns.
Figure 122 is from a photograph of the type; figure 123 represents joints of the same.
OPUNTIA.
101
123
77d. Opuntia depauperata sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 216.)
78. Opuntia pubescens Wendland* in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 149. 1837.
Opuntia leptarthra Weber in Gosselin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 393. 1904.
Plants small, usually low, sometimes 4 dm. high, much branched; joints easily becoming de-
tached, nearly terete, glabrous or pubescent, 3 to 7 cm. long; spines numerous, short, brownish;
flowers lemon-yellow but drying red; filaments greenish; style white; stigma-lobes cream-colored;
fruit small, 2 to 2.5 cm. long, red, a little spiny, with a depressed umbilicus; seeds small, 3 mm. in
diameter.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Northern Mexico to Gua-
temala.
This species was sent to the Exposition
Universelle at Paris by the Mexican Govern-
ment in 1889, and was there seen and de-
scribed by Dr. Weber as 0. leptarthra. A part
of this material finally went to the Hanbury
Garden at La Mortola, Italy, whence we
obtained specimens in 1913 which prove to
be identical with specimens obtained by Dr.
Rose and others in Mexico and Guatemala in
1905 to 1909.
This is an insignificant species and hence
has generally been overlooked in the region
where so many more striking species are found.
It is widely distributed, extending from the
State of Tamaulipas, in Mexico, to Guate-
mala, a much greater range than that of most
species. Its wide distribution is doubtless due to the fact that the joints, which are cov-
ered with barbed spines and are easily detached, fasten themselves to various animals
and are scattered like burs over the country ; each little joint thus set free starts a new
center of distribution.
This is a difficult plant to grow in greenhouses, for the spreading or hanging branches
soon become entangled with other plants and break off in attempts to free or move them ;
partly for this reason, doubtless, it rarely flowers in cultivation.
Opuntia angusta Meinshausen (Wochenschr. Gartn. Pflanz. i: 30. 1858) was unknown
to Schumann. It was originally described as similar to the South American species,
0. aurantiaca, and, if so, it must be near 0. pubescens, if nor* identical with it, being a native
of Mexico, where it was first collected by Karwinsky.
Figure 124 represents joints of the Guatemalan plant, cultivated in the green-
houses of the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, obtained in 1907.
79. Opuntia pascoensis sp. nov.
Stems erect and rigid, up to 3 dm. high; joints easily breaking apart, erect or ascending, terete
or slightly flattened, 3 to 12 cm. long, 1.5 to 4 cm. broad, puberulent, hardly tuberculate but with
faint upturned lunate depressions between the dark-blotched areoles; leaves minute; areoles some-
what elevated, filled with brown wool intermixed with longer white cobwebby hairs; spines 4 to 8
on young joints, more on older joints, acicular, yellow, 2 cm. long or less; glochids numerous, short,
yellow, tardily developing; fruit globular, 1.5 cm. in diameter, naked below, spiny above. Doubt-
less of wide distribution, for the joints are easily detached and are distributed like burs, but so far
only two collections have been reported.
*Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. 1837) frequently refers several of Wendland's species to Catal. h. Herrnh. 1835, but we
can find no references to Wendland having published a catalogue of the Herrenhausen Garden either in 1835 or about
that time. We have therefore cited all of Wendland's species so referred by Pfeiffer to the pages given in his
Enumatio.
FIG. 123. — Opuntia pumila. Xo.4.
FIG. 124. — Opuntia pubescens. Xo.75.
IO2
THE CACTACEAE.
0. curassavica
O. taylori
0. repens
O. pestifer
O. borinquensis
O. militaris
0. nemoralis
0. dnimmondii
O. tracvi
0. pusilla
0. darrahiana
Collected by Dr. and Mrs. J. N. Rose in central and southern Peru, in 1914, first from
just below Matucana (No. 18653), and later at Pasco (No. 18812, type).
Plate xvn, figure i, represents a joint of the type specimen above cited.
Series 2. CURASSAVICAE.
This series is composed of 10, or perhaps n, species of low plants, characterized by their fragile
branches, the small joints separating and becoming detached very readily, more or less flattened or
subterete. They mostly inhabit the southern United States and the West Indies ; one is known
from Ecuador; the original home of one of the species recognized is unknown.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines acicular.
Joints oval, mostly not more than twice as long as wide; plants prostrate, little branched 80.
Joints oblong to linear, 2 to 8 times as long as wide; plants ascending or erect, much branched.
Joints narrowly linear, i to 2 cm. wide 81.
Joints oblong to linear-oblong or obovate-oblong, 2 to 4 cm. wide.
Joints oblong to linear, 4 to 8 times as long as wide; spines i to 3 cm. long.
Joints not tubercled . . 82.
Joints tubercled, at least when young 820.
Joints oblong to obovate-oblong, 2 to 3 times as long as wide ; spines 3 to 5 cm. long 83 .
Spines subulate.
Spines white.
Roots fibrous; spines at most of the areoles 84.
Roots tuberous; spines only at the upper areoles 85.
Spines brown.
Joints oval to oblong.
Joints scarcely repand; plant up to 2 dm. . . .86.
Joints strongly repand; plant i dm 87.
Joints linear-lanceolate
Affinity uncertain . . 89.
80. Opuntia curassavica (Linnaeus) Miller, Card. Diet. ed. 8. No. 7. 1768.
Cactus curassaviciis Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 469. 1753.
Stems low, 5-jointed, light green, pros-
trate and creeping or hanging over rocks ; joints
oval to oblong, decidedly flattened but thick,
2 to 5 cm. long, glabrous; leaves minute, soon
withering; areoles small, bearing short wool
and longer, white cobwebby hairs ; spines 4 to
many, acicular, 2.5 cm. longer less, yellowish,
becoming white in age; glochids tardily de-
veloping.
Type locality: Curacao Island. FIG. 125. — Opuntia curassavica. Xo.75.
Distribution: Curacao, Bonaire, and Aruba.
Haworth (Syn. PI. Succ. 196. 1812) describes three varieties, major, media, and minor,
and later (Rev. PL Succ. 71. 1821) also describes the variety longa. O. curassavica elongata
Haworth (Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 184. 1834), a name only, is supposed to be the same
as var. longa.
This is one of the oldest species of Opuntia, having been described and figured as early
as 1696. For a long time it has been unknown, the name having been transferred to a
similar species, 0. repens. In 1913 Dr. Britton visited Curacao, its native home, and re-col-
lected it. Its flowers have not been described, and several residents informed him that
they had never seen it in flower; Dr. Britton did not find it in flower on Curacao, nor has it
flowered with us in cultivation; Haworth, who wrote about it in 1812, speaks of its being
a shy bloomer, saying he had seen it in flower but once. In early English books it is called
pin pillow, because its turgid joints suggest pincushions filled with pins.
Illustrations: Bradley, Hist. Succ. PL ed. 2. pi. 4, as Opuntia minima americana, etc.;
Commerson Hort. pi. 56, as Opuntia curassavica minima; Plukenet, Opera Bot. 3: pi. 281,
f. 3, as Opuntia minor caulescens.
Figure 125 represents the plant collected on Curacao by Dr. N. L. Britton and Dr.
J. A. Shafer in 1913.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XVII
1. Joint of Opuntia pascoensis .
2. Joints of Opuntia taylori.
3, 4. Forms of Opitntia. rcpcus. 5. Flower of same.
6. Flowering joint of Opmttiu dmmnn>ndii.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA. 103
81. Opuntia taylori Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 520. 1908.
Opuntia hattoniana Britton and Rose in Johnston and Tryon, Rep. Prickly-Pear Comm. 97. 1914.
Prostrate, widely branched; joints linear to linear-oblong, 12 cm. long or less, bright green, i to
2 cm. wide, turgid, glabrous or pubescent; areoles i to 1.5 cm. apart, not elevated; spines acicular,
3 to 6 at each areole, yellowish brown, becoming white, 4 cm. long or less; glochids yellowish brown,
3 mm. long; flowers yellow, small, the petals about i cm. long; ovary pyriform, i to 1.5 cm. long,
its areoles with few bristles and spineless.
Type locality: Between Gonaives and L,a Hotte Rochee, on road to Terre Neuve,
Haiti.
Distribution: Deserts of Haiti and of Azua, Santo Domingo.
This species, while similar to 0. repens, has more terete joints.
It was first collected in 1905 in Haiti by Nash and Taylor, and upon this collection the
species was based. In 1913 Rose, Fitch, and Russell collected it in the Azua desert of
Santo Domingo. In this last collection the joints are pubescent, but otherwise the plants
seem to be the same, although we at one time thought they might be distinct; in fact, in
their report on the opuntias, Johnston and Tryon published the Santo Domingo plant as
new, from notes given to them.
Plate xvn, figure 2, represents joints of the plant collected by Rose, Fitch, and Russell
at Azua, Santo Domingo, in 1913.
82. Opuntia repens Bello, Anal. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 10: 277. 1881.
Stems erect or ascending, 5 dm. high or less, commonly much branched, often forming dense,
flat masses 4 meters in diameter, glabrous or pubescent, green or olive-green; joints oblong to linear
5 to 1 6 cm. long, 3.5 cm. broad or less, usually strongly flattened; areoles small, bearing brown wool
and a few cobwebby white hairs ; spines when very young pinkish, becoming brown, afterwards fading
out, acicular, numerous, 3.5 cm. long, or less; glochids numerous, yellow, tardily developing; flowers
4 cm. broad, bright yellow, fading to salmon-colored ; ovary and fruit with or without spines ; fruit red,
2 to 3 cm. long, i to few-seeded.
Type locality: Near Guanica, Porto Rico.
Distribution: Porto Rico and its islands, Mona, Muertos, Vieques, and Culebra, to
Virgin Gorda and St. Croix.
Opuntia repens has long been confused with 0. curassamca. It was first collected on
St. Thomas, where it is abundant and a troublesome weed, and was illustrated by Pfeiffer
and Otto in the year 1843. It was described by Bello in 1881, who thought it might be
a variety of 0. spinosissima. According to Bello, it is called olaga in Porto Rico, which
is a corruption of ohulaga; the name suckers is used for it in the Virgin Islands. The plant
is freely distributed by its fragile, clinging joints. Unlike its relative, 0. curassamca, this
plant flowers freely, blooming in late spring and summer.
Opuntia repens Karwinsky in Salm-Dyck (Hort. Dyck. 361. 1834) has been published
only as a synonym, and therefore does not invalidate the use of Bello's name.
The plant is recorded by Johnston and Tryon (Rep. Prickly-Pear Comm. 95. 1914)
as 0. curassamca taylori.
Illustration: Pfeiffer and Otto, Abbild. Beschr. Cact. i: pi. 6, f. 2, as Opuntia citras-
savica.
Plate xvn, figure 3, represents joints of the plant collected near Guanica, Porto Rico,
by Dr. Britton in 1913 ; figure 4 is from a plant obtained by the same collector the same year
on Virgin Gorda; figure 5 is copied from the illustration above cited.
82a. Opuntia pestifer sp. nov. (See Appendix p. 217.)
83. Opuntia borinquensis sp. nov.
Plants few-branched, forming colonies often 2 meters across, 5 dm. high or less; joints readily
detached, oblong to obovate-oblong, dull green, glabrous, compressed but turgid, 5 to 8 cm. long,
4 cm. wide or less, about 1.5 cm. thick; areoles small, i to 2 cm. apart, bearing 2 or 3 acicular spines,
104
THE CACTACEAE.
the larger up to 6 cm. long, brown when young, fading white; leaves subulate, acuminate, i to 2 mm.
long; fruit obovoid, subtruncate, 1.5 cm. long.
Limestone swale, Morillos de Cabo Rojo, Porto Rico (Britton, Cowell, and Brown,
No. 4741), growing with 0. repens Bello, from which it differs by its larger, broader, and
flatter joints and much longer spines.
The only locality known for this plant is at the extreme southwestern corner of Porto
Rico, where numerous colonies of it were observed. The region is a very dry one, rain fall-
ing there only at long intervals ; the associated vegetation is of a highly xerophytic character.
Figure 126 represents joints of the type specimen above cited.
84. Opuntia militaris sp. nov.
Stems 3 dm. tall, the branches weak and more or less spreading; joints thick, narrowly oblong
to obovate, 5 to 8 cm. long, somewhat shiny when young, easily breaking apart; spines i or 2 from an
areole, occasionally more, acicular, white, i to 2 cm. long; flower-buds pointed; flowers small, 3 cm.
long; petals greenish to cream-colored, tinged with pink; ovary small, its small areoles without spines.
Collected by Dr. N. L. Britton, March 17 to 30, 1909, at the U. S. Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Oriente, Cuba (No. 1957).
Figure 127 represents joints of the type specimen above cited.
FIG. 126. — Opuntia borinquensis. Xo.5-
FIG. 127. — Opuntia militaris. Xo.5.
85. Opuntia nemoralis Griffiths, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23: 133. 1913.
Plants low, usually prostrate, forming clumps i meter in diameter, sometimes 3 dm. high; joints
ovate to obovate, thick, 7 to 9 cm. long, green, but often with purple blotches about the areoles;
spines i or 2, only from the upper areoles, 2 to 2.5 cm. long, mostly erect; glochids yellow; flowers
yellow; fruit obovoid to pyriform, small, 3 cm. long, light red, truncate.
Type locality: Longview, Texas.
Distribution: Pine woods and fields about Longview, Texas.
This species in habit, joints, and spines suggests the Tortispinac; but on account of
having easily detached joints we have referred it to the Curassavicae, as indicated in the
original description, placing it between the Cuban species O. militaris and the United
States species 0. dniiinnoiiJii. It is known only from the type specimens.
86. Opuntia drummondii Graham in Maund, Botanist 5: pi. 246. 1846.
Opuntia pes-corvi LeConte in Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 346. 1856.
Opuntia fntstulenta Gibbes, Proc. Elliott Soc. Nat. Hist, i: 273. 1859.
Plant prostrate or spreading, 2 dm. or less high, from thickened single or sometimes moniliform
roots; joints rather variable, narrowly linear to broadly oblong, with entire margins, sometimes 12
cm. long and 5 to 6 cm. broad, usually light green, sometimes darker about the areoles; leaves 2 to
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XVIII
M. E. Eaton del. 1 to 3
H. A. Wood de). 4, 5
1. Two plants of Ofntntia drummondii. 3 Joints of Opiintia triacaniha.
2. Joints of Opiintia retrorsa with flower. 4, 5. Joint and section of fruit of Opuntiajamaicensis.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
105
6 mm. long; spines (if present) solitary or 2 to 4, brownish red or gray, 2 to 4 cm. long; flowers yellow,
6 cm. broad; petals obovate; fruit red, juicy but insipid, obovoid to clavate, 22 1035 mm. long, 15 mm.
in diameter at thickest part, bearing few areoles and no spines; umbilicus slightly depressed in the
center; seeds i to 8, about 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: Apalachicola, Florida.
Distribution: Sandy soil from northern Florida to Pamlico Sound, North Carolina.
In February 1916, Dr. J. K. Small visited the coastal islands near Charleston, South
Carolina, for the purpose of collecting Gibbes's Opuntia frustulenta. He found this species
very common on Folly Island and on the Isle of Palms, where it grows abundantly in the
sand, and also very variable as to shape and size of joints. He says the joints break off
easily and attach themselves to one 's clothing like the sand spur, making progress over these
islands difficult and painful. It is the common belief that this species rarely flowers. It
usually flowers when first brought into
cultivation, but rarely afterward, this
doubtless being due to unsuitable green-
house conditions.
The fruit described was collected by
Dr. J. K. Small, December 10, 1917, at
Apalachicola, Florida, the type locality.
According to Professor L. R. Gibbes,
it is known as dildoes about Charleston.
Illustration: Maund, Botanist 5:
pi. 246.
Plate xvii, figure 6, represents
flowering joints of a plant sent from La
Mortola, Italy, to the New York Botani-
cal Garden in 1912; plate xvm, figure i ,
shows the plant collected by Dr. Small
on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, in
1916.
Herbarium specimens apparently
representing a related species, were
collected by W. I/. McAtee at Cameron,
Louisiana, in 1910 (No. 1955).
87. Opuntia tracyi Britton, Torreyaii: 152.
191 1.
Low, diffusely much branched, pale green, about 2 dm. high or less; older joints oblong
to linear-oblong, flat, 6 to 8 cm. long, 1.5 to 2.5 cm. wide, about i cm. thick; young joints scarcely
flattened or terete, i cm. thick ; areoles elevated, 5 to 10 mm. apart ; spines i to 4, acicular, light gray with
darker tips, 3.5 cm. long or less; glochids numerous, brownish; corolla pure yellow, 4 cm. broad;
ovary 1.5 cm. long, bearing a few triangular acute scales similar to the outermost sepals, which are
2 mm. long; sepals triangular-ovate, 5 to 15 mm. long, the outer green, the inner yellowish with a
green blotch; petals obovate, apiculate, 2 to 2.5 cm. long; filaments yellow, i cm. long; anthers white.
In sandy soil near the coast, Biloxi, Mississippi.
Figure 128 is from a photograph of the plant collected by S. M. Tracy at Biloxi,
Mississippi, in 1911.
88. Opuntia pusilla Haworth, Syn. PI. Succ. 195. 1812.
FIG. 128. — Opuntia tracyi.
Cactus pusillus Haworth, Misc. Nat. 188. 1803.
Cactus foliosus Willdenow, Enum. PI. Suppl. 35. 1813.
Opuntia foliosa Salm-Dyck in De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 471.
1828.
Low, usually prostrate; joints narrow, more or less flattened, sometimes nearly terete, hardly
tuberculate, light green in color; leaves 6 mm. long, linear, early deciduous; areoles remote; spines
io6
THE CACTACEAE;.
i or 2, subulate, usually brownish when young, in age straw-colored; flowers pale yellow, rather
large for the plant; petals few, about 8, spreading, acute.
Type locality: Not cited.
Distribution: Usually assigned to South America, but not known from any definite
locality; Schumann, in his Keys, however, says West Indies.
This species has usually passed under the name of 0. foliosa, although all writers seem
to agree that the older name, 0. pusilla, was given to the same species. It may belong in
the series Aurantiacac rather than in the Curassavicac.
Specimens distributed from European gardens as 0. foliosa in recent years are not
typical, and are probably referable to 0. drummondii.
Tephrocactus pusillus Lemaire (Cact. 88. 1868), an unpublished name, referred by
Lemaire to his third section of Tephrocactus, may belong here. The Index Kewensis refers
it to Opuntia pusilla.
Illustration: Pfeiffer and Otto, Ab-
bild. Beschr. Cact. i: pi. 18, as Opuntia
foliosa.
Figure 129 is copied from the illus-
tration above cited.
89. Opuntia darrahiana Weber in Gosselin,
Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 388.
1904.
Growing in masses, 2 to 2.5 dm. high
3.5 to 4 dm. broad, very much branched,
joints 7 to 8 cm. long by 4 to 5 cm. broad, bright green
to sea-green ; areoles somewhat elevated, especially when
young, i cm. apart; spines 6, the two uppermost the
longest, these 4 to 4.5 cm. long, all suberect, white or
grayish white, more or less brownish at tip ; glochids said
to be wanting; flowers and fruit not known.
Type locality: Turks Islands.
Distribution: Known only from the type lo-
cality.
This species is known only from the Turks
Islands, a small group at the southeastern end of
the Bahaman Archipelago. It was introduced
into Europe by the late Charles Darrah.
We know the plant only from the above-cited description, and, so far as we have been
able to learn, it is not now in cultivation, nor have we been able to find any herbarium
specimens preserved. The opuntias known to us to inhabit Turks Islands are 0. dillenii,
0. nashii, and 0. lucayana. The description of 0. darrahiana does not agree with any of
these. The species is referred to the series Curassavicae with doubt, but as this series has
representatives in Florida, Cuba, and Hispaniola, the existence of one in the Bahamas is
not improbable.
Series 3. AURANTIACAE.
The species of this series are low plants, mostly with readily detached joints; the main stems are
often terete or turgid, the ultimate joints narrow and flat. They inhabit southeastern South Amer-
ica. During the expedition to Brazil and Argentina conducted by Dr. Rose in the summer of 1915,
only a few of the species here grouped were found ; Dr. Shafer collected several of them in the winter
of 1916-17. Dr. Spegazzini has given us photographs of several.
We recognize 8 species, and have appended another, which may belong here.
FIG. 129. — Opuntia pusilla.
OPUNTIA.
107
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints not conspicuously purple-blotched under the areoles.
Joints linear, elongated.
Stem terete or subterete; branches mostly flat.
Joints dark green, not tubercled 90. O. aurantiaca
Joints tubercled, bluish green when young 91. O. schickendantzii
All the joints flat.
Joints elongated, linear 92. O. kiska-loro
Joints linear-oblong 93. O. canina
Joints short, elliptic 94-0. montevidensis
Joints with a long purplish blotch under each areole.
Joints more or less spiny.
Joints flattened.
Joints 2 to 3.5 cm. wide 95-0. retrorsa
Joints 3.5 to 6 cm. wide 96. O. utkilio
Joints subterete, turgid 960. 0. discolor
Joints spineless 97. O. anacanlha
Perhaps of this series 98. 0. grosseianu
90. Opuntia aurantiaca Lindley, Edwards's Bot. Reg. 19 :
pi. 1606. 1833.
Opuntia aurantiaca extensa Salm-Dyck in Forster, Handb.
Cact. 476. 1846.
Low, much branched, and spread-
ing; stem terete or subterete, i to 2
cm. thick; joints very fragile, linear,
6 to 8 cm. long, 1.5 to 2.5 cm. broad,
almost terete at base, dark green, shin-
ing; areoles somewhat elevated, filled
with white wool ; spines 2 or 3, brown-
ish, i to 3 cm. long; flowers yellow, 2.5
cm. broad; fruit 2 to 2.5 cm. long.
Type locality: Chile (in error).
Distribution: Argentina and
Uruguay.
Cactus aurantiacus Lemaire
(Cact. 87. 1868) is usually cited in
synonymy, but Lemaire only men-
tions the name as a species of
Cactus. It is in fact Gillies's man-
uscript name, first published in
the Botanical Register in 1833
as a synonym of 0. aurantiaca.
0. extensa Salm-Dyck (Pfeif-
fer, Enum. Cact. 147. 1837) is also
given as a synonym.
Remy states (Gay, Fl. Chilena
3: 25. 1847) that it grows in the
Central provinces Of Chile, but he aurantiaca. FIG. ui.-O. schickendantzii.
probably had in mind some other plant, as 0. aurantiaca is not known to be native of Chile
by resident botanists.
Illustrations: Anal. Mus. Nac. Montevideo 5: pi. 34; Edwards's Bot. Reg. 19: pi. 1606.
Figure 130 represents a joint from a plant found by Dr. Rose, in Argentina, in 1915.
91. Opuntia schickendantzii Weber in Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 688. 1898.
Shrub-like, i to 2 meters high, much branched, grayish green; branches cylindric or flattened,
somewhat tuberculate; leaves minute, 2 mm. long, reddish; spines i or 2, subulate, i to 2 cm. long;
flowers 4 cm. in diameter, yellow; fruit green, sterile.
Type locality: In Tucuman, Argentina.
Distribution: Northern Argentina.
Figure 131 is from a photograph of a plant in Argentina contributed by Dr. Spegazzini.
FIG. 130. — O.
aurantiaca.
loS
THE CACTACEAE.
FIG. 132. — Opuntia kiska-loro.
92. Opuntia kiska-loro Spegazzini, Anal. Mus.
Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 516. 1905.
Prostrate, rooting, forming spreading
clumps 3 to 6 dm. high; joints flat, at first
very narrow, becoming lanceolate, 20 cm. long,
4 cm. broad, shining green ; spines 2 to 4, un-
equal, whitish, 4 to 6 cm. long; flowers orange,
rather large, 3 to 6 cm. broad; filaments pale
orange; stigma-lobes 6, flesh-colored; fruit 5
cm. long, deep violet-purple without, white
within; seeds 5 mm. broad, pubescent.
Type locality: Deserts of La Rioja,
Catamarca, Argentina.
Distribution: Northwest Argentina.
Figure 132 is from a photograph of
the type plant sent by Dr. Spegazzini.
93. Opuntia canina Spegazzini, Anal. Mus.
Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 518. 1905.
At first erect, then decumbent, i to 3
meters broad ; joints flat, very narrow, atten-
uate at both ends, 2.5 to 3.5 dm. long, 4.5 cm.
broad, shining green; areoles on young joints
unarmed; spines of areoles of older joints i or
2, sometimes 3, 1.5 to 3.5 cm. long, reflexed,
subterete, grayish white with yellowish tips;
flowers numerous, medium sized; ovary obo-
void; corolla rotate, yellowish orange, 4 to 5
cm. broad; petals obovate; filaments yellow;
stigma-lobes 5; fruit obovoid, 2.6 to 2.8 cm.
long, red without, white within; seeds 4 mm.
broad, white, lanate.
Type locality: Near Pampablanca,
Jujuy, Argentina.
FIG. 133. — Opuntia canina.
Distribution: Provinces of Jujuy and Tucuman, Argentina.
Figure 133 is from a photograph sent by Dr. Spegazzini.
OPUNTIA.
109
94. Opuntia montevidensis Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 515. 1905.
Cespitose, the branches 3 to 5 dm. high; joints 5 to 10 cm. long, obovate to elliptic; areoles not
very prominent; spines usually 5, 3 longer and stouter, 2 very small, reflexed, and setiform, the 2 or
3 longer ones erect or spreading, 2 to 3 cm. long; flowers 4 to 5 cm. broad, orange-colored; fruit
dark purple, clavate, 3.5 to 4 cm. long ; seeds lanate.
Type locality: Cerro de Montevideo, Uruguay.
Distribution: Cerro de Montevideo, and near La Colonia, Uruguay.
95. Opuntia retrorsa Spcgazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4:517. 1905.
( ?) Opuntia plaiynoda Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 526. 1916.
Stems prostrate, intricately branched, creeping, rooting at the nodes; joints linear-lanceolate,
more or less attenuate at each end, flattened; areoles somewhat prominent, each subtended by a
long, dull purplish blotch; spines i to 3, reflexed, white below, with pinkish tips; flowers yellowish,
4 to 5 cm. broad; fruit about 2 cm. long, violet-purple on the outside, light rose on the inside; seeds
2 to 2.5 mm. broad, somewhat villous.
FIG. 134. — Opuntia retrorsa.
Type locality: In the Territory of the Chaco, Argentina.
Distribution: Northern Argentina.
Plate xvin, figure 2, represents a plant from Argentina which flowered at the New
York Botanical Garden in 1911. Figure 134 is from a photograph sent by Dr. Spegazzini.
96. Opuntia utkilio Spegazzani, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 516. 1905.
Low, creeping plant, rooting at the joints, with elongated branches 5 to 15 dm. long; joints flat,
elliptic-linear, 15 to 30 cm. long, 5 to 6 cm. broad; spines at first 2 or 3, the upper one longer, later
more numerous, reflexed; flowers small, 3.5 to 4 cm. broad, yellowish; ovary obovoid, somewhat
spiny; fruit small, 3 cm. long, fleshy, insipid, reddish violet both within and without; seeds sub-
orbicular, 4 mm. broad, lanate.
Type locality: Province of Tucuman, Argentina.
Distribution: Northern Argentina.
Figure 135 is from a photograph sent by Dr. Spegazzini.
96a. Opuntia discolor sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 218.)
97. Opuntia anacantha Spegazzini in Gosselin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 391. 1904.
Usually decumbent and rooting along the under surface, sometimes ascending and clambering,
i to 2.5 meters long; joints unarmed, dark green except for purple spots under the areoles, elliptic
to lanceolate, narrowed toward each end, 1.5 to 4 dm. long, 3.5 to 7 cm. broad; areoles small; flowers
large, numerous, yellowish orange, 4 cm. long, 5 to 6 cm. in diameter; sepals large, reddish, obtuse,
emarginate or even 2-lobed; petals 12; style white; stigma-lobes white or rose-colored; fruit 3 cm.
long, red, the pulp yellowish or white.
Type locality: In the southern Chaco, Argentina.
Distribution: Northeastern Argentina.
Figure 136 is from a photograph of a part of the type plant, received from Dr. Spegazzini.
no
THE CACTACEAE.
98. Opuntia grosseiana Weber in Gosselin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 391. 1904.
Described as having joints intermediate between those of Opuntia data and O. anacantha, and
resembling these species.
Type locality: In Paraguay.
Distribution : Paraguay.
Introduced from Paraguay by Hermann Grosse ; known to us only from the description.
Series 4. TUNAE.
Bushy, ascending, depressed, or erect plants, with rather large and more or less readily
detached joints, bearing acicular or subulate, often numerous, yellow or white spines. The
species inhabit the West Indies, Mexico, Guatemala, and northern South America.
FIG. 135. — Opuntia utkilio.
FIG. 1.36. — Opuntia anacantha.
Joints glabrous. KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines slender, acicular.
Spines white.
Joints dull.
Joints dark green, repand; areoles somewhat elevated 99-0. bella
Joints light green, not repand; areoles not elevated.
Spines several at the areoles; plant ascending 100. 0. triacantha
Spines i to few at the areoles or often wanting; plant erect 101. 0. jamaicensis
Joints shining iota. 0. guatemalensis
Spines yellow, at least when young; plant bushy branched 102. 0. tuna
Spines stout, subulate.
Spines white; joints relatively thick, turgid. ... ... 1020. 0. pennellii
Spines yellow, at least when young; joints relatively thin.
Plants low, spreading, 2 dm. high or less.
Joints repand; spines bright yellow. . . ... 103. 0. antillana
Joints not repand; spines pale yellow. . . . . . . 1030. O. caracasana
Plants tall, i to 2 meters high.
Joints obovate or broadly elliptic . . 104. 0. wentiana
Joints narrowly oblong or oblong-obovate 1040. 0. aequatorialis
OPUNTIA.
Ill
Joints pubescent.
Areoles surrounded by purplish spots ... 105. O. decumbens
Areoles not surrounded by purplish spots ... 106. 0. depressa
99. Opuntia bella sp. nov.
Stems low, 10 to 12 dm. high, forming thickets; joints oblong, repand, 10 to 16 cm. long, dull
dark green; areoles i to 2 cm. apart, somewhat elevated, small, tilled with short brown wool and
glochids; leaves minute, 1.5 to 2.5 mm. long; spines white, 2 to 6, unequal, acicular, the longer ones
about 2 cm. long; flowers 5 cm. long, " sulphur- yellow turning to orange-red;" petals 20 to 22 mm.
long; ovary deeply umbilicate; "fruit small, greenish yellow."
rr \\2irswrm
137. — Opuntia bt-lla in the foreground.
Type locality: Venticas del Dagua, Dagua Valley, western cordillera of Colombia.
Distribution: Western Colombia.
The type is based upon plants collected by Mr. Henry Pittier in the vState of Cauca,
Colombia, in 1906, and grown ever since in Washington and New York. The species is
very common in Cauca, forming with other cacti impenetrable thickets.
Figure 137 is from a photograph by Mr. Pittier of the type plant, taken near Cauca,
Colombia, in 1906; figure 138 is from a photograph by the same collector, showing flowering
and fruiting joints; figure 139 represents a single joint.
112
THE CACTACEAE.
100. Opuntia triacantha (Willdenow) Sweet, Hort. Brit. 172. 1826.
Cactus triacatitlws Willdenow, Enum. PI. Suppl. 34. 1813.
Stems half procumbent or clambering over rocks, sometimes even erect but always low; joints
turgid, oblong, 4 to 8 cm. long, the terminal and often the second and third ones breaking off
easily; spines usually 3, white but often drying yellowish, 4 cm. long or less; flowers, including the
ovaries, 5 cm. long, brownish yellow to cream-colored, tinged with pink ; petals obtuse ; filaments and
style pale green; fruit 2.5 cm. long, red, spineless.
Type locality: Not cited; cultivated in the Berlin Garden.
Distribution: Desecheo Island, Porto Rico; Lesser Antilles, St. Thomas to Guadeloupe.
FIG. 138. — Opuntia bella. Xo.75.
FIG. 139. — Opuntia bella. Xo.66.
When published, the origin of this species was uncertain. It has been referred to the
South American flora, but if our interpretation is correct it is a West Indian plant. It was
introduced into cultivation in 1796.
This species is very common on flats or low hills and, so far as our observation goes,
is never found very far inland in the Lesser Antilles.
Professor Schumann's description includes two species, one of which belongs here and
one in the Strc ptacanthac , perhaps as Mr. Berger thinks to 0. amydaea — and a tall plant,
3.5 meters high, is now grown in Italy under that name. The Index Kewensis refers
0. triacantha as a synonym of 0. curassavica, which is erroneous if our interpretation of
it is correct.
Plate xvin, figure 3, represents joints of the plant collected on Antigua by Rose, Fitch,
and Russell in 1913. Figure 140 is from a photograph taken on St. Christopher, British West
Indies, by Paul G. Russell in 1913.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XIX
H A. Wood del.
Opuntia jamaiccnsis.
1. Plant. 2, 3. Flower. 4. Longitudinal section of flower. .S, <>. Stamen. 7. Style.
OPUNTIA. 113
An Opitntia collected by H. Pittier in Costa Rica and now growing in the cactus house
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture has not been identified. It resembles somewhat
Opuntia tnacantha, but is much out of the range of that species and differs from it in some
important respects. The joints are small, obovate to oblong, rounded at apex, dark green
with purple blotches below the areoles, with low, broad tubercles; margin of the areole
bearing short white hairs; spines usually wanting, but cultivated specimens bear a single
short spine 6 to 7 mm. long from an areole.
FIG. 140. — Opuntia triacantha.
101. Opuntia jamaicensis Britton and Harris, Torreya n: 130. 1911.
Erect, i meter high, with a short subcylindric trunk; branches several, ascending, joints dull
green, obovate, much narrowed at base, flat, rather thin, readily detached, 7 to 13 cm. long, 5 to
7.5 cm. wide; areoles about 2.5 cm. apart; spines i to 5, usually only 2, acicular, unequal, white,
2.5 cm. long or less; flowers 4 cm. broad; petals 16 to 18; filaments greenish white; style white;
stigma-lobes 7 or 8, creamy white; fruit pyriform, red, 3.5 to 4 cm. long; seeds 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: St. Catherine, Jamaica.
Distribution: Plain south of Spanish Town, Jamaica.
The following figures are from paintings by Miss H. A. Wood:
Plate xvin, figure 4, shows a fruiting joint; figure 5 is of a section of the fruit; plate xix,
figure i, shows the type plant about one-third natural size; figures 2, 3, and 4 are of the
flowers ; figures 5 and 6 show the stamens ; figure 7 represents the style.
101(7. Opuntia guatemalensis sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 218.)
102. Opuntia tuna (Linnaeus) Miller, Card. Diet. ed. 8. No. 3. 1769.
Cactus tuna Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 468. 1753.
Cactus humilis Haworth, Misc. Nat. 187. 1803.
Opuntia humilis Haworth, Syn. PI. Succ. 189. 1812.
Opuntia polyantlia Haworth, Syn. PI. Succ. 190. 1812.
Cactus polyanthos Sims, Curtis's Bot. Mag. 53: pi. 2691. 1826.
Opuntia multiflora Nicholson, Diet. Card. 2: 503. 1885.
Plants 6 to 9 dm. high or less; joints usually small, but sometimes up to 16 cm. long, obovate
to oblong, light green, except above the areoles and there brownish; leaves minute, fugacious; areoles
arge; spines 2 to 6, usually only 3 to 5, slightly spreading, light yellow; glochids yellow; flowers about
5 cm. broad; sepals orbicular, yellowish, with a purple stripe along the center; petals light yellow,
THE CACTACEAE.
slightly tinged with red, oblong, rounded at apex; filaments short, greenish below ; style and stigma-
lobes cream-colored or yellowish; ovary bright green, narrowed downward; fruit red, obovoid, about
3 cm. long; seeds 3 to 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: Jamaica.
Distribution: Southern side of Jamaica, West Indies.
Opuiitia tuna is one of the old Cactus species. It was described by Linnaeus as Cactus
tuna and by Philip Miller as Opuntia tuna. In the early part of the Nineteenth Century it was
renamed Opuntia Jniniilis and also 0. polyantha, and has long passed under the latter name.
Opuntia tuna, however, is one of the commonest Opuntia names in our botanical literature.
This is due partly to the fact that the name was early transferred to Opuntia dillenii, one
of the most common species, both wild and cultivated, and partly because tuna is the
FIG. 141. — Opuntia tuna.
FIG. 142. — Opuntia tuna. Xo.S-
common Mexican name for opuntias, and many species have therefore been identified as
0. tuna. So far as our studies indicate, this species is confined to the Jamaica lowlands.
Opuntia multiflora is referred here, although we do not know the plant. It is figured
by Nicholson (Diet. Card. Nicholson 2: f. 754); this figure is republished by Riimpler
(Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 130), and by Knippel (Kakteen, pi. 28), both calling it
Opuntia polyantha; while W. Watson (Cact. Cult. f. 79) uses the same illustration, calling
it 0. dillenii.
Opuntia coccinca (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 161. 1837) is given as a synonym of 0. tuna,
but it was never published; it is doubtless different from 0. coccinea Rafinesque (Med. Fl.
U. S. 2: 247. 1830), also unpublished. The following names seem to belong here, but were
not formally published: Opuntia flexibilis (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 161. 1837); 0. tuna
humilis Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 46. 1845); 0. tuna laemor Salm-Dyck (Hort.
Dyck. 186. 1834) ; and 0. tuna orbiculata Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 47. 1845).
Illustrations: Loudon, Encycl. PI. ed. 3. f. 6878, as Cactus tuna; Wiener Illustr.
Gartenz. 10: f. 114, as Opuntia humilis; Bliihende Kakteen 2: pi. 75; Forster, Handb. Cact.
OPUNTIA.
ed. 2. f. 130; Knippel, Kakteen 2: pi. 28, these three as Opuntia polyantha; Curtis's Bot. Mag.
53: pi. 2691, as Caclus polyanthos; De Candolle, PI. Succ. Hist. 2: pi. 138^, as Cactus opuntia
polyanthos; Descourtilz, Fl. Med. Antil. pi. 513, as Cactus opuntia.
Figure 141 is from a photograph of a plant collected by William Harris, near Kingston,
Jamaica, in 1913; figure 142 represents a joint of the same plant.
102a. Opuntia pennellii sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 219.)
103. Opuntia antillana Britton and Rose, Brooklyn Bot. Card. Mem. 1 : 74. 1918.
Growing in dense clumps, often i meter broad, more or less prostrate; joints usually obovate,
7 to 20 cm. long, narrow and nearly terete at base; terminal joints easily breaking off; leaves conic-
subulate, about 2 mm. long; areoles large, 2 to 3 cm. apart, containing soft brown wool; spines stout,
terete, 3 to 6 at an areole, unequal, i to 6 cm. long, yellow but becoming gray to nearly white in age;
glochids numerous, yellow; flowers 5 to 7 cm. long; petals broad, obtuse, yellow, turning reddish in
age ; fruit reddish purple, 4 cm. long.
FIG. 143. — Opuntia antillana forming thickets.
Type locality: Near Basse Terre, St. Christopher, Rose, Fitch and Russell, No. 3230.
February 2, 1913.
Distribution: St. Christopher, St. Croix, Tortola,
St. Thomas, Porto Rico, and Hispaniola.
This species is one of the most widely distributed
in the West Indies and, on some of the islands on which
it occurs, generally the most abundant. This is partly
due to the fact that the terminal joints are easily de-
tached and may thus be widely scattered.
The question has frequently been raised in our
minds whether this species may not be of hybrid origin.
It has some resemblance to O. dillenii, but has much
smaller joints and these very fragile. What the other
parent would be is not so clear. The fragile joints
would suggest 0. triacantha or 0. repens, but otherwise
there is no close alliance with either of these. Owing
to the fact that it is more common than any of these
species, and is often not associated with any of them, we believe it to be distinct. In the
Fig. 144. — Opuntia antillana. Xo.33.
Il6 THE CACTACEAE.
desert of Azua, Santo Domingo, this is the dominant cactus, forming dense, impenetrable
thickets on the low coastal plain. In the wild state the Azua plant has the joints often
bronzed or purple. On Tortola and St. Thomas it occurs with O. dillcnii and 0. re pens,
and is there called bull suckers.
Figure 143 is from a photograph taken by Paul G. Russell in 1913 near Azua, Santo
Domingo; figure 144 represents joints of the type plant.
103(7. Opuntia caracasana Salm-Dyck. (See Appendix, p. 219.)
104. Opuntia wentiana sp. nov.
Opuntia tunoides Britton and Shafcr in Boldingh, Fl. Ned. W. Ind. Eiland 300. 1913. Not 0. tunoidea
Gibbes.
Plant erect, much branched, i to 2 meters high- joints obovate to elliptic, rather thin, up to
25 cm. long, usually rounded at apex, pale green, slightly glaucous; terminal joints somewhat fragile;
leaves small and subulate ; spines on young joints usually 3, afterwards 4 or 5, when young pale yellow
but soon white; flowers small, 6 to 7 cm. long including the ovary; petals pale yellow, 3 cm. long,
obovate, acute; style cream-colored; fruit small, red.
Type locality: Curacao.
Distribution: Venezuela, and the neighboring islands, Margarita, Bonaire, Curasao,
and Aruba.
Dr. Rose found this plant repeatedly in Venezuela and writes of it as follows : Very
common not only on the savannas along the coast but also on the neighboring hills along
with Lemaireoccrcns, ( 'cplialocereiis, and other cactus genera; its more or less fragile joints,
yellowish spines, bushy stature, and structure of flowers ally it with the Tunae.
This species has been confused with the Jamaican Opuntia tuna (Linnaeus) Miller,
which it resembles. Named in honor of Professor F. A. F. C. Went, distinguished
Dutch botanist.
Opuntia aequatorialis sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 219.)
105. Opuntia decumbens Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 361. 1834.
Opuntia puberula Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 156. 1837.
Stems low, often creeping or trailing, rarely over 4 dm. high; joints i to 2 dm. long, oval to
oblong, covered with a short, soft pubescence; areole usually small, surrounded by a purple blotch,
bearing yellow glochids and wool, the wool cobweb-like on very young joints; spines often wanting,
usually solitary but sometimes numerous, slender or rather stout, 4 cm. long and yellow; flowers
numerous, small, including the ovary about 4 cm. long; petals dark yellow; fruit deep purple, very
juicy; seeds about 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Guatemala and Mexico as far north as Mazatlan and Tamaulipas.
Opuntia re pens Karwinsky (Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 361. 1834) and 0. irrorata Mar-
tius are usually given as synonyms of this species, but as they were printed without
descriptions, they should hardly be referred to synonymy.
The species has long been in cultivation, a colored illustration having been published
in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1841. It grows luxuriously in greenhouses, flowering
profusely in the spring.
We have referred here Opuntia puberula Pfeiffer, which seems to be different from the
plant now grown in collections under that name. Pfeiffer's original description, based upon
sterile plants alone, may be paraphrased as follows: Joints thick, obovate, 7.5 to 12.5 cm.
long by 5 to 7.5 cm. broad, puberulent, green ; areoles somewhat remote, each surrounded by
a red spot, bearing in the upper part a bunch of short glochids and below 2 to 4 slender,
white, divergent spines, the longer ones 8 mm. long; leaves 4 mm. long, acute, red at apex.
Labouret's description of 1853, of 0. puberula Pfeiffer, is very similar to Pfeiffer's,
except that he states that the spines are 9 cm. long. Both these descriptions answer very
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XX
. E. Eaton del
1, 2. Flowering and fruiting joints of Opuntia decumbent. 3. Probable hybrid, with fruit and flower.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
117
well to the plant which we know as Opuntia dccitmbens, originally described from plants
growing in the Botanical Garden in Vienna.
Opuntia decumbens irrorata Forbes (Hort. Tour. Germ. 158. 1837) is doubtless the
same as 0. irrorata Martius (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 154. 1837). These and 0. decumbens
longispina Salm-Dyck (Haage and Schmidt, Haupt-Verzeichnis 1912: 230. 1912) pre-
sumably belong here.
Opuntia parvispina Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 238. 1850), described from
garden specimens of unknown origin, without flowers, has never been definitely placed.
Schumann lists it among his unknown species, but attributes it to Mexico. Salm-Dyck
states that it resembles 0. pubenila, but that it is glabrous.
Illustrations: Curtis's Bot. Mag. 68: pi. 3914; Bliihende Kakteen 3: pi. 132.
FIG. 145. — Opuntia decumbens.
Plate xx, figure i, represents a flowering joint of a plant collected by Dr. MacDougal
and Dr. Rose at Tehuacan, Mexico, in 1906; figure 2 represents a fruiting joint of a plant
collected by William R. Maxon at El Rancho, Guatemala, in 1905. Figure 145 is from a
photograph of the plant taken at Tomellin, Mexico, by Dr. MacDougal in 1906.
106. Opuntia depressa Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 517. 1908.
Low, creeping or spreading plant, sometimes 60 cm. high and forming a patch 3 to 4 meters in
diameter; joints of a dark glossy yellowish green color, pubescent, when young, obovate, 20 cm. long,
usually with i long, somewhat curved spine at each areole, sometimes with i to 3 shorter ones, all
yellowish; old joints oblong, 30 cm. long, bearing 4 to 6 spines at each areole; flowers red; fruit small,
globular, with large clusters of brown glochids, when immature with a broad, deep umbilicus.
Type locality: Near Tehuacan, Mexico.
Distribution: Southern Mexico.
This plant is very common about Tehuacan, growing with species of Agave, Beau-
carnca, and Echinocactus.
Figure 146 is from a photograph taken by Dr. MacDougal of the type plant.
n8
THE CACTACEAE.
KIG. 146. — Opuntia depressa, in the foreground.
Series 5. BASILARES.
We recognize eight species as forming this series. They are low or bushy, much branched
plants, with flat, thin, broad joints, the areoles small, usually numerous and close together.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints papillose, not pubescent.
Fruit juicy, red 107. 0. lubric'a
Fruit dry or nearly dry 108. O. treleasei
Joints mostly manifestly pubescent.
Spines none or few.
Flowers red 109. 0. basilaris
Flowers yellow to orange.
Joints bright green.
Glochids long no. O. microdasys
Glochids short 1 1 1 . O. macrocalyx
Joints grayish green 1 12. 0. rufida
Spines very numerous.
Areoles close together 1 13. O. pycnantha
Areoles distant . 1 14. 0. comonduensis
107. Opuntia lubrica Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 21: 169. 1910.
"A low ascending, spreading species very similar in habit to 0. microdasys, frequently 4^ dm.
high and when well developed 10 dm. or more in diameter; joints sub-circular to obovate, about 15
by 20 cm., or in case of last joints of previous year about 12 by 15 cm., bright, glossy, leaf-green, very
evidently papillate but scarcely pubescent under a lens; leaves subulate, cuspidate-pointed, 6 to 9
mm. in length; areoles 15 to 22 mm. apart, 4 to 6 mm. in diameter, sub-circular, prominent; spicules
prominent, 4 to 5 mm. in length, erect, bushy, in crescentic tufts in upper portion of areoles, becom-
ing much more numerous in age, and at 2 to 4 years completely filling the areole, and, like 0. riifida
and some other species, becoming very abundant and conspicuous by proliferation of areolar tissue
into short raised or columnar structures; spines exceedingly variable, sometimes nearly absent, again
quite abundant and irregularly distributed, none to many, mostly i to 3, becoming more numerous
with age and in scattering areoles to as high as 16, mostly about 1 2 mm. long, but sometimes 2^2 cm.,
yellowish, translucent, bonelike, sometimes darker at base; fruits decidedly acid, light red without
with yellowish green rind and red pulp; seed small, thin shelled, about 3 mm. in diameter. "
Type locality: Near Alonzo, Mexico.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
OPUNTIA.
119
Our examination of a painting of this plant in the collection made by Dr. Griffiths
showed it to have great similarity to Opuntia rnjula.
Illustration: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 21: pi. 23.
Figure 147 is copied from the illustration above
cited.
108. Opuntia treleasei Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3:
434- 1896.
Opuntia basilaris treleasei Tourney, Cycl. Atner. Hort. Bailey
3:1147. 1901.
Opuntia treleasei kernii Griffiths and Hare, N. Mex. Agr.
Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: Si. 1906.
Low, sometimes 3 dm. high, spreading at base, some of
the branches of 2 to 4 erect joints; joints obovate, 15 cm. long
or more, fleshy, pale bluish green, glabrous, terete at base;
areoles numerous, filled with dirty yellow glochids, usually
without spines, sometimes quite spiny; flowers rose-colored;
fruit dry, subglobose, with large areoles filled with glochids
and sometimes bearing spines; seeds large, turgid, 7 cm. in
diameter.
Type locality: Caliente, in the Tehachapi Moun-
tains, California.
Distribution: Southern California.
Figure 148 is from a photograph of the plant grow-
ing on the mesa southeast of Bakersfield, California,
taken by Dr. MacDougal in 1913.
109. Opuntia basilaris Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer.
Acad. 3: 298. 1856.
Opuntia basilaris ranwsa Parish, Bull.Torr. Club 19:92. 1892.
Opuntia intricata Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29:
10. 1916.
FIG. 147. — Opuntia lubrica.
'
FIG. 148. — Opuntia treleasei, Southern California.
I2O
THE CACTACEAE.
Stems low, growing in clumps, either prostrate or erect, sometimes 12 dm. high; joints broadly
obovate, 8 to 20 cm. long, slightly pubescent or glabrous, usually highly colored; leaves 2 to 5 mm.
long, subulate; areoles numerous, filled with white to brown wool and brownish glochids; spines none
or rarely a few at upper areoles; flowers large, 6 to 8 cm. long, deep purple or sometimes white;
filaments purple; fruit dry, globular to obovoid; seeds large, thick, 6 to 10 mm. broad.
Type locality: From Cactus Pass down the valley of the Bill Williams River.
Distribution: Northern Sonora, western Arizona, southern California, Nevada, and
southern Utah.
This is a variable species as to habit, size, pubescence, and color of flowers. The
variety ramosa described by Mr. Parish is more erect than the ordinary form and glabrous.
It has large, handsome flowers, and is a splendid plant for outdoor cultivation where the
climate is suitable, but does not live long in greenhouses. It is called beaver-tail in
Arizona.
Opimtia hnmistrata Griffiths (Bull. Torr. Club 43: 83. 1916) we refer here from the
description; it is said to differ from 0. basilaris "by its much smaller as well as different
shaped joints"; it was found in the San
Bernardino Mountains, northern California,
within the range of 0. basilaris.
The following varieties are listed, but
have not been described: albiflora, cocntlca,
nana, and pfersdorffii.
Opuntia basilaris cordata is a garden plant
briefly described by F. Forbes (Monatsschr.
Kakteenk. 16: 46. 1906), of which we have
seen no specimens.
Illustrations: Cact. Journ. i: 167; Diet.
Gard. Nicholson 2: f. 750; Forster, Handb.
Cact. ed. 2. f. 129; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 13, f. i
to 5 ; pi. 23, f. 14; Riimpler, Sukkulenten f . 123;
W.Watson, Cact. Cult. f. 76; Cact. Journ. i:
pi. October, as Opnntia basilaris var. cristata
and var. iic'caJciisis; Alverson, Cact. Cat.
frontispiece, as Opnntia basilaris albiflora.
Figure 149 is copied from Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 13, f. i, an illustration cited above.
Opnntia brachyclada Griffiths (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 25. 1914) is an anom-
alous plant with some of the joints terete and others somewhat flattened. It has been
suggested that it is a hybrid between a cylindric and a flat-jointed species ; but, so far as
we know, natural hybrids do not occur between species of these subgenera. It is more
likely to be an anomalous form of Opnntia basilaris, a form of which is known in the same
mountains where it was found.
110. Opuntia microdasys (Lehmann) Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 154. 1837.
Cucltis micrndusys Lehmann. Ind. Sem. Hamburg. 16. 1827.
Opuntia pulvinaia De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: ng. 1828.
Opniiliii iiiii-rada.'.ys minor Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 186. 1834.
Opitntia microdasys laevior Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 241. 1850.
Often low and creeping but sometimes nearly erect and 4 to 6 dm. high; joints oblong to orbicu-
lar, 10 to 15 cm. long, soft-velvety, usually pale green, spineless; areoles conspicuous, closely set,
filled with numerous yellow or brown glochids; flowers usually produced in abundance, 4 to 5 cm.
long, pure yellow or tinged with red; sepals acuminate; petals broad, retuse; filaments and style
white; stigma-lobes 6 to 8, green; fruit dark red, juicy, nearly globular; seeds small, 2 to 3 mm. broad.
Type locality: In Mexico, but originally stated by Lehmann as coming from Brazil.
Distribution: Northern Mexico.
FIG. 149. — Opuntia basilaris.
OPUNTIA.
121
In spite of its troublesome glochids, which easily become detached, this species has
long been a greenhouse favorite. No cactus collection, however small, lacks one or more
pots of this species, which rarely grows large in cultivation.
Opuntia microdasys is usually credited to Lehmann, but he apparently published it
as Cactus microdasys, and this is the way it is cited in the Index Kewensis. Lehmann
soon republished this species (Nov. Act. Nat. Cur. 16: 317) where it appears as Cactus
(Opuntia) microdasys. The first use of the name of Opuntia microdasys was by Salm-Dyck
(Hort. Dyck. 186) in 1834, but was without description or synonymy. Pfeiffer in 1837,
however, republishes Lehmann's description
under Opuntia and is therefore cited as the
author of the binomial. Here it is first cred-
ited to Mexico, although Lehmann stated
definitely that it comes from Brazil ; this he
does also with regard to Opuntia tunicata and
Cactus bradypus, both Mexican species, while
FIG. 150. — Opuntia microdasys.
FIG. 151. — Opuntia, probable hybrid.
Cactus linkii and C. ottonis, both credited to Mexico, are known only from SouthAmerica.
If this Opuntia really came originally from Brazil, it might very well be the same as
Opuntia inamocna.
As shown above (p. 1 1 6) , Opuntia pubcrula is referred to 0. dccumbcns. The 0. puberula
of our gardens, however, is quite a different plant, and in all probability is of hybrid origin.
It is almost identical with a hybrid between 0. microdasys and 0. cantabrigiensis which Dr.
Rose collected in Hidalgo, Mexico, in 1905, and which is now grown in the collection in
Washington and in the New York Botanical Garden.
Illustrations: Agr. Gaz. N. S. W. 25: pi. opp. p. 138; p. 138; Gard. Chron. III. 30: f. 76;
Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: pi. 28, in part; 20: pi. 12, in part; Safford, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst.
1908: pi. 10, f. 4; U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. PI. Ind. Bull. 262: pi. 5, f. 2.
Plate xxn, figure i, represents joints of the plant grown in a garden at Riverside, Cal-
ifornia, received by Dr. Rose in 1905. Figure 150 is from a photograph taken by Professor
F. E- Lloyd in Zacatecas, Mexico, in 1908.
122
THE CACTACEAE.
Plate xx, figure 3, shows a flowering joint of a plant sent to the New York Botanical
Garden by M. Simon, of St. Ouen, Paris, France, in 1901, as Opuntia puberula. Figure 151
is from a photograph of the plant sent from La Mortola, Italy, to the same institution
in 1912, as Opuntia puberula.
111. Opuntia macrocalyx Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: 268. 1908.
"A profusely, divaricately branched, ascending or erect, spreading plant, 9 to 10 dm. high and
about the same in diameter; joints long-obovate, variable but commonly 9 by 22 cm. for last year's
growth, gray green, pubescent, velvety to the touch; areoles subcircular, usually 2 to 3 mm. in
diameter, very close to i cm. apart, slightly sunken ; wool tawny, prominent, as long as spicules and
occupying lower half of areole; spicules reddish brown, about i mm. long, occupying upper half of
areole, easily separable and causing fully as much annoyance in handling as those of 0. microdasys,
in age often appearing dirty yellow in situ but distinctly reddish brown when removed; strictly
spineless; flowers yellow, green outwardly, the leaves on ovary very long subulate and changing
gradually into the sepals which are very long subulate, delicately pointed, loosely arranged or often
half recurved at apex, giving to the bud a rather ragged appearance; fruit red but both pulp and
rind greenish, long obovate to cylindrical, about 2 by 7 cm., with but few rather small seeds, about
3 mm. in diameter."
FIG. 152. — Opuntia macrocalyx. Xo.75. FIG. 153. — Opuntia rufida.
Type locality: In cultivation at Riverside, California.
Distribution: Known only from cultivated plants; perhaps also from Coahuila, Mexico.
Illustration: Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: pi. 28, in part.
Figure 152 is drawn from a joint of the plant collected by Edward Palmer at Saltillo,
Mexico, in 1904.
112. Opuntia rufida Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 298. 1856.
Opuntia microdasys rufida Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 706. 1898.
More or less erect, 2 to 15 dm. high, with a somewhat definite trunk; joints nearly orbicular,
6 to 25 cm. in diameter, thickish, velvety-tomentose, dull grayish green; leaves subulate, caducous,
4 to 6 cm. long, green with reddish tips; areoles large, filled with numerous brown glochids; flowers
OPUNTIA.
I23
yellow to orange, 4 to 5 cm. long including the ovary; petals obovate, 2 to 2.5 cm. long; filaments
greenish white, short, i cm. long; style 1.5 cm. long, thick, bulbous just above the base; stigma-
lobes 5, deep green; ovary globular, 1.5 cm. in diameter, umbilicate, with large areoles; fruit, accord-
ing to field observation of Dr. Griffiths, bright red.
Type locality: About Presidio del Norte, on the Rio Grande.
Distribution: Texas and northern Mexico.
This species seems much less common than O. microdasys, with which it is often con-
fused. The joints are gray or bluish green, and the glochids are brown. It does fairly well
under greenhouse conditions.
Illustration: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20: pi. 3; Carnegie Inst. Wash. 269: pi. n, f. 94.
Figure 153 is from a photograph of a plant brought from Mexico for the New York
Botanical Garden in 1896 by Mrs. N. L. Britton.
FIG. 154. — Opuntia pycnantha. Along the coastal plain of Lower California.
113. Opuntia pycnantha Engelmann in Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 423. 1896.
Opuntia pycnantha margarilana Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 424. 1896.
Often low and creeping, but sometimes forming a clump 2 dm. high; joints oblong to orbicular,
often 20 cm. long, puberulent or papillose, usually nearly hidden by the thick mass of spines; areoles
large and closely set, the upper part filled with yellow or brown glochids, and the lower part with 8
to 12 yellow or brown reflexed spines 2 to 3 cm. long; leaves and flowers unknown; fruit 4 cm. long,
very spiny; seeds 2 cm. broad, very thick.
Type locality: Magdalena Bay, Lower California.
Distribution: Southern Lower California.
Coulter's variety margaritana is known only from Margarita Island, while the species
proper is known only from an adjacent island, Magdalena. They differ only in the color
of their spines and glochids. Both have been in cultivation in New York City and Wash-
ington, but are not well suited for indoor plants.
This species grows in one of the driest parts of Lower California on islands where there
is no surface water and where there is no rain sometimes for five or six years.
Figure 154 is from a photograph taken by Dr. Rose near Santa Maria Bay, Magda-
lena Island, Lower California, in 1911.
124
THK CACTACEAE.
114. Opuntia comonduensis (Coulter) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 519. 1908.
Opuntia angustata comonduensis Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 425. 1896.
Low, spreading plants, sometimes 2 dm. high and forming broad clumps; joints obovate to
orbicular, 12 to 15 cm. long, softly pubescent; areoles large, filled with brown wool and yellow glo-
chids; lower areoles spineless, the upper ones bearing i or 2, rarely 3, or on old stems as many as 10,
slender spines, 3 to 5 cm. long or longer, yellow; flowers, including ovary, 6 cm. long, yellow; fruit
purple, 4 cm. long, spineless; seeds 4 to 4.5 mm. broad, thick.
Type locality: Comondu, Lower California.
Distribution: Southern Lower California.
As was pointed out by Mrs. K. Brandegee, this plant is not closely related to Opuntia
angustata.
FIG. 155. — Opuntia comonduensis.
This species has long been known only from herbarium specimens collected by Mr.
Brandegee in 1889. In 1911 Dr. Rose collected considerable material both near the town
of San Jose and on Carmen Island which has since been in cultivation in the New York
Botanical Garden and in Washington. The above description is based largely on this
collection.
This species sometimes grows with 0. tapona, in fact being confused in the original
material; except for its pubescent joints, they are not readily distinguished.
Figure 155 is from a photograph by Mr. T. W. Smillie of a plant collected by Mr. E. W.
Nelson and Mr. E. A. Goldman in Lower California in 1906.
OPUNTIA.
125
FIG. 156. — Opuntia inamoena. A single plant. Photograph by P. H. Dorsett.
Series 6. INAMOENAE.
A single, prostrate or depressed, usually spineless, light-green
Brazilian species.
115. Opuntia inamoena Schumann in Martius, Fl. Bras. 42: 306.
1890.
Opuntia quipa Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 894. 1898.
Usually low, often prostrate, forming clumps 2 to 10 dm. broad,
or sometimes in sheltered situations 6 cm. high and forming dense,
extensive thickets; roots fibrous; joints bluish green, when young
bright green, orbicular to oblong, 8 to 16 cm. long, usually quite
thick, sometimes 3 cm. thick, usually quite spineless; leaves minute,
2 mm. long; areoles small, when young filled with numerous yellow-
ish-brown glochids; glochids unequal, spreading, easily becoming de-
tached; flowers small, brick-red; petals spreading; filaments orange ;
style yellow; stigma-lobes pale green; fruit globular, yellowish, 2.5
to 3 cm. in diameter.
Type locality: Schumann cites Rio de Janeiro in original
description.
Distribution: Pernambuco, Bahia, and MinasGeraes, Brazil.
This plant is known as quipa in Bahia, Brazil.
This species is very common in all the dry part of Bahia and, although abundant and
mostly spineless, is avoided by all kinds of grazing animals, even when the country is devoid
of other suitable forage. It has been suggested that the plant may be bitter, or that the
glochids are troublesome; the glochids, however, are usually wanting on old joints.
The plant rarely develops acicular spines up to 3 cm. long on some joints, as shown
by specimens collected by Dr. Rose and Mr. Russell near Machado Portello, Brazil.
Figure 156 is from a photograph taken by Mr. P. H. Dorsett near Joazeiro, Brazil, in
1914; figure 157 is from a plant collected by Dr. Rose near Machado Portello, Bahia,
Brazil, in 1915.
FIG. 157. — Opuntia inamoena.
Xo.66.
126
THE CACTACEAE.
Series 7. TORTISPINAE.
Prostrate or spreading plants rarely erect, with mostly rather small, persistent, scarcely tuber-
culate, orbicular or oval joints, and large flowers; natives of the eastern, central, and southern
United States.
Plate 21 represents a group of hardy cacti, chiefly species of this series, at the New
York Botanical Garden.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines none or only i or 2 at an areole.
Joints bluish green; at least when young; roots tuber-like.
Fruit clavate; joints thin.
Fruit about 4.5 cm. long. . . 116. 0. allairci
Fruit 5 to 7 cm. long ... . n6a. O. lata
Fruit obovoid; joints turgid.. . 117. 0. pollardii
Joints green; roots not tuberous.
Flowers 8 cm. broad or less.
Joints orbicular or little longer than wide . 1 18. 0. apniilia
Joints oblong, much longer than wide ... . 1 19. 0. macmrthra
Flowers 10 to 12 cm. broad
Spines mostly 2 or more at an areole.
Ovary obconic, 2 to 4 cm. long.
Roots tuberous.
Joints repand ; plant suberect .121.
Joints scarcely icpand; plants nearly prostrate. . .122.
Roots not tuberous.
Flowers and fruit small . 123. 0. plitmbea
Flowers and fruit large.
Spines white to light brown, slender.
Seeds acute-margined . 124. O. tortispina
Seeds obtuse-margined.
Fruit large, 4 to 5 cm. long; spines light colored. ... 125. 0. stenochila
1 20. O. grand i 'flora
O. aiistrina
0. macrorhiza
Fruit small, 2 to 3 cm. long ; spines brown
126. O. delicata
Spines dark brown, stout. . .127.
Ovary narrowly subcylindric, 5 to 6 cm. long. . 1270.
: 83. 1909.
O. fiiscoalra
0. macalcei
FIG. 158. — Opuntia
allairei. Xo.66.
116. Opuntia allairei Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20
A low, spreading, tuberous-rooted, prostrate
plant, with some of the joints ascending; joints
bluish green, obovate, usually 10 to 15 cm. long,
originally described as even longer, with or without
spines; spines, if present, i to 3, yellowish brown,
2.5 cm. long or less, slender but a little flattened;
glochids numerous, especially abundant at very old
areoles, yellow; leaves 6 to 8 mm. long; flowers
6 to 7 cm. broad, yellow with a red center ; fruit 4 to
5 cm. long, dark red.
Type locality: Mouth of Trinity River,
Texas.
Distribution: Southern Texas and western
Louisiana.
This species is perhaps nearest 0. macror-
hiza, but differs in the usual absence of spines
and in differently colored joints.
Illustrations: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20: pi.
2, f. 2; pi. 5; pi. 12, in part.
Figure 158 is copied from the second illus-
tration above cited.
116a. Opuntia lata Small, Journ. N.iY.rBot. Card.
20: 26. 1919. (See Appendix, p. 220.)
117. Opuntia pollardii Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 523. 1908.
Prostrate, tuberiferous, related to Opuntia opuntia; young joints bluish green, glaucous, 5 to 16
cm. long, i to 2 cm. thick; areoles 1.5 to 3 cm. apart, bearing numerous yellow glochids 2 to 3 cm.
FIG. 159. — Opuntia pollardii. Xo-4-
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXI
OPUNTIA. 127
long, those toward the top of the joint each with a single stout, stiff, pungent spine 2.5 to 4 cm.
long; fruit short-obovoid, 2.5 cm. long, 1.5 cm. thick, with a few areoles bearing tufts of brownish
wool but no spines and but few glochids; flowers yellow, 6 to 8 cm. broad; sepals deltoid to rhom-
bic; fruit 2.5 to 4 cm. long; seeds 4 to 6 mm. wide, much thicker than those of Opuntia opunlia.
Type locality: Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi.
Distribution: Coastal plain, Church Island, North Carolina, to northern Florida, Ala-
bama, and Mississippi.
Figure 159 is from a photograph of fruiting joints collected by A. H. Howell on
Petit Bois Island, Alabama.
118. Opuntia opuntia (Linnaeus) Karsten, Deutsch. Fl. 888. 1882.
Cactus opuntia Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 468. 1753.
Cactus compressus Salisbury, Prodr. 348. 1796.
Cactus opuntia nana De Candolle, PI. Succ. Hist. 2: pi. 138. [A]. 1799.
Cactus humifusus Rnfinesque, Ann. Nat. 15. 1820.
Opuntia vulgaris major Salm-Dyck, Observ. Bot. 3: 9. 1822.
Opuntia vulgaris media* Salm-Dyck, Observ. Bot. 3: 9. 1822.
Opuntia humifusa Rafinesque, Med. Fl. U. S. 2: 247. 1830.
Opuntia mesacantha Rafinesque, Bull. Bot. Seringe 216. 1830.
Opuntia caespitosa Rafinesque, Bull. Bot. Seringe 216. 1830.
Opuntia intermedia Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 364. 1834.
Opuntia nana Visiani, Fl. Dalmatica 3: 143. 1852.
Opuntia rafinesquei] Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 295. 1856.
Opuntia rafinesquei microsperma Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 295. 1856.
Opuntia rafinesquei minor Engelmann and Bigelow, Pac. R. Rep. 4: 55. 1856.
Opuntia vulgaris rafinesquei Gray, Man. Bot. ed. 2. 136. 1856.
Opuntia rafinesquei arkansana Riimpler in Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. 922. 1885.
Opuntia mesacantha microsperma Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 429. 1896.
Opuntia mesacantha parva Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 429. 1896.
Opuntia vulgaris nana Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 715. 1898.
Opuntia humifusa microsperma Heller, Cat. N. Amer. Pl..ed. 2. 8. 1900.
Opunlia humifusa parva Heller, Cat. N. Amer. PI. ed. 2. 8. 1900.
Low, spreading plants, sometimes ascending, with fibrous roots; joints orbicular to oblong,
3 to 13 cm. long, rarely longer, thick, dark green; areoles usually far apart; leaves subulate, appressed
or spreading, 4 to 8 mm. long, early deciduous; spines often wanting, when present usually one from
an areole, rarely two, 5 cm. long or less, brownish or sometimes nearly white, but on seedlings 5 to
12; glochids numerous, yellow to dark brown; flowers usually bright yellow, sometimes with reddish
centers, 5 to 8.5 cm. broad; petals 8 to 10, widely spreading; filaments yellow; stigma-lobes white;
fruit obovoid to oblong, red, juicy, 2.5 to 5 cm. long, edible; seeds 4 to 5 mm. broad.
Type locality: In Virginia.
Distribution: Sandy and rocky places from Massachusetts to Virginia, the mountains
of Georgia and central Alabama extending north into southern Ontario, Canada (Point
Pelee), west in isolated colonies to northern Illinois, eastern Missouri and Tennessee, and
long established in the mountains of northern Italy and Switzerland.
Linnaeus undoubtedly had two species in his Cactus opuntia, one being the low Virginia
plant commonly known as 0. vulgaris, and the other a tall, branching plant figured by
Bauhin (p. 154). Upon Bauhin's illustration Miller based his Opuntia vulgaris, a name
which was afterwards transferred to the low, procumbent plant of the eastern United States.
For this reason Burkill (Rec. Bot. Surv. India 4: 288. 1911) would displace the name O.
vulgaris and take up the name 0. nana. We are quite in agreement with him as to the
0. vulgaris Miller, but we retain for the low plant the specific name opuntia Linnaeus. The
tall species is 0. monacantha, which we now call 0. vulgaris, as suggested by Burkill.
It is to be noted that the southern Atlantic coast specimens of Opuntia opuntia have
yellow or greenish-yellow glochids, while those in its northern and western range have
brown glochids. Its southwestern limit is uncertain. It probably does not extend to
Texas, although two varieties have been reported from there; these we are disposed to treat
as species under the names Opuntia macrorhiza and O. grandiflora. It is reported from
"Opuntia vulgaris minor (Labouret, Monogr. Cact. 476. 1853) was doubtless intended for this name.
fSometimes spelled rajinesquiana.
128
THE CACTACEAE.
eastern Kansas, but the plants found there are not like those found in Illinois and Indiana,
having more spines and a glaucous bloom, and are tuberous-rooted, and these are referred
by us to 0. macrorhiza. The published western varieties of 0. humifusa are specifically
distinct; we have referred them to O. tortispina.
Some of the joints of this plant elongate under shade conditions, reaching at least 2.5
dm. in length and not more than 5 cm. in width.
Opuntia arkansana (Hirscht, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 8: 115. 1898) has not been
formally described. The name should doubtless be referred here.
Opmitia prostrata Monville and Lemaire (Forster, Handb. Cact. 478. 1846) was given
only as a synonym of 0. intermedia, while 0. intermedia prostrata Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort.
Dyck 1849. 69. 1850) was based on 0. prostrata.
0. rafincsquci parva Haage and Schmidt (Verzeichnis Blumenzwiebeln 1915: 29. 1915)
is a new name for 0. mcsacantha parva Coulter.
Under Opmitia vulgaris Michaele Gandoger in his Flora Europea (9: 145. 1886) has
proposed the following new binomials: O. reccdens, 0. morisii, 0. cydoidea, 0. inaequalis,
O. ligustica, and 0. moditerranea. The following varieties cited under O. hmnifusa are in
the trade: cyinochila, greenci, macrorhiza, oplocarpa and stenochila (Stand. Cycl. Hort.
Bailey 4: 2363. 1916.)
FIG. 1 60. — Opuntia opuntia in its natural surroundings on Staten Island, New York.
Illustrations: Illustr. Fl. 2: f. 2527; ed. 2. 2: f. 2986; Curtis's Bot. Mag. 50: pi. 2393;
Loudon, Encycl. PI. ed. 3. f. 6884, the last two as Cactus opuntia; De Candolle, PI. Succ.
Hist. 2: pi. 138 [A]; DeTussac, Fl. Antill. 2: pi. 30, the last two as Cactus opuntia nana.
Dept. Agr. N. S. W. Misc. Publ. 253: pi. [i], f. 2; Engler and Prantl, Pflanzenfam.
36a: f. 57, G; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 12; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pl.io, f. i, 2; 4: pi. 23, f. 13;
Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen Nachtr. f. i, all as Opuntia vulgaris. Standard Cycl. Hort.
Bailey 4: f. 2602, in part as Opuntia humifusa. Amer. Entom. Bot. 2: f. 160; Amer. Gar-
den ii : 462; Curtis's Bot. Mag. 115: pi. 7041; Diet. Gard. Nicholson 2: f. 756; Fl. Serr.
22: pi. 2328; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 2; Gard. Mag. 4: 280; Gartenflora 24: 218;
Lemaire, Cact. f. 9; Meehan's Monthly 2: pi. 6; 10: 121; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 10, f. 4, 5;
pi. 23, f. 7, 8; Rumpler, Sukkulenten f. 125; W. Watson, Cact. Cult. f. 84, all as Opuntia
rafincsquci; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. n, f. i, as Opuntia rafinesquei minor; Forster, Handb.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXII
M. B. Eaton del.
1. Joints of Opuntia microdasys.
2. Flowering joint of Opuntia macrarthra.
3. Fruit of Opuntia macrarthra.
4. Seed of same.
5. Flowering joint of Opuntia opitntiu.
(All natural size except 4.)
OPUNTIA.
I29
Cact. ed. 2. f. 126, as Opuntia rafinesquei arkansana; Monatsschr. Kaktcenk. 14: 124, as
Opuntia vitlgaris nana; Miller, Fig. PI. Card. Diet. 2: pi. 191, as Opuntia 'folio minor}, etc.,
Diet. Hort. Bois f. 638; Rev. Hort. 40: f. 10, n; 66: f. 59, all as Opuntia rafinesquiana.
Wiener Illustr. Gartenz. 10: f. 112, as Opuntia rafinesquiana arkansana.
Plate xxu, figure 5, represents a flowering joint of the plant which grows naturally on
schistose rocks in the New York Botanical Garden. Figure 160 is from a photograph of
the plant growing on sand dunes at Crooke's Point, Staten Island, New York, taken by
Howard H. Cleaves in 1914.
119. Opuntia macrarthra Gibbes, Proc. Elliott Soc. Nat. Hist, i: 273. 1859.
Stems prostrate or ascending; joints narrowly oblong to obovate, 12 to 35 cm. long, thick,
pale green, somewhat shining; leaves subulate, 10 mm. long, green, sometimes with purplish tips;
areoles large, 2 to 3 cm. apart, filled with brown wool; spines wanting, or sometimes i, up to 2. 5 cm. long;
glochids when present yellow ; flowers not known ; fruit narrowly obovoid, red, fleshy, 4 to 6 cm. long.
Type locality: Near Charleston, South Carolina.
Distribution: Coast of South Carolina.
This species, long overlooked, has recently been col-
lected by Dr. J. K. Small in the vicinity of the type locality.
This is doubtless one of the species to which Elliott
called attention and which he said he expected to publish,
but never did.* The original description long remained
unnoticed in the Proceedings of the Elliott Society of
Natural History; it is as follows:
"The second, which we will call Opuntia macrarthra, falls
under the same section with the preceding, and seems to be
near Opuntia angustata, of Engelmann, from the west of the Rio
Grande; a prostrate species, joints from ten to fifteen inches
long and three inches wide, one-third of an inch thick; no
spines, fruit two and a half inches long, slender, clavate."
Plate xv, figure 3, represents a fruiting joint collected
by Dr. Small on James Island, South Carolina, in 1916;
plate xxu, figure 2, represents a flowering joint of the plant
collected by Dr. Small on the Isle of Palms, near Charles-
ton, South Carolina, in 1916; figure 3 shows a fruit of the
same plant and figure 4 a seed, enlarged.
120. Opuntia grandiflora Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 295.
1856.
Opuntia rafinesquei grandiflora Engelmann, Pac. R. Rep. 4: 55. 1856.
Opuntia mcsacantha grandiflora Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 429.
I'"IGS. 161, 162. — Opuntia grandiflora.
1896.
Low, with somewhat ascending branches; joints 12.5 to 15 cm. long; areoles 2.5 cm. apart;
spines usually wanting; flowers very large, n to 12.5 cm. broad, yellow with a red center; petals
broad; fruit elongated, 6 cm. long.
Type locality: On the Brazos, Texas.
Distribution: Eastern Texas.
Although Dr. Engelmann formally described this as a species, he introduced it as
"probably only a southern variety of 0. rafinesquei ." A little later he actually used the
name as a variety. The position of the plant is still uncertain ; if specimens collected by
Mr. Wm. R. Maxon at Victoria, Texas, and by Mr. C. V. Piper at Dallas, Texas, belong
here, as they appear to, we believe it to be a distinct species.
Illustrations: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. n, f. 2, 3, as Opuntia rafinesquei grandiflora.
Figures 161 and 162 are copied from the illustrations above cited.
*Cactus oftuntia. " It is probable that there are now three distinct species on the sea coast of the Southern States
covered under this name." Elliott, A Sketch of the Botany of South Carolina and Georgia, i: 537.
130
THE CACTACEAE.
121. Opuntia austrina Small, Fl. Southeast. U. S. 816. 1903.
Opuntia youngii C. Z. Nelson, Chicago Examiner. June 13, 1915.
Roots fusiform or tuberous, resembling sweet potatoes, often 4 to 6 cm. in diameter, 5 to 15
cm. long; stems erect or ascending; joints narrowly obovate to oblong-obovate, thick, tubercu-
late, repand, bright green, 5 to 12 cm. long; leaves soon deciduous, less than 10 mm. long; glochids
yellowish; spines usually on the upper half and margin of the joint, often 2, sometimes i to 6, from
an areole, whitish or pinkish, darker at base and apex, twisted, sometimes wanting; flowers bright
yellow, 6 to 7 cm. broad ; petals cuneate, truncate or retuse at apex, mucronate ; fruit 2.5 to 3 cm. long.
FIG. 163. — Opuntia austrina. Xo.5-
Type locality: Miami, Florida.
Distribution: Southern Florida.
Opuntia youngii C. Z. Nelson, published in a Chicago newspaper, we have referred here,
after studying a specimen sent by the author.
Opuntia spinalba Rafmesque (Atl. Journ. i : 147. 1832) was described as from the keys
of Florida, and answers in some respects to 0. austrina; but it is very unlikely that any
plants of the region inhabited by austrina were known to botanists as early as 1832.
Figure 163 represents a plant collected by Dr. Small at the type locality in 1901.
122. Opuntia macrorhiza Engelmann, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 6: 206. 1850.
Opuntia fusiformis Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 297. 1856.
Opuntia rafinesguei fusiformis Engelmann, Pac. R. Rep. 4: 43. 1856.
Opuntia mesacan/ha macrorhiza Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 430. 1896.
Opuntia xanthoglochia Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 21: 166. 1910.
Opuntia roseana Mackensen, Bull. Torr. Club 38: 142. 1911.
Plant low, usually nearly prostrate, forming a clump i meter in diameter, from a cluster of
tuber-like roots, these sometimes 5 to 7.5 cm. in diameter; joints orbicular to obovate, dull green,
5 to 1 6 cm. long, about i cm. thick; leaves subulate, 4 to 10 mm. long; areoles rather large, the lower
ones and sometimes all of them spineless ; glochids numerous, yellow or brown; spines, when present,
i to 4, unequal, yellow to brown, the longest 2.5 cm. long; flower yellow, with a reddish or purplish
center, 7 to 8 cm. broad; fruit narrowly obovoid, 3.5 to 5 cm. long, purple or red, with a depressed
umbilicus, not edible; seeds 5 mm. in diameter, with broad margins.
Type locality: Rocky places on the Upper Guadalupe, Texas.
Distribution: Missouri and Kansas to Texas.
Opuntia seguina C. Z. Nelson (Galesburg Register, July 20, 1915), published in a news-
paper, and said to have come from San Antonio, Texas, seems to be one of the Tortispinac,
OPUNTIA.
and is probably referable to 0. macrorhiza. Through the kindness of Mr. Nelson, we have
seen a joint of this species.
Opuntia bulbosa Engelmann (Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 297. 1856) was used by Engelmann
for 0. fusijormis, but never described.
Opuntia macrorhiza, originally described by Dr. Engelmann as a species, was afterwards
(Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 296. 1856) proposed as a subspecies but not formally indicated, so
that the reference O. rafinesquei macrorhiza Coulter (Contr. U. vS. Nat. Herb. 3: 430. 1896)
is the proper designation if it is used as a variety.
Illustrations: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 69; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. n, 127; Pac. R.
Rep. 4: pi. 12, f. 7, 8; pi. 23, f. 6; Suppl. Diet. Gard. Nicholson f. 606; W. Watson, Cact.
Cult. f. 82, 83 ; Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21 : pi. 20, in part, this last as Opuntia xanthoglochia;
Addisonia i : pi. 19.
Plate xiv, figure 5, represents a
flowering joint of the plant collected
at Irving, Dallas County, Texas, by
Albert Ruth in 1912.
123. Opuntia plumbea Rose, Smiths.
Misc. Coll. 50: 524. 1908.
Plant low, creeping, 10 cm. high, 20
to 30 cm. broad, few jointed; joints small,
nearly orbicular, 3 to 5 cm. in diameter,
of a dull lead-color, the surface some-
what wrinkled in dead specimens; areoles
rather large for the size of the joints;
spines pale brownish, slender, usually
porrect, often 3 cm. long, mostly 2 in
number, rarely as many as 4, sometimes
one or even wanting; flowers very small,
red; ovary naked; fruit 1.5 to 2 cm. long
with a few small areoles and these simply
woolly ; seeds small, rather turgid, smooth,
and with a shallow obtuse margin.
Type locality: San Carlos Indian
Reservation, Arizona.
Distribution: Arizona.
This is a peculiar little opuntia with very small joints and fruits,
from the original collections made by Mr. F. V. Coville in 1904.
Figure 164 is from a photograph of the type specimen.
FIG. 164. — Opuntia plumbea
It is known only
124. Opuntia tortispina Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 293.
1856.
1856.
Opuntia tortisperma Engelmann, Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 23, f. i to 5.
Opuntia cymochila Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 295. 1856.
Opuntia rafinesquei cymochila Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 295. 1856.
Opuntia rafinesquei cycmochila montana Engelmann and Bigelow, Pac. R. Rep. 4: 42. 1856.
Opuntia mesacantha cymochila Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 430. 1896.
Opuntia mesacantha greenei Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 431. 1896.
Opuntia mesacantha oplocarpa Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 431. 1896.
Opuntia greenei Engelmann in Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 523. 1908.
( ?) Opuntia sanguinocula Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 26. 1914.
Prostrate and creeping; joints ascending, orbicular to obovate, 15 to 20 cm. long; areoles 1.5 to
3 cm. apart; spines several, often 6 to 8, the upper and longer ones 3 to 6 cm. long, either white, yel-
lowish, or brown ; on the upper areoles one spine erect, the others spreading or with the lowermost
ones deflexed; flowers sulphur-yellow, 6 to 7.5 cm. broad; fruit rather large, 4 to 5 cm. long, 2 to 3
cm. broad; seeds 4 to 6 mm. broad, thick, regular, with a slight indentation at the hilum.
Type locality: On the Camanchica Plains near the Canadian River.
Distribution: Wisconsin to South Dakota, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.
132
THE CACTACEAE.
This has long remained one of our least-understood species. We believe now that it
has a wide range, and that it has been referred heretofore to several species. Opuntia
cymochila does not seem to differ from it, and the two published varieties of Opuntia
mesacantha, geographically out of harmony with that species, doubtless belong here.
Opuntia oplocarpa Engelmann (Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 431. 1896) was
published only as a synonym. Opuntia rafinesquci greenci (Cat. Darrah Succ. Manchester
58. 1908) is a catalogue name.
The plant is hardy at New York, flowering profusely, and also at Buck Hill Falls,
eastern Pennsylvania.
Illustrations: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 12, f. i to 3; pi. 23, f. 10 to 12; Rev. Hort. Belg. 40:
after 186, all as Opuntia cymochila; Illustr. Fl. 2:f. 2528; ed. 2. 2 : f . 2987; Pac. R. Rep.
4: pi. 10, f. 3; Stand. Cycl. Hort. Bailey 4:f. 2602,
in part, these as Opuntia humifusa. Pac. R. Rep. 4:
pi. 8, f. 2, 3; pi. 23, f. i to 5, as 0. tortispcrma. Illustr.
Fl. 2 : f . 2529 ; ed. 2. 2 : f . 2988.
Plate xv, figure 4, represents a flowering and
fruiting joint of a plant from Colorado, grown at the
New York Botanical Garden.
125. Opuntia stenochila Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3:
296. 1856.*
Opuntia mesacantha stenocliila Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat.
Herb. 3: 430. 1896.
Prostrate; joints obovate, locm.long by 7.5 cm. broad;
leaves small, 4 to 6 mm. long; spines usually 2, sometimes
3, spreading, i long (2.5 to 3 cm. long), and i or 2 short and
reflexed, usually light-colored, sometimes nearly white; glo-
chids brown; flowers yellow, 6 cm. long; fruit very juicy,
4 to 5 cm. long or more, attenuate at base ; seeds thick, quite
regular, with very narrow obtuse edges.
Type locality: Canyon of Zuni, New Mexico.
Distribution: Western New Mexico and Arizona.
This species has not been well understood. It
has usually passed as a variety of the common species
of the eastern Mississippi Valley States, but it grows
in a very different region. It is the common low,
spreading Opuntia of northwestern New Mexico and
Arizona.
Illustrations: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 12, f. 4 to 6; pi. 23, f. 9.
Figures 165, 166, and 167 are copied from the first illustration above cited.
126. Opuntia delicata Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: 310. 1911.
A small, procumbent plant with rather thin, ovate, bluish, slightly glaucous joints, often only 4
to 9 cm. in diameter; areoles prominent, bearing conspicuous brown glochids; lower areoles spineless,
the upper ones bearing i or 2 very slender brownish spines, the longer one 3 to 4 cm. long; flowers
yellow, 5 cm. long, 5 to 6 cm. broad; fruit oblong, spineless, 2 to 3 cm. long; seeds small, about
4 mm. in diameter, nearly smooth.
Type locality: Calabasas, Arizona.
Distribution: Southeastern Arizona.
Figure 168 is from a photograph of the type plant.
166
107
Opuntia stenochila,
FIGS. 165, 166. — Fruits. FIG. 167. — Joint.
*Although formally published as a species, Engelmann states that it is a form or subspecies, and hence Coulter
(Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 430. 1896) uses the synonym 0. rafinesquei stenochila Engelmann.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXIII
M. E. Eaton del.
1. Flowering joint of Opuntia fuscoatra. 2 Upper part of joint of Opuiiliu snlf>lnirfa.
3. Joint of Opuntia tenuisf>ina. (All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
133
FIG. 168. — Opuntia dclicata.
127. Opuntia fuscoatra EngelmaHn, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 297. 1856.
Diffuse prostrate plants; joints orbicular to obovate, somewhat tuberculate, 5 to 8 cm. long,
areoles 12 to 20 mm. apart, very large for the group; spines single or in twos or threes, one rather
stout, sometimes a little flattened, 2.5 to 3 cm. long, yellow to dark brown or even nearly black;
usually from the lower areoles; glochids numerous, brown; flowers 7.5 cm. broad, yellow; petals very
broad; stigma-lobes 5; ovary 2.5 cm. long, slender; fruit 4 to 5 cm. long, red; seeds 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: Sterile places of prairies west of Houston, Texas.
Distribution: Eastern Texas.
Illustrations: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. n, f. 4.
Plate xxin, figure i, represents a flowering joint of the plant collected by W. L. Mc-
Atee at Rockport, Texas, in 1911.
127 a. Opuntia macateei sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 221.)
OPUNTIA RUBIFLORA Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 529. 1916.
Described as a spreading plant 3 to 4.5 dm. high and a meter broad, with obovate,
green joints 12 to 18 cm. long, few white spines up to 5 cm. long with brown or straw-
colored bases, and pink flowers. The species is based on cuttings received from European
collections, and its origin is unknown.
We have received a similar if not identical plant from Haage and Schmidt of Erfurt,
Germany, and we suspect it to be a hybrid, having one of the Tortispinae as one of its
parents.
The specific name rubiflora was used by Davidson a few months earlier than by
Griffiths for another plant.
Series 8. SULPHUREAE.
Low or prostrate species, with rather thick, flat, tuberculate joints; fruit small, nearly globular.
Three species, natives of central and southern South America.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Flowers yellow.
Spines stout, subulate 128. 0. sulphured
Spines slender, acicular 1 29. 0. soelirensii
Flowers red 130. 0. microdisca
134 THE CACTACEAfi.
128. Opuntia sulphurea G. Don in Loudon, Hort. Brit. 196. 1830.
Opuntia maciilacantha Forster, Handb. Gartenz. 17: 166. 1861.
Opuittia pampeana Spegazzini, Contr. Fl. Ventana 30. 1896.
Opuntia viilpina Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 895. 1898.
Plants low and spreading, forming broad clumps i to 2 meters in diameter, 3 dm. high or less;
joints flattened, oblong to obovate, 12 to 25 cm. long, thick, strongly tuberculate, usually green
but sometimes purplish; terminal joints easily detached; leaves conic, about 2 mm. long; spines 2 to
8, generally straight but sometimes curved and twisted, spreading, 3 to 10 cm. long, brownish to
red, but sometimes quite pale at first; flowers about 4 cm. long, yellow; fruit with a deep umbilicus,
short, about i cm. long.
Type locality: Cited as Chile, but doubtless wrong.
Distribution: Dry parts of western Argentina; recorded also from Chile, and perhaps
occurring in Bolivia.
This species was not seen in Chile by Dr. Rose, and we are doubtful in considering the
Bolivian material to be 0. sulfliurca; the joints, as shown by Dr. Rose's specimens, col-
lected at La Paz (No. 18860), while thick, are not conspicuously tuberculate; the spines are
rather short and stiff, white at first, but somewhat yellowish or horn-colored in age.
The name Cactus sulplutrcus Gillies was published by G. Don at the place cited above
as a synonym of this species.
Opuntia maculacantha was first described from specimens from Buenos Aires, which
had doubtless been sent down from the desert regions to the west or northwest. Schumann
in his Monograph referred this species to Mexico, but in his Nachtrag corrects this state-
ment. Dr. Weber, with whom we are in agreement, refers the species to O. sitlplinn\t. It
is the only species we know with such large tubercles on the joints.
Several varieties of this species, some of which have been described, are given, such as
laevior, major, minor, and fallidior.
Here probably belongs Opuntia scricca G. Don (Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 363. 1834),
also reported from Chile, but doubtless from Argentina. Cactus sericeus Gillies (Loudon,
Hort. Brit. 196. 1830) is the same. There are several varieties of 0. scricea which we would
put with it: longispina Salm-Dyck (Hort. Dyck. 363-. 1834); cocrulea Forbes (Hort. Tour
Germ. 159. 1837) which is probably 0. coerulea Gillies (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 155. 1837);
maelcnii Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 4-6- 1845) which is 0. maelcnii (Salm-Dyck,
Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 46. 1845). Opuntia tweediei (Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 745.
1898) is given as a synonym of this species by Schumann. Opuntia albisctosa Hildmann,
a name only, belongs here according to Hirscht (Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 10: 48. 1900).
Illustrations: Bluhende Kakteen 3: pi. 136; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 8:121; Schumann,
Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 106, all as Opuntia maculacantha.
Plate xxiu, figure 2, represents a flowering joint of the plant collected by Dr. Rose
near Cordoba, Argentina, in 1915.
129. Opuntia soehrensii sp. nov.
Prostrate, in masses usually i meter in diameter or less; joints at first erect or ascending, finally
prostrate and rooting and forming new colonies, flattened, rather thin, somewhat tuberculate, very
spiny, orbicular, 4 to 6 cm. in diameter, often purplish; spines slender, rather variable in color,
usually yellow or brown, several from each areole, sometimes as many as eight, the longest ones
5 cm. long, erect; flowers light yellow, 3 cm. long; sepals brown; filaments yellow; style white;
stigma-lobes green; fruit naked, 3 cm. long; seeds 3 to 3.5 mm. broad, ovate, thickish, with narrow
margin and roughened sides.
Highlands of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina. Type collected by Dr.
and Mrs. J. N. Rose below Pampa de Arrieros, Peru, August 23, 1914 (No. 18967).
This species is very common in its region, but as it is cultivated somewhat for its seeds
as well as used as a protection for gardens and yards, its natural distribution is difficult to
determine. On the barren hills below La Paz, Bolivia, the species is well established and
OPUNTIA.
135
grows as if native; on some of these hills it is the dominant and sometimes exclusive plant.
In the same general region, however, one finds the plant about the houses, especially on
walls, where it has undoubtedly been planted. At Oruro, Bolivia, it was seen only in the
wild state, while at several stations along the railroad between Juliaca and Cuzco, Peru,
especially at Combatata and Tinta, Peru, it has been planted on top of many of the mud
walls about the yards. On the hills below Pampa de Arrieros, Peru, the species is extremely
common and undoubtedly native.
The plant is known everywhere by the natives as ayrampo. The seeds are collected in
great quantity and dried, and may be bought in the market places, especially in Arequipa.
Indeed, there must have been a time when they were shipped by freight, for the name
Ayrampo has always appeared on the printed freight classification of the Southern Railroad
of Peru. The assistant superintendent of the road, Mr. Brown, states that, so far as he
knows, there are few or no shipments made now. One of the places in Peru where Dr.
Rose found the plant very abundant is named Ayrampal.
The dry seeds, when placed in water, yield a red substance
which is used for coloring jellies and gelatine and, according to some,
for coloring wines. In former days the Indians also used this sub-
stance in some of their carnival ceremonies. The coloring matter
does not come from the seeds themselves, but from the red juice of
the fruit which has dried on the surfaces.
Figure 169 represents a joint of this species collected by Dr.
Rose at Oruro, Bolivia, in 1914.
130. Opuntia microdisca Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 896. 1898.
FIG. 169. — Opuntia soehrensii.
Xo.4.
Forming small clumps, very much branched, prostrate; joints mostly obovate to oblong, 4 to
8 cm. long, usually much flattened, but sometimes nearly cylindric, grayish green; leaves minute,
purple, soon dropping off; areoles numerous, 5 to 6 mm. apart, rather large, when young densely
white-felted; spines 10 to 15, white to reddish, unequal, some of the centrals 1.5 to 2.5 cm. long;
glochids numerous, yellow ; flower-buds red; flowers 2.5 cm. long, bright red; filaments purple; style
white; stigma-lobes 6 to 8, short; ovary turbinate, 16 mm. long, bearing numerous areoles sub-
tended by narrow red leaves; areoles on ovary densely felted and
bristly; fruit red.
Type locality: In Catamarca, Argentina.
Distribution: Northern Argentina.
Schumann refers this species to Platyopuntia, while Weber
referred it to Tephrocactits. It evidently belongs to our Sul-
phurcac, being nearest our 0. soehrensii.
Our description is drawn chiefly from specimens obtained
by J. A. Shafer between Andalgala and Concepcion, Argen-
tina, in 1916, supplemented by a living specimen obtained by
Dr. Spegazzini in 1915. In Argentina this species also is
known as ayrampo.
Figure 170 represents a joint of the plant collected by J. A.
Shafer between Andalgala and Concepcion, Argentina, Decem-
ber 28, 1916 (No. 24).
To this relationship may belong the following species:
OPUNTIA PENICILLIGERA Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires FI«- 170.— Joint of Opuntia micro-
TT disca. Xo.7.
II. 4: 291. 1902.
Low, nearly prostrate; joints flattened, orbicular to broadly obovate, 10 to 12 cm. long, 7 to
10 cm. broad, dull green; spines slender, twisted, one elongated and i to 5 cm. long, the others much
shorter, all white; glochids brownish; flowers from the lateral and marginal areoles, citron-yellow;
THE CACTACEAE.
136
ovary 3 to 3.5 cm. long, with very many areoles bearing numerous glochids; style thick; stigma-
lobes 8 to io, greenish white; fruit reddish, clavate, 4.5 cm. long, with a depressed umbilicus; seeds
small, 3 to 3.5 mm. broad.
Type locality: Argentina, between Rio Negro and Rio Colorado.
Distribution: Southern Argentina.
According to Dr. Spegazzini, this species is not near to any of the known South Ameri-
can species, but resembles somewhat the North American species 0. microdasys and 0.
basilaris. We know it only from the description.
OPUNTIA CALANTHA Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 524. 1916.
A low, creeping, prostrate plant 15 cm. high, one meter in diameter; joints obovate, narrowed
above and below, inequilateral, n cm. long, 4 cm. broad, tuberculate-wrinkled, mostly deep green;
areoles i to 1.5 mm. long, obovate, at first tawny, turning gray; leaves small, subulate, cuspidate,
red. i mm. long; glochids yellow; spines 5 to io, up to 5 mm. long; flowers carmine; fruit globular,
1.5 cm. in diameter.
Recorded as probably of South American origin and usually distributed as Opuntia
microdisca, but from which it is said to differ very much. The plant is known to us only
from the description of cultivated specimens.
Series 9. STRIGILES.
The series consists of a single species, native of
Texas. It is a low, bushy plant with large joints bear-
ing many areoles, these close together, each with sev-
eral acicular, reddish brown spines; the fruit is small.
131. Opuntia strigil Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3:
290. 1856.
Suberect, 6dm. high; joints orbicular to obovate, io to 12.5 cm.
long; areoles close together, prominent ; spines 5 to 8, spreading, many
of them appressed to the joint and deflexed, red to reddish brown with
lighter tips, the longer ones 2.5 cm. long; glochids numerous; flowers
unknown; fruits small, nearly globular, 12 mm. in diameter, trun-
cate, red; areoles on fruit very small; seeds 3 mm. broad.
Type locality: In crevices of limestone rock, between the
Pecos River and El Paso, Texas.
Distribution: Texas.
A rare plant, first collected by Charles Wright in 1851.
Engelmann says in the Mexican Boundary Report that it
was also collected by Wright and Bigelow, but there is no
mention of it in his report on Bigelow's plants, nor do we find specimens in the Engelmann
herbarium, so that it would appear that this reference to Bigelow was a mistake. Bigelow,
it is true, crossed the River Pecos, on which the type was found, but it was well up in New
Mexico and not in Texas, where it was crossed by Charles Wright. It was more recently
collected by Nealley somewhere in Texas. The place of collection by Wright and the later
one by Nealley are very indefinitely indicated on the labels accompanying the specimens.
Illustration: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 67.
Figure 171 is copied from the illustration above cited.
Series 10. SETISPINAE.
Bushy or depressed species, with tuberous or thickened roots, broad, flat, thin joints, and elon-
gated, acicular, brown spines which fade whitish; their fruits are large and juicy. We recognize
six species, natives of the south central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
They approach the Tortispinae on the one hand and the Phaeacanthae on the other.
FIG. 171. — Opuntia strigil.
Xo.4.
OPUNTIA.
137
KEY TO SPECIES.
O. megarhiza
O. ball ii
Joints elongated 132.
Joints obovatc to orbicular.
Fruit small, 2 cm. long or less 133.
Fruit large 2.5 to 6 cm. long.
Flowers red to purple. ... 134. O. pottsii
Flowers yellow.
Areoles large, more or less elevated on old joints; joints glaucous, purplish about the
areoles 135. O. setispina
Areoles small; mature joints green throughout.
Joints usually orbicular; seeds 5 to 6 mm. broad 136.
Joints obovatc; seeds 4 mm. broad or less ... 137.
O. mtifkensenii
( > tcnuispina
132. Opuntia megarhiza Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 126. 1906.
Roots long and thickened, sometimes 3 to 6 dm. long, 5 to 6 cm. in diameter; stems low, 2 to
3 dm. high, much branched; lower joints elongated, 2 to 3 dm. long, cuneate below, thin, 3 cm.
broad; lateral joints appearing along the margins of the older joints and often, if not always, in the
same plane; spines 2 to 4, acicular, i to 2.5 cm. long, brown; leaves minute; flowers lemon-yellow,
often tinged with rose, 5 cm. broad; petals about 13, obovate, mucronately tipped; stigma-lobes 7,
greenish; ovary clavate, 3 cm. long; fruit and seeds unknown.
Type locality: Alvarez, Alexico.
Distribution: San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
This species is not very closely related to the
other species of this series, but it is referred here on
account of its very slender spines.
133. Opuntia ballii Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: 309.
191 1.
Plants low, spreading; joints obovate, 6 to 10 cm. long,
thickish, pale green, glaucous; spines 2 to 4, brownish, a little
flattened, usually ascending or erect, the larger ones 4 to 7 cm.
long; glochids conspicuous; fruit small, about 2 cm. long,
clavate, glaucous, spineless; seeds thick, 3.5 mm. broad.
FIG. 172.— O. ballii. Part of type.
Type locality: Pecos, Reeves County, Texas.
Distribution: Western Texas.
Wooton and Standley in their Flora of New Mexico refer this species to Opuntia fili-
pcndula, but 0. ballii grows in a different habitat, has smaller fruit, stouter and erect
spines, and different areoles; it grows on the dry mesa beyond Pecos, Texas.
Illustrations: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: pi. 64.
Figure 172 is copied from the illustration above cited.
134. Opuntia pottsii Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 236. 1850.
Opuntia filipendula Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 294. 1856.
Low, spreading plant, 3 dm. high or less, from thickened tuberous roots 2 to 3 cm. in diameter,
these sometimes moniliform; joints broadly obovate, 3.5 to 12 cm. long, pale green to bluish; areoles
few, either small or large; spines confined to the upper and marginal areoles, i or 2, slender, 2 to
4 cm. long, usually white but sometimes purplish; glochids yellow, usually few but sometimes abun-
dant; flowers large, 6 to 7 cm. broad, deep purple; ovary slender, 3 to 3.5 cm. long, with only a few
scattered areoles; fruit spineless.
Type locality: Near Chihuahua City, Mexico.
Distribution: Central Chihuahua, Mexico, to Texas and New Mexico.
This species was described by Prince Salm-Dyck in 1850 from material collected by
John Potts, who was manager of the mint at Chihuahua and who sent many cacti to F.
Scheer at Kew between 1842 and 1850. No types of his species seem to have been retained.
THE CACTACEAE.
In 1885 C. G. Pringle again collected this species near Chihuahua City and it was dis-
tributed as O. filipendula, and there Coulter leaves Pringle's specimen (Cont. Nat. Herb.
3: 428). Dr. E. Palmer collected an abundance of material in 1908 which enabled us to
reestablish 0. fottsii, which Coulter omits and Schumann lists under unknown species.
If these Chihuahua specimens are the same as the Texas plants, as Coulter believed
and as we regard them, then Opuntia filipendula must give place to the older name of Salm-
Dyck.
Illustrations: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 68; Fdrster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. f. 10, 131 ; Suppl.
Diet. Card. Nicholson 2: f. 605; W. Watson, Cact. Cult. f. Si, all as Opuntia filipendula.
Figure 173 shows a joint of a plant collected by Dr. Rose in the valley of the Rio
Grande below El Paso, Texas, in 1913.
135. Opuntia setispina Engelmann in Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 239. 1850.
Stem branching and spreading, sometimes 9 to 12 dm. broad, with some of the branches com-
posed of 3 or 4 joints, erect and 6 dm. high; joints deep bluish green, somewhat glaucous, often
purplish at the areoles, sometimes more or less tinged with purple throughout, obovate to orbicular,
5 to 15 cm. in diameter; leaves minute, subulate; spines i to 6 from an areole, white, 2 to 3 cm.
long; glochids yellow, very conspicuous on old joints; flowers yellow; fruit purplish, about 4 cm. long.
FIG. 173. — Opuntia pottsii. Xo.4.
FIG. 174. — Opuntia setispina. Xo-4-
Type locality: Pine woods in the mountains west of Chihuahua, Mexico (fide Engel-
mann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 294. 1856).
Distribution: Western Chihuahua, Mexico.
This species has long been known only from the type specimens; but in 1908 Dr. Rose
visited western Chihuahua, where this species is quite common; our description is based
largely upon the specimens he then collected.
Figure 174 represents a joint of the plant collected by Dr. Rose near Minaca, Chi-
huahua, in 1908.
136. Opuntia mackensenii Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: 310. 1911.
Plants low, with thick, tuberous roots, spreading, usually resting on the edges of the joints, but
some of the branches often erect; joints orbicular to obovate, 10 to 20 cm. long, rarely broader than
long, pale and glaucous when young, deep green when older; areoles small, the lower ones without
spines, the upper ones with i to 4 spines; spines white or brown, or brown at base and white above,
somewhat flattened and twisted, slender, 5 cm. long or less; glochids brown; flowers of medium size,
7 to 8 cm. broad, yellow with a reddish brown center; stigma-lobes 7 to 9, white; fruit spineless, 4 to
6 cm. long, truncate or nearly so at apex, rose-purple; seeds suborbicular, 5 to 6 mm. broad, acute
on the margin.
OPUNTIA.
139
Type locality: Near Kerrville, Texas.
Distribution: Kerr County, Texas.
Illustrations: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: pi. 67; Plant World 19: 142. f. i; 143. f.
the last as O. macrorhiza.
Figure 175 is from a photograph of the type plant from near Kerrville, Texas.
FIG. 175. — Opuntia mackensensii.
137. Opuntia tenuispuia Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 294. 1856.
Opuntia minor C. Mueller in Walpers, Ann. Bot. 5: 50. 1858.
Low and spreading, but becoming 3 dm. high; joints obovate, attenuate at base, 7 to 15 cm.
long, light green ; leaves very slender, 4 mm. long or less ; spines i to 3 from an areole, slender, usually
white but sometimes brownish, 3 to 5 cm. long, the upper spines erect or spreading; glochids brown;
flowers yellow, 6 to 7.5 cm. broad; ovary with numerous areoles filled with brown wool and brown
glochids; fruit oblong, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, with a deep umbilicus; seeds 4 mm. broad or less, very
irregular.
Type locality: Sand hills near El Paso, Texas.
Distribution: Southwestern Texas and adjacent parts of Mexico and New Mexico,
apparently extending to Arizona.
Engelmann says that this plant grows with 0. phaeacantha, but is readily distinguished
from the latter by its spines and fruit. Cultivated plants and herbarium specimens closely
resemble O. phaeacantha.
Illustrations: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 75, f. 14; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 78: pi. [15].
Plate xxin, figure 3, represents a joint of the plant collected by Dr. Rose near El
Paso, Texas, in 1913.
Series 11. PHAEACANTHAE.
Bushy or depressed species, with relatively large, flat, persistent joints, the subulate, usually
stout spines brown at least at the base, or in some species nearly white. The series is composed of
about fifteen species, natives of the south central and southwestern United States, northern and
central Mexico.
140
THE CACTACEAE.
KEY TO SPECIES.
More or less bushy plants.
Joints thin; spines, when present, very long and confined to the upper and middle areoles.
Spines dark brown, stout, rigid.
Plant pale green to purplish ; spines up to 12 cm. long
Plant dull dark green ; spines 6 cm. long or less
Spines pale brown, flexible or subulate.
Usually abundantly spiny
Usually spineless or some areoles with i setaceous deflexed spine
Joints thick ; spines not confined to the upper and middle areoles.
Joints relatively small, seldom over 15 cm. broad; plants relatively low.
Joints narrowly obovate, about twice as long as Side
Joints broadly obovate to orbicular.
Flowers yellow.
Spines subulate, brown at least in part.
Plant light green
Plant bluish green or grayish green.
Plant erect, 2 meters high or less
Plant bushy, rarely over i meter high
Plant prostrate
Spines acicular, nearly white
Flowers magenta
Joints relatively large, mostly over 15 cm. broad; plants relatively tall.
Spines clear brown nearly throughout
Spines nearly white above or throughout.
Spines with dark brown bases
Spines whitish throughout
Small creeping plants
138. Opuntia macrocentra En-
gelmann, Proc. Amer.
Acad. 3: 292. 1856.
Somewhat bushy, with as-
cending branches, 6 to 9 dm.
high; joints orbicular to oblong,
or sometimes broader than long,
i o to 20 cm. long, often bluish
or purplish, sometimes spineless
but usually bearing spines at the
uppermost areoles ; spines i or 2,
rarely 3 together, usually brown-
ish or black but sometimes white
above, slender, erect or porrect,
4 to 7 cm. long; flowers yellow,
often drying red, 7.5 cm. broad;
sepals ovate, acuminate; ovary
with few areoles, these bearing
brown glochids; filaments very
short; fruit 3 to 6 cm. long, pur-
ple; seeds 4 to 4.5 mm. broad.
Type locality: Sand hills
on the Rio Grande near El
Paso, Texas.
Distribution: Western
Texas to Eastern Arizona
and Chihuahua, Mexico.
This species, especially
the forms that have bluish
and purplish joints, are very
showy. Seedlings sometimes
produce long, silky hairs from
the areoles, in this respect
resembling the CrinijeraC. FIG. 176.— Opuntia macrocentra. Xo.5.
138. O. macrocentra
139. O. tardospina
140. O. gosseliniana
141. O. santa-rita
142. O. angustata
143. O. atrispina
144. O. azurea
145. O. phaeacantha
146. O. mojavensis
147. O. covillei
148. O. vaseyi
149. 0. occidentalis
150. O. engelmannii
151. O. discata
152. O. rastrera
OPUNTIA.
141
Illustrations: Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 75, f. 8; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 78: pi. [8].
Figure 1 76 represents a joint of the plant collected by Dr. Rose near the Rio Grande in
New Mexico, northwest of El Paso, Texas, in 1913.
139. Opuntia tardospina Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 22: 34. 1912.
Roots fibrous; low, spreading plant, the joints usually resting on the ground; joints orbicular
to obovate, 1 6 to 24 cm. long; areoles large, usually distant, often 4 cm. apart; spines usually wanting
except from the upper areoles and along the upper margin, usually single, sometimes 2 from an
areole, 4 to 5 cm. long, brown, but lighter towards the apex; glochids numerous, brown, persistent;
fruit red, 6 cm. long; seeds 5 mm. broad, acute on the margin.
Type locality: Near Lampasas, Texas.
Distribution: Eastern Texas.
Illustrations: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 22: pi. n, in part; pi. 15.
Figure 177 represents a joint of the plant collected by Albert Ruth in 1912, north of
Dallas, Texas.
r
FIGS. 178, 179. — Cluster of spines and joint of O. gosseliniana. Xo.4.
FIG. 177. — O. tardospina. Xo.j.
140. Opuntia gosseliniana Weber, Bull. Soc. Acclim. France 49: 83. 1902.
One meter or more high, branching from the base, the old trunk often bearing numerous, long,
acicular spines; joints usually red or purplish, usually very thin, as broad as or broader than long,
sometimes 2 dm. broad; lower and sometimes all the areoles without spines; spines porrect or nearly
so, generally i, sometimes 2, rarely 3 from an areole, 4 to 5 or even 10 cm. long, brown, usually
weak; glochids brown, numerous, forming on old joints very large clusters; fruit 4 cm. long, without
spines but bearing numerous brown glochids at the areoles, with a depressed umbilicus.
Type locality: Coast of Sonora on the Gulf of California.
Distribution: Sonora and Lower California, Mexico.
This species was placed tentatively in the Pubcsccntcs by Schumann, although always
glabrous; but it belongs better in the Phacacanthac. In some of its phases it resembles
O. macrocentra. It is a very showy species and worthy of a place in any collection.
Illustrations: Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 17: 69.
Figure 179 represents a joint of the plant collected at Hermosillo in Sonora, by Rose,
Standley, and Russell in 1910; figure 178 shows a cluster of spines from a trunk areole.
142
THE CACTACEAE.
141. Opuntia santa-rita (Griffiths and Hare) Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 52: 195. 1908.
Opunlia chlorotica santa-rita Griffiths and Hare, N. Mex. Agr. Exp, Sta. Bull. 60: 64. 1906.
Opuntia shmcana C. Z. Nelson, Galesburg Register, July 20, 1915.
Compact plant, 6 to 14 dm. high, with a very short trunk; joints orbicular or a little broader
than long, bluish green but deep purple about the areoles and margins; areoles 1.5 cm. apart, bear-
ing numerous chestnut-brown glochids and occasionally a brown spine; flowers very handsome,
deep yellow, 6 to 7 cm. broad; ovary purple, oblong.
Type locality: Selero Mountains, Arizona.
Distribution: Southeastern Arizona.
This species is one of the most ornamental of the opuntias, and although it does not
grow well in greenhouse cultivation, it would doubtless flourish in the Southwest, where it
could be given conditions similar to its wild surroundings.
Illustrations: Smiths. Misc. Coll. 52: pi. 15; Plant World n1": f. 6, this last as Opuntia
clilorotica; Journ. Inter. Card. Club 3: facing page 5, as O. clilorotica santa-rita.
Plate xxiv, figure i, is from a photograph taken by Dr. MacDougal of a plant near
Surritas, Arizona, in 1906.
142. Opuntia angustata Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3:
292. 1856.
Ascending to erect; joints narrow, 15 to 25 cm. long,
rounded above, gradually narrowing downward; areoles
distant, often 2.5 cm. apart, large, oblong; spines sharply
angled, straw-colored or whitish but with brown bases, 2.5 to
3.5 cm. long ; glochids brown ; fruit obovoid, 2.5 to 3 cm. long.
Type locality: Bottoms, Bill Williams Fork,
Arizona.
Distribution: Recorded as extending from New
Mexico to California, but known definitely to us only
from central Arizona, perhaps extending north to Utah.
Engelmann's Opuntia angustata was based on
three specimens, one from New Mexico, one from
Arizona, and one from California. He stated that the
first and last were prostrate, while the second was erect.
A study of his specimens and descriptions indicates
that he had three species before him. The first is
from Zuni, New Mexico, and is probably Opuntia
phaedcantha. The California specimen is the Opuntia
magenta Griffiths, which is probably the same as
0. vaseyi, while the suberect plant from the bottoms
of the Bill Williams River we have allowed to stand
for O. angustata. Wooton and Standley (Contr.
U. S. Nat. Herb. 19: 447. 1915) suggest that the two
fruits illustrated by Engelmann in connection with this
species may belong to two species of Cylindropuntia .
This plant was first collected by J. M. Bigelow, February 4, 1854.
Illustrations: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 7, f. 3, 4.
Figure 180 is copied from figure 3 of the illustrations above cited.
143. Opuntia atrispina Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 172. 1910.
Usually low and spreading, sometimes 2 meters in diameter, but sometimes the central branches
nearly erect and 6 dm. high; joints rather small, nearly orbicular, 10 to 15 cm. in diameter, light
green, sometimes a little glaucous; lower areoles spineless; spines from the upper areoles 2 to 4,
the principal ones spreading, flattened, dark brown, almost black at base, much lighter above;
glochids at first yellow or yellowish, but soon changing to brown; flowers described as yellow,
changing to orange; fruit reddish purple.
FIG. 1 80. — Opuntia angustata.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATf-
1. Plant of
sun tit -ritn .
2. Plant of Ofiitntia discutn
OPUNT1A.
143
Type locality: Near Devil's River, Texas.
Distribution: Type locality and vicinity.
This plant is abundant between Del Rio, Texas, and Devil's River, being one of the
two commonest species in that region.
Illustrations: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 21: pi. 26, in part.
Plate xxv, figure i, represents a flowering joint of the plant collected near Devil's
River, Texas, by Dr. Rose in 1913.
FIG. 181. — Opuntia azurca. Zacatecas, Mexico.
144. Opuntia azurea Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 291.
1909.
Compact, upright, with a single trunk, or branching
from the base and more or less spreading ; joints orbicular to
obovate, 10 to 15 cm. in diameter, pale bluish green, glau-
cous; areoles about 2 cm. apart, the lower ones spineless,
the upper ones with i to 3 rather stout spines; spines, at
least when old, almost black, unequal, the longer ones 2 to 3
cm. long, more or less reflexed; glochids numerous, brown;
petals 3 cm. long, deep yellow, with crimson claw, but in
age pink throughout; filaments greenish or almost white;
stigma-lobes pale green; fruit dull crimson, subglobose to
ovoid, spineless, truncate, juicy, edible.
Type locality: Northeastern Zacatecas, Mexico.
Distribution: Zacatecas and probably Durango.
Illustrations: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: pi. 24;
also f. 33.
Figure 181 is from a photograph by F. E. Lloyd
of the type plant; figure 182 represents joints of the
plant collected by Albert de Lautreppe near Zacatecas,
Mexico, in 1904.
FIG. 182.
Opuntia azurca
Xo.4.
144 THE CACTACEAE.
145. Opuntia phaeacantha Engelmann in Gray, Mem. Amer. Acad. 4: 52. 1849.
Opuntia phaeacantha brunnea Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 293. 1856.
Opuntia phaeacantlia major Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 293. 1856.
Opuntia phaeacantha nigricans Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 293. 1856.
Opuntia camanchica Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 293. 1856.
Opuntia chihuahuensis Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 291. 1909.
Opuntia toitmeyi Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 402. 1909.
Opuntia blakeana Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 402. 1909.
Opuntia zuniensis Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 86. 1916. (From the description.)
Low, usually prostrate, with some branches ascending; joints usually longer than broad, 10 to
15 cm. long; areoles rather remote, the lower ones often spineless; spines i to 4, those on the
sides of the joints more or less reflexed, somewhat flattened, usually rather stout, brown, some-
times darker at base, or often nearly white throughout, the longer ones 5 to 6 cm. long; glo-
chids numerous, yellow to brown; flowers 5 cm. broad, yellow; ovary short; fruit 30 to 35 mm.
long, much contracted at base.
Type locality: About Santa Fe and on the Rio Grande, New Mexico.
Distribution: Texas to Arizona and Chihuahua.
We have referred to Opuntia phaeacantha the common low, bushy Opuntia with small
joints, brown spines, and yellow flowers of the Southwest ; we formerly regarded it as com-
posed of several species, and others have followed our lead; but we are unable to draw any
distinct lines after a study of much additional herbarium and greenhouse material. Dr.
Rose has collected a large series of specimens from the Southwest, especially from the type
localities, but his specimens seem to bridge over differences which before seemed tangible ;
cited differences appear to be racial rather than specific.
Opuntia blakeana, which is found west of the Rocky Mountains, one would expect to
be different. It is characterized by small obovate joints, rather short spines, small yellow
flowers purple at center.
Opuntia chihuahuensis, which was first described from Mexican specimens, if it belongs
here, is in the southern range of 0. phaeacantlia. It, too, has yellow flowers with red
centers, rather large joints, and long, slender spines. Mr. Wooton is of the opinion that to
0. cliiliualiHctisis is to be referred the common, low, brown species from El Paso, which
includes the specimens of G. R. Vasey, which Coulter called Opuntia mcsacantha oplocarpa.
This long-spined form extends north throughout eastern New Mexico to southeastern
Colorado. With the latter form Mr. Wooton believes Opuntia camanchica belongs. If
we take this broad view of the limits of this species we are forced to include Opuntia
toumeyi, although it is much larger than 0. blakeana, and was considered by Dr. Rose to
be different.
Opuntia mcsacantha sphacrocarpa Wooton and Standley (Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 19:
446. 1915) is a mistake, 0. mcsacantha oplocarpa being intended.
Opuntia rubrifolia Engelmann in Coulter (Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 424. 1896),
from St. George, Utah, belongs in this series if E. W. Nelson's No. 156, from the same place
has been properly determined as such. The type specimen of 0. rubrifolia has, apparently,
been lost.
The following varieties of Opuntia camanchica have been offered by Haage and Schmidt
in their catalogues: albispina (Trade Seed Cat. 104. 1911-1912); orbicularis, rubra, and
salmonea (all in Haupt-Verzeichnis 1908: 228. 1908). Under O. camanchica has been
mentioned also variety luteo-staminca (Cat. Darrah Succ. Manchester 53. 1908).
Opuntia cocarpa Griffiths (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: n. 1916), also 0. recurvo-
spina Griffiths (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: 12. 1916) and possibly 0. supcrbospina
Griffiths (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: 13. 1916) and 0. cacsia Griffiths (Proc. Biol.
Soc. Washington 29: 13. 1916) are of this relationship.
Opuntia microcarpa* Engelmann (Emory, Mil. Reconn. 158. f. 7. 1848) and 0. violacea
Engelmann (Emory, Mil. Reconn. 158. f. 8. 1848) were described from drawings brought
*Since the above was written Dr. Griffiths (Bull. Torr. Club, 43: 527) has published a detailed account of this
species, which he regards as distinct; it inhabits southern Arizona.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXV
* 2
M l I item del.
1. Flowering joints of Opnntia atrispi, 2. Flowering joint of
3. Upper part of joint of Optinti,' annii. ( All natui
OPUNTIA.
145
back from the Southwest by W. H. Emory. They can never be critically identified, but
are probably of this relationship.
Illustrations: Engler and Prantl, Pflanzenfam. 36a: f. 57, C; Forster, Handb. Cact. ed.
2. f. 141 ; Illustr. Fl. 2 : f . 2530; ed. 2. 2: f. 2989; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 9, f. i to 5; pi. 22, f.
12 to 15; Wiener Illustr. Gartenz. 10: f. 115, all as Opuntia caiihiucliica; N. Mex. Agr. Exp.
Sta. Bull. 78: pi. [7], as Opuntia chihuahuensis; Contr. U. S.
Nat. Herb. 12 : pi. 55, as Opuntia blakeana; Cact. Mex. Bound,
pi. 75, f. 9 to 13.
Plate xxv, figure 2, represents a flowering joint of a
plant sent from Tucson, Arizona, in 1916, by Dr. Mac-
Dougal.
146. Opuntia mojavensis Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 293.
1856.
Prostrate, with suborbicular joints; pulvini remote, with large
yellow bristles; spines 2 to 6, stout and annulate, acutely angu-
lar and compressed, more or less curved, reddish brown, paler
toward tip, 2.5 to 6 cm. long, i to 3 smaller, slenderer, pale ones
added below; fruit oblong, 4.5 cm. long.
of the Colorado,
FIG. 183. — Opuntia covillei. Xo-4-
Type locality: On the Mojave, west
California.
Distribution: Known only
from the type locality.
The fragmentary type speci-
men has been examined ; we have
been unable to refer any other
specimens to this species, which
is thus very imperfectly under-
stood.
Illustration: Pac. R. Rep. 4:
pi. 9, f. 6 to 8.
147. Opuntia covillei Britton and
Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50:
532. 1908.
Opunlia megacarpa Griffiths.
Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20:
91. 1909.
Opuntia ntgosa Griffiths, Proc.
Biol. Soc. Washington 27:
27. 1914.
Bushy plants, usually growing
in dense thickets; joints orbicular to
obovate, 10 to 20 cm. long or more,
pale green, sometimes purplish,
slightly glaucous ; areoles 2 to 4 cm.
apart; spines several from an areole,
slender, unequal, the longest ones
6 cm. long, white when young,
brownish when old; flowers large,
yellow.
Type locality: San Bernard-
ino, California.
Distribution: Interior valleys
of southern California.
Opuntia covillei and O. vaseyi grow in the same valleys, often in adjoining colonies,
and while hybrids may occur, the two species could easily be distinguished. When growing
^- -
FIG 184. — Opuntia covillei.
146
THE CACTACEAE.
in conjunction, 0. covillci is considerably taller, has joints of different color, and has yellow
flowers. It has doubtless generally passed as Opuntia occidcntalis, but that is a much
larger, stouter plant, with strong, more or less flattened spines, and is common along the
coast.
Figure 183 represents a joint of the plant sent by Dr. MacDougal from Elsinore,
California, in 1913; figure 184 is from a photograph of a specimen collected by Mr. S.
B. Parish from near the type locality in 1916.
148. Opuntia vaseyi (Coulter) Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 532. 1908.
Opunlia niesacantha vaseyi Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 431. 1896.
Opuntia rafinesquei vaseyi Schumann, Gesamtb. Kaktecn 717. 1898.
Opuntia liHinifiisa vaseyi Heller, Cat. N. Amer. PI. ed. 2. 8. 1900.
Opunlia magenta Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 19: 268. 1908.
Opuntia rubiflora Davidson, Bull. South. Calif. Acad. 15: 33. 1916.
Plants low, the lower stems spreading at base, but some of the branches erect and 4 to 7 joints
high; joints thick, small (usually 10 to 12 cm. long), ovate, pale green, somewhat glaucous; areoles
rather large, 2 to 3 cm. apart, bearing i to 3 spines; spines porrect, usually short (rarely 2 cm. long),
grayish brown or bright brown, whitish or yellowish towards the tips, somewhat flattened; young
joints bright green, thickish, bearing short purplish leaves and a single brownish spine from an areole ;
flowers deep salmon, almost a red-salmon, from the very first; ovary globular to shortly oblong;
areoles few, mostly towards the top of the ovary, spineless but with a few brown glochids ; fruit
globular to shortly oblong, 4 to 5 cm. long, deep purple, truncate at apex, with few areoles, the pulp
sweetish but hardly edible ; umbilicus broadly depressed.
Type locality: Cited as Yuma, Arizona, presumably erroneously.
Distribution: San Bernardino and Orange Counties, southern California.
Even from a moving train this species is distinguishable from its relatives by the
color of its flowers. It forms great thickets along the Southern Pacific Railroad north of
Los Angeles, either alone or interspersed with one or more other species, and it is also common
in the San Bernardino Valley toward the Cajon Pass where it forms great thickets either
alone or with Opuntia covillci. Considerable quantities were seen also on hills near River-
side, and it was found cultivated in the cactus garden at River-
side and in the Soldiers' Home Grounds at Santa Monica.
Illustration: Bull. South. Calif. Acad. 15: 32, as Opuntia
ntbiflora.
Figure 185 represents a joint of the plant collected by Dr.
Rose at Fernando, California, in 1908.
149. Opuntia occidentalis Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad.
3: 291. 1856.
Opuntia lindheimeri occidcntalis Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 421.
1896.
Opuntia engclmannii occidentalis Engelmann in Brewer and Watson, Bot.
Calif, i: 248. 1876.*
Opuntia demissa Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 29. 1912.
Erect or spreading, often i meter high or more, forming large
thickets; joints large, obovate to oblong, 2 to 3 dm. long; areoles remote;
spines 2 to 7, stout, unequal, the longest ones 4 to 5 cm. long, more or
less flattened, brown or nearly white, sometimes wanting; shorter spines
often white; glochids often prominent, brown; flowers yellow, large, in-
cluding the ovary often 10 to 1 1 cm. long; fruit large, purple.
Type locality: Western slopes of the California Mountains,
between San Diego and Los Angeles.
Distribution: Southwestern California and northern Lower
California and adjacent islands.
In their description of this species, Engelmann and Bigelow state that it was found on
the western slope of the California Mountains near San Diego and Los Angeles. In the
FIG. 185. — Opuntia vaseyi.
Xo.5.
*Coulter refers this name to Pac. R. Rep. 4: errata, 3, 1856, but no formal name is published there.
OPUNTIA.
147
Engelmann herbarium are the two original sheets. One of these comes from the "Moun-
tain Valleys of San Pasquel and Santa Isabel," northeast of San Diego. This consists of
a single flower and a small piece of a joint containing three bunches of spines ; we doubt if
this can be identified. The other comes from near Los Angeles and consists of a large pad
and fruit with seeds. The spines are dark
brown or nearly black. This specimen ap-
pears to be the one figured in the Pacific
Railroad Report and may very properly be
taken as the type of the species.
There is much uncertainty regarding
the range of this species, some referring it
to the interior valleys of California. An ex-
amination, however, of the type material,
and a study of the living plants in southern
California by Dr. Rose, convince us that
the coastal opuntias can not all be referred
to O. littoralis as is sometimes done, but a
part belongs to 0. occidcutalis. The limits
of the latter species, and its distribution,
are not well defined.
Of this relationship is to be consid-
ered Opuntia scniispinosa Griffiths (Bull.
Torr. Club 43: 89. 1916), which the author
describes as a common, conspicuous spe-
cies in the coastal region of California.
Illustrations: N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta.
Bull. 60 : pi. 3, f. 2; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 7, £.1,2;
pi. 22, f. 10 ; Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 22: pi. 8,
this last as Opuntia dcrnissa.
Figure 186 is from a plant collected
on Santa Catalina Island,
Mr. S. B. Parish in 1916.
California, by
FIG. 1 86. — Opuntia occidentalis.
150. Opuntia engelmannii Salm-Dyck in Engelmann, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 6: 207. 1850.
Opuntia engelmannii cyclodes Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 291. 1856.
Opuntia lindheimeri cyclodes Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 422. 1896.
Opuntia dillei Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20: 82. 1909.
Opuntia arizonica Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20: 93. 1909.
Opuntia wootonii Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 171. 1910.
Opuntia cyclodes Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: 309. 1911.
Opuntia gregoriana Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 26. 1912.
Opuntia valida Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 24. 1914.
Opuntia confusa Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 28. 1914.
Opuntia magnarenensis Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: 9. 1916.
Opuntia expansa Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: 14. 1916.
Originally described as erect and up to 2 meters high, but more properly a widely spreading
bush, usually without a definite trunk; joints oblong to orbicular, 2 to 3 dm. long, thick, pale green;
areoles distant, becoming large and bulging; spines usually more or less white, with dark red or
brownish bases and sometimes with black tips, usually 3 or 4, sometimes only i, or entirely wanting
from the lower areoles, but on old joints 10 or more, usually somewhat porrect or a little spreading,
but never reflexed, the larger ones much flattened, the longest one 5 cm. long; leaves subulate,
about 15 mm. long; glochids numerous, brown with yellowish tips; flowers large, yellow; fruit
3.5 to 4 cm. long, red; seeds small, 3 to 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: From El Paso to Chihuahua.
Distribution: Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
148 THE CACTACEAE.
An examination of the plant collected by Wislizenus (No. 223) north of Chihuahua,
now in the herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden and labeled by Dr. Engelmann as
0. engelmannii Salm-Dyck, shows that this species is of Schumann's series Fulvispinosae
(our series Phaeacanthae) rather than series Tunae.
Opuntia engelmannii has been more confused than any other species of Opuntia.
Salm-Dyck, who first studied the species, doubtless had but a single specimen before him,
and this or a duplicate is now in the herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden. This
type specimen came from near Chihuahua City, from which place Dr. Rose has collected
identical material. Dr. Engelmann, who published Salm-Dyck's name, described the
plant as erect and 5 to 6 feet high, giving its range from Chihuahua City to Texas. These
remarks of his were doubtless based on notes of Dr. Wislizenus, who collected the type,
and must have included more than one species; as Engelmann says it is both cultivated
and wild, the cultivated plants doubtless referring to some of the many forms grown about
towns and ranches. In 1852 Engelmann extends the distribution of the species westward
to the Pacific Ocean, referring especially to a San Diego specimen. In 1856 he refers here
his previously described species 0. lindhcimcri, and extends the range eastward to the mouth
of the Rio Grande and to lower Mexico. Coulter brought all this material together under
O. lindhcimcri and four varieties.
An examination of herbarium and greenhouse specimens shows that at least half a
dozen species have been passing under the name of ( ). engelmannii. While certain varieties
and specimens are evidently to be excluded from the species, we are still uncertain as to its
specific limits. It is quite common about Chihuahua City and extends to Monterey
and Saltillo or is represented there by a near ally, while Mr. E. O. Wooton would refer here
plants of southern New Mexico, and we are including large, bushy opuntias from Arizona.
Dr. Rose was inclined at one time to separate the Tucson plant, which seems to have
some just claims for specific recognition, but there is a mass of herbarium material which
seems to connect this with the true 0. engelmannii.
Opuntia engelmannii mcmstiosa (Cat. Darrah Succ. Manchester 54. 1908) is doubt-
less one of the abnormal forms so common among the flat-jointed opuntias.
Opuntia cyclodcs, first found by Bigelow near Anton Chico, New Mexico, is certainly
of this relationship. The characters of orbicular joints, of small fruit and of stout, usually
solitary spines, originally assigned to it, are not constant, for it often has obovate to oblong
joints bearing as many as four slender spines and large fruit.
In 1913 Dr. Rose explored the upper Pecos, especially about Anton Chico, near the
type locality, where he collected specimens similar to the Bigelow plant, but these grade
into more spiny forms, some bearing as many as five spines at an areole, usually
yellow, especially distally, and more slender than in typical O. engelmannii. From the
same type locality, and associated with 0. cyclodes, is 0. cxpansa Griffiths, which has more
and whiter spines than the typical form, although they are sometimes yellowish with brown
bases. 0. dillci Griffiths is also related to O. cyclodcs, but the spines are fewer; Dr. Grif-
fiths states, however, that more spines develop on cultivated plants.
Illustrations: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 8, f. i ; pi. 22, f. 8, 9, all as Opuntia engelmannii cyclodes;
Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: pi. 4, in part, as Opuntia dillci. Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 67: pi.
7, f. i ; Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: pi. 10; Safford, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst. 1908: pi. 10, f. 3,
6, all as Opuntia arizonica. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: pi. 26, in part, 27, both as Opuntia
u'ootonii. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: pi. 3, this last as Opuntia gregoriana. Standley, Ann.
Rep. Smiths. Inst. 1911: pi. 2; Bull. Torr. Club 32: pi. 10, f. 10 to 13; Cact. Journ. 2: 147;
Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 75, f. i to 4; Cycl. Amer. Hort. Bailey 3: f. 1547; Gard. Chron. III.
30 :f. 123; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 78: pi. [5, 6].
Plate xxv, figure 3, represents a flowering joint of a plant sent from Arizona by Dr.
MacDougal in 1902.
OPUNTIA. 149
151. Opuntia discata Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 19: 266. 1908.
Opuntia gilvesceiis Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20: 87. 1909.
Opuntia riparia Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 26. 1914.
Plants bushy, spreading, sometimes 15 dm. high; joints thick, orbicular to broadly obovate,
2.5 dm. in diameter or less, pale bluish green, somewhat glaucous; areoles rather few, distant, in
age becoming very large, hemispheric, filled with short brown wool; spines usually 2 to 4, sometimes
7 or more in old areoles, 2 cm. long or more, grayish with dark bases, somewhat flattened; flowers
large, 9 to 10 cm. broad, light yellow, darker near the center; style white; stigma-lobes green; fruit
magenta, pyriform, 6 to 7 cm. long.
Type locality: Foothills of Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona.
Distribution: Foothills and high mesas of southern Arizona and northern Sonora.
Illustrations: Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: pi. 2, f. 5; pi. 7; pi. 13, f. 6, all as Opuntia gil-
vcscens; Amer. Garden n: 469, this last as Opuntia angustata. Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull.
67: pi. i, f. 2; Bull U. S. Dept. Agr. 31: pi. 3, f. 2; Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: pi. 27, in part.
Plate xxiv, figure 2, is from a photograph taken by Dr. MacDougal in the Tortolita
Mountains, Arizona, in 1916; Opuntia discata is the plant shown in left foreground.
152. Opuntia rastrera Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 896. 1898.
? Opuntia lucens Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19:269. 1908.
Creeping plant; joints circular to obovate, the largest 2 dm. in diameter; spines white, several
from an areole, the longest 4 cm. long; glochids yellow; flowers yellow; fruit purple, acid, obovoicl.
Type locality: San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Distribution: The type locality and vicinity.
This species was very briefly described in 1898 by Dr. Weber, who states that it is
quite distinct from 0. tuna, the Jamaican species. Schumann, who treats it in a note under
0. tuna, states that it is a well-differentiated species from Mexico.
From descriptions we are referring here 0. Inccns Griffiths, also described from San
I/uis Potosi specimens. Dr. Griffiths states that his 0. lucens is related to 0. engelmannii,
but has a different habit; he says it is called cuija by the Mexicans, but that it is very
different from Opuntia cuija.
Series 12. ELATIORES.
Tall species, with flat, broad, persistent joints, the areoles bearing acicular, setaceous, or subulate
brown spines, or some species spineless. We know about twelve species, most of them South
American, with one in Florida (see Appendix p. 222), possibly one (0. fuliginosa) in Mexico.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints very spiny.
Spines not banded.
Areoles surrounded by a purple blotch 153. 0. brunnescens
Areoles not surrounded by a purple blotch.
Spines setaceous; petals yellow 154. 0. galapageia
Spines, when present, acicular or subulate; petals mostly red or orange.
Joints strongly undulate; spines short, stout 155. O. delaetiana
Joints not undulate or scarcely undulate.
Joints bluish green, glaucous 156. O. bergeriana
Joints bright green, not glaucous or slightly glaucous
Spines, at least on young joints, acicular, slender.
Spines, when present, dark brown or blackish; joints dull 157. 0. elatior
Spines light brown to straw-colored.
Spines up to 5 cm. long; joints shining 158. 0. hanburyana
Spines 3 cm. long or less; joints dull.
Flowers 12 to 15 mm. wide; spines i to 4 at an areole or
wanting 159. O. quitensis
Flowers 5 to 6 cm. wide; spines up to 10 at an areole 1591. O. soederslromiana
Spines subulate, stout; joints shining 160. 0. scltumannii
Spines acicular; petals yellow; joints shining (in this series?]. .. 161. O. fuliginosa
Spines distinctly banded; joints dark green, obscurely glaucous . . . i6ia. O. zebrina
Joints usually spineless.
Bushy, i to 2 meters high; flowers rose 162. 0. boldinghii
Erect, 3 to 4 meters high; flowers orange-red 163. U. distans
150
THE; CACTACUAE.
153. Opuntia brunnescens sp. nov.
Usually low and prostrate, sometimes i meter high, without a definite trunk, usually forming
a bushy clump; joints oblong to orbicular, 15 to 30 cm. long, smooth, dull green, except the purple
blotches about the prominent areoles; spines 2 to 5, brownish, porrect or pointing forward, up to
4.5 cm. long, stout, sometimes twisted.
Hills about the city of Cordoba, Argentina, where it was collected by Rose and Russell,
September 8, 1915 (No. 21029).
This species is very common on the dry hills about Cordoba, where it is often associ-
ated with Opuntia snlphurca. It apparently extends northward into Jujuy.
Figure 187 represents a joint of the type specimen above cited; figure iSS shows its
fruit collected by Dr. Shafer (No. 78).
154. Opuntia galapageia Henslow, Mag. Zool. and Bot. i: 467. 1837.
Opuntia myriacanllia Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 894. 1898.
Opuntia heller i Schumann in Robinson, Proc. Amer. Acad. 38: 180. 1902.
Opuntia insularis Stewart, Proc. Calif. Acad. IV. i: 113. 19".
Sometimes low and creeping, but often becoming very large, 5 to 10 meters high, with a large top
either open or very compact and rounded; trunk at first very spiny and made up of flat joints set
end to end, with the short axis of each joint at right angles to that of the adjacent joint, in time
becoming terete, and when old nearly naked, 3 to 13 dm. in diameter; bark of old trunks smooth,
brown, peeling off in thin layers; joints oblong to orbicular, usually very large, 1.5 to 3.5 dm. long,
very spiny; areoles large, often prominent on the trunk, there especially forming knobs bearing
numerous spines ; spines extremely variable, but nearly all yellowish brown ; areoles on young, vigorous
plants very stout and rigid, very unequal, the longest 7 to 8 cm. long; joints of old plants bearing
more or less pungent bristles or sometimes very weak soft hairs instead of spines, while the spines
from the trunks often are very stout and sometimes 40 in a cluster; flowers yellow, 7.5 cm. broad;
ovary more or less tuberculate; fruit greenish, sometimes borne in the ends of joints, more or less
spiny; seeds large, 5 to 6 mm. broad, white, covered with soft hairs.
FIG. 187. — O. brunnescens. Xo.4.
Fir.. 1 88. — Fruit of O. brun-
nescens. Xo.9.
FIG. 190. — Flower of same.
Xo.75
ISO
FIG. 189 — Joint of
O. galapageia.
Type locality: Galapagos Islands.
Distribution: Very common, often forming forests, on the Galapagos Islands.
We have here combined the four species reported from the Galapagos Islands, while
Alban Stewart, in his admirable paper on the botany of these islands, not only recognizes
four species, but describes a fifth without specific name. He also has fourteen full-page
OPUNTIA.
illustrations showing fine habit views of the Galapagos Opnntia. The early descriptions
of this species were very inaccurate and, as pointed out by Mr. Stewart, the characters
assigned to its fruit are those of a Cereus-like plant. Mr. Stewart visited the Galapagos
Islands in 1905-1906 and brought back a remarkable series of photographs and specimens.
Through the kindness of Miss Alice Eastwood, Curator of Botany in the California Academy
of Sciences, we have been able to study this material. It consists of about forty sheets of
well-preserved joints with a few flowers and fruits. These, in connection with the pub-
FIG. 191. — Opuntia galapageia. Xo-75-
lished illustrations, show a great range of variation in habit, armament of joints, and char-
acter of spines. While these differences are very marked, they are similar to what is
sometimes met with in other opuntias, such as O. gosscliniana and 0. leiicotricha, or in
certain Peruvian and Chilean types of Cereus relatives; indeed, in a number of cacti
which live under intense desert influences, most diverse forms in the same species are often
produced. The habit-character in this species seems to be of little value, according to Mr.
152
THE CACTACEAE.
Calif. Acad. IV.
Calif. Acad. IV.
Stewart himself, for he calls attention to procumbent and arborescent forms of 0. gala-
pageia, while the greatest range of spine characters is shown between the young plants and
old ones and between the trunk and the joints. The specimen which Mr. Stewart has
made the type of his Opuntia insularis is quite different from all the others, and yet one
can easily believe that intergrades could be found ; his species is described without flowers
or fruit. Mr. Stewart states that this Opuntia forms the principal article of food for the
Galapagos land tortoise. Its trunk becomes thicker than that of any other known species
of the genus.
Illustrations: Card. Chron. III. 24: f . 75 ; Mag. Zool. and Bot. i : pi. 14, f. 2 ; Proc. Calif.
Acad. IV. i: pi. 7, f. 2; pi. 8; pi. 9, f. 2; pi. 10 to 12. Card. Chron. Ser. III. 27: f. 56; Proc.
i: pi. 7, f. i; pi. 13, f. 2; pi. 16 to 18, all as Opuntia myriacantha. Proc.
i: pi. 13, f. i; pi. 14, the last two as Opuntia licllcri. Proc. Calif. Acad.
IV. i: pi. 9, f. i ; pi. 15, the last two as Opuntia insularis.
Figure 189 represents a joint of the plant collected by Robert E. Snodgrass and
Edmund Heller on Wenman Island, Galapagos, on the Hopkins-Stanford Expedition (type
of Opitntia hcllcri Schumann), drawn from the herbarium specimen in the Gray Herbarium;
figure 190 is of a flower of the same plant; figure 191 is from a photograph of an herbarium
specimen collected by Alban Stewart.
155. Opuntia delaetiana Weber in Vaupel, Bliihende Kakteen 3: pi. 148. 1913.
Opuntia data dtinc/iniia Weber in Gosselin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 392. 1904.
Joints oblong, 25 cm. long, 8 cm. broad, bright green, at first thin and spineless, the margin
strongly undulate; areoles large, bearing 3 to 5 straight, rose-colored or yellowish brown spines up to
4 cm. long; leaves subulate, about 4 mm. long; glochids wanting in young areoles, later appearing
numerous and brown; flower-buds rounded at the apex; outer sepals orbicular, obtuse, red; flower
rotate, 5 to 7 cm. broad, orange-colored; stigma-lobes white; fruit oblong or pyriform, red, 5 to 7 cm.
long, 3 to 5 cm. in thickness.
Type locality: Paraguay.
Distribution: Paraguay and northeastern Ar-
gentina.
The plant was collected by Dr. Thomas
Morong at Asuncion, Paraguay, in 1888, and re-
ferred in his list of plants collected in Paraguay
(Annal. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 7: 121. 1892) toO.nigri-
cans Haworth; Dr. Shafer found it in 1917 in waste
places and in hedge-rows about Concordia and Po-
sados, Argentina. This species may more prop-
erly belong in our series Elatac than in Elatiorcs.
Illustration: Bliihende Kakteen 3: pi. 148.
Figure 192 is copied from the illustration
above cited.
156. Opuntia bergeriana Weber in Berger, Card. Chron.
ni.3S:34- 1904-
Growing singly or in dense thickets, often i to 3.5
meters high and having a trunk 3 to 4 dm. in diameter,
with a large, spreading top, or clambering over walls
and rocks; joints narrowly oblong, sometimes 2.5 cm.
long, when young often quite narrow, bright green, but
becoming dull and somewhat glaucous; areoles rather distant, on old joints 2 to 4 cm. apart, filled
with short gray wool; spines 2 or 3, rarely 5, unequal, the longest one 3 to 4 cm. long and somewhat
flattened, more or less brownish at base, sometimes yellowish, porrect, or somewhat turned down-
ward; leaves 2 to 3 mm. long, fugacious; glochids yellow but sometimes turning brown, rather promi-
nent, forming a half circle in the upper part of the areole ; areoles circular, when young filled with
light brown wool in the center and white in the outer region; flowers numerous, showy, deep red;
FIG. 192. — Opuntia delaetiana.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXVI
\ ft
M. E. K«t. in
Flowering joint of Ofwntia bcrg-ennna. 3. Flowering joint of Opunlia
2. Flowering joint of Ofiuntia clatio,. 4, 5 Joints of Ofiitntia elala.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA. 153
some joints bearing 20 or more; petals 2.5 cm. long, mucronate; filaments numerous, scarlet-rose;
stigma-lobes 6, green; fruit small, 3 to 4 cm. long, red, not edible; seeds few, flattened, 5 mm. broad.
Type locality: Described from cultivated specimens.
Distribution: Not known in the wild state, but now very common on the Riviera,
northern Italy, forming large thickets.
Mr. Berger would place this species next to 0. nigricans, which we now call O. elatior.
This species was named for Alwin Berger, formerly curator of the Hanbury Garden at La
Mortola, Italy, who sent material to the late Dr. Weber, from which the species was
described. The species is quite common on the Riviera and has run wild in many places,
especially about Bordighera, Italy. It produces a great abundance of flowers in May,
but blooms more or less throughout the year.
Opuntia Icdicnii (Berger, Hort. Mortol. 233. 1912), unpublished, is referred here.
Illustrations: Gard. Chron. III. 35: f. 14; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 16: 156.
Plate xxvi, figure i, represents a flowering joint of a plant sent from La Mortola,
Italy, to the New York Botanical Garden in 1906.
157. Opuntia elatior Miller, Gard. Diet. ed. 8. No. 4. 1768.
Cactus nigricans Haworth, Misc. Nat. 187. 1803.
Opuntia nigricans Haworth, Syn. PI. Succ. 189. 1812.
Cactus elatior Willdenow, Enum. Hort. Berol. Suppl. ,34. 1813.
Cactus tuna nigricans Sims, Curtis's Bot. Mag. 38: pi. 1557. 1813.
Cactus tuna elatior Sims, Curtis's Bot. Mag. 38: under pi. 1557. 1813.
Cactus pseudococcinellifer Bertoloni, Exccrpta Herb. Bonon. n. 1820.
Plants densely bushy-branched, up to 5 meters high; joints obovate to oblong or suborbicular,
olive-green, i to 2 dm. or even 4 dm. long; leaves 4 mm. long, green with reddish tips; areoles 2 to
4 cm. apart; spines 2 to 8, acicular, mostly terete, dark brown, 2 to 4 cm. or even 7 cm. long;
flowers about 5 cm. broad; petals dark yellow striped with red or sometimes salmon-rose, with
mucronate tips; filaments numerous, pink or red; style nearly white; stigma-lobes 5, green; ovary
ovoid, deeply umbilicate, its areoles either with or without spines; fruit obovoid, truncate when
mature, reddish, the pulp dark red; seeds about 4 mm. broad.
Type locality: Unknown.
Distribution: Common or frequent in Curasao, Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama,
escaped from cultivation in Australia. 0. nigricans has been referred to Mexico, but
doubtless wrongly, unless cultivated there. Plants brought by Dr. Howe from Tobogilla
Island, Panama, have narrowly obovate joints.
The early history of this species and its various synonyms are rather confusing. Dil-
lenius figured Opuntia elatior and this name was taken up by Miller in 1768. There is
some doubt as to its native home, but it probably came from northern South America, or
possibly Curasao. Opuntia nigricans, also referred here, was described by Haworth from
cultivated specimens; plate 1557 of Curtis's Botanical Magazine was made from Haworth's
specimen and may be considered typical.
Introduced into cultivation in Europe about 1793.
Illustrations: Loudon, Encycl. pi. ed. 3. f. 6877, as Cactus elatior; Curtis's Bot. Mag. 38:
pi. 1557, this last as Cactus tuna nigricans; Dillenius, Hort. Elth. pi. 294, this as Tuna elatior,
etc.; Agr. Gaz. N. S. W. 23: pi. opp. 208; pi. opp. 210, both these as Opuntia nigricans;
Journ. Hort. Home Farm. III. 60:30, this as Opuntia occidentalis.
Plate xxvi, figure 2, shows a flowering joint of a specimen obtained by Dr. Britton
and Dr. Shafer in Curasao in 1913.
158. Opuntia hanburyana Weber in Berger, Gard. Chron. III. 35: 34. 1904.
Bushy, i to 2 meters high, somewhat straggling; joints narrowly oblong, about 3 dm. long, bright
green; leaves subulate, 4 to 5 mm. long; areoles closely set, filled with brown or blackish wool;
spines several, spreading, acicular, somewhat flattened and twisted, yellowish brown, the longest
3 cm. long; flowers widely spreading, rather small; fruit small.
Type locality: Described from cultivated plants.
Distribution: Not known in the wild state.
154
THE CACTACEAE.
The species commemorates Sir Thomas Hanbury, who, through his extensive garden
at La Mortola, Italy, contributed much to botany and horticulture.
Illustration: Gard. Chron. III. 35: f. 15.
Figure 193 represents joints of the plant sent from La Mortola, Italy, in 1913.
159. Opuntia quitensis Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 894. 1898.
Bushy, sometimes 2 meters high; joints obovate, i to 4 dm. long, 8 to 9 cm. broad; areoles
small, distant, 2 cm. apart, bearing some white tomentum and short glochids; spines wanting, or i
to 3, sometimes as many as 4 on old joints, straight, yellowish
brown, or nearly white when young, acicular, somewhat flexu-
ous, 2 to 3 cm. long; leaves green, minute, acute; flowers red,
12 to 15 mm. broad; petals erect, obtuse; anthers white; style
white, short and thick; stigma-lobes 13, white, about as long as
the style; fruit obovoid, red, nearly spineless, about 2 cm. long;
seeds about 3 cm. broad.
FIG. 193. — O. hanburyana.
FIG. 194. — O. quitensis. Xo.s-
Type locality: Near Quito, Ecuador.
Distribution: Ecuador.
As observed by Dr. Rose in Ecuador in 1918, this species is very variable in habit,
for when grown in the open it is low and bushy with rather small joints, but when grow-
ing in thickets it becomes tall and has large joints. About Huigra, where it is very
common, it is often spineless, and when the spines are present they are few and weak.
In southern Ecuador there is a plant which has small, red flowers like this species, but
the joints have stout subulate spines.
Figure 194 represents a joint of a plant obtained in 1901 for the New York Botanical
Garden from M. Simon, of St. Ouen, Paris, France.
159a. Opuntia soederstromiana sp. nov. (See Appendix, p. 221.)
OPUNTIA.
155
160. Opuntia schumannii Weber in Berger, Card. Chron. III. 35: 34. 1904.
Bushy, i to 2 meters high; joints obovate to oblong, 1.5 to 2.5 cm. long, dull dark green; areoles
distant, medium sized; spines 2 to 10, slightly spreading, very unequal, the longest ones 4.5 cm.
long, more or less twisted, flattened, dark brown; glochids few, soon disappearing; flowers 6cm.
long, yellowish to orange, turning in age to dull red; ovary tuberculate, spineless, deeply umbilicate;
fruit dark purple, turgid, juicy, deeply umbilicate, 5 cm. long.
Type locality: Not cited.
Distribution: Northern South America; sometimes assigned to Argentina.
Opuntia schumannii is described by Berger as being intermediate between Opuntia
and Nopalea, and according to him, it has long stamens and upright petals; otherwise it
has little in common with Nopalea: a plant from Santa Clara, Colombia, which agrees
with plants of 0. schumannii from La Mortola, Italy, has a normal Opuntia flower.
Illustration: Card. Chron. III. 35: f. 16.
Plate xxvu, figure i , represents a fruiting joint of the plant collected by John G. Sin-
clair at Santa Clara, Colombia, in 1913; figure 2 shows a flower of the same plant.
161. Opuntia fuliginosa Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 19: 262. 1908.
Tall, tree-like, 4 meters high or more, much branched; joints orbicular to oblong, 3 dm. long
or less, shining; leaves subulate, 8 to 12 mm. long; areoles distant; spines few, rarely as many as 6,
dull brown or horn-colored, the longest ones 4 cm. long, slightly twisted; glochids yellow to brown;
flowers at first yellow but in age red, 5 to 6 cm. long including the ovary; stigma-lobes yellowish
green; fruit pyriform to short-oblong, 3 to 4 cm. long, red; seeds 5 mm. broad.
Type locality: Near Guadalajara, Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico.
We refer this species to our series Elatiorcs with hesitation.
Illustration: Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: pi. 25.
161<;. Opuntia zebrina Small, Journ. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 20: 35. 1919. (See Appendix, p. 222.)
162. Opuntia boldinghii sp. nov.
Bushy, 2 meters high; joints dull green, somewhat glaucous,
obovate, 2 cm. long, spineless or with very short brown spines;
leaves conic, red, 2 to 3 mm. long; areoles large, elevated, filled
with short brown wool; flowers rose-colored, 5 cm. long; petals
obtuse; filaments pink, much shorter than the petals; style
nearly white; stigma-lobes yellowish ; fruit obovate, 4 cm. long,
spineless; seeds 4 mm. in diameter.
Collected by Dr. N. L. Britton and Dr. J. A. Shafer,
March 1913, in cultivation on Curacao (No. 2905, type);
also collected by H. Pittier around El Palito, Venezuela,
July 2, 1913 (No. 6450), and by Dr. Rose in a hedge at
Valencia, Venezuela, October 27, 1916 (No. 21842).
This species is named in honor of Dr. I. Boldingh, a
Dutch botanist, author of a valuable descriptive flora of
the Dutch West Indian islands.
Plate xxvi, figure 3, shows a flowering joint of a
specimen obtained by Dr. Britton and Dr. Shafer in
Curacao in 1913.
163. Opuntia distans sp. nov.
Erect, densely much branched, 3 to 4 meters tall, with a
short trunk 1.5 dm. in diameter; joints flat, bluish green when
young, grayish green when old, obovate, 2 to 2.5 dm. long, about
1.5 dm. wide and nearly 2 cm. thick, rounded above, narrowed FIG. 195— joint of o. distans.
156 THE CACTACEAE.
at the base, glabrous; areoles few, only about 12 on each side of a joint, distant, large, nearly cir-
cular, 8 to 10 mm. broad, slightly elevated, bearing many short glochids, but quite spineless; leaves
subulate, about 3 mm. long; ovary obconic, 3 to 4 cm. long, bearing a few small areoles; sepals
broadly triangular, acute, 6 to 10 mm. long; petals broad, rounded, i to 2 cm. long, orange-red.
•
Distribution: Sandy places, Andalgala, Catamarca, Argentina, J. A. Shafer, December
15, 1916 (No. 7).
A spineless species noteworthy for its few, large, distant areoles. We append it to
the series Elatiorcs, but are uncertain as to its real affinity. The large distant areoles
forbid associating it with the Ficus-indicac or the Streptacanthae.
Figure 195 represents a joint of the type specimen.
Series 13. ELATAE.
Erect, tall species, natives of South America, with oblong or oval joints, the brown or white
spines, when present, only one or few at each areole, except on the trunk and old joints.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints ovate to broadly oblong or obovate.
Joints thin, lustrous, light green . . 164. 0. vulgaris
Joints turgid, dull green.
Leaves purplish, rigid; joints dark green. ... 165. 0. data
Leaves green, not rigid; joints pale green.
Spines slender, terete 166. 0. car&iosperma
Spines stout, angled, elongated 167. O. arechavaletai
Joints narrowly oblong to linear or spatulate.
Joints oblong to linear; flowers brick-red... . 168. O. mieckleyi
Joints spatulate; flowers orange . 169. O. bonaerensis
164. Opuntia vulgaris Miller, Card. Diet. ed. 8. No. i. 1768.
Cactus monacantlios Willdenow, Enum. PI. Suppl. 33. 1813.
Opuntia monacantha Haworth, Suppl. PI. Succ. 81. 1819.
Cactus urumbeba Vellozo, Fl. Flum. 207. 1825.
Cactus indicus Roxburgh, Fl. Indica 2: 475. 1832.
Cactus chinensis Roxburgh, Fl. Indica 2: 476. 1832.
Opuntia monacantha gracilior Lemaire, Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 68. 1839.
Opun/ia umbrella Steudel, Nom. ed. 2. 2: 222. 1841.
Opuntia roxburghiana Voigt, Hort. Suburb. Calcutt. 62. 1845.
Opuntia monacanlha deflexa Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 66. 1850.
Opuntia lemaireana Console in Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 894. 1898.
Plant 2 to 4 or even 6 meters high, often with a definite trunk, usually with a large much
branched top; trunk cylindric, 1.5 dm. in diameter, either spiny or smooth; joints ovate to oblong,
narrowed at base, i to 3 dm. long, bright shining green; leaves subulate, 2 to 3 mm. long; areoles
filled with short wool; glochids brownish; spines i or 2, sometimes more (on the trunk often 10 or
more) from an areole, erect, i to 4 cm. long, yellowish brown to dark reddish brown ; flowers yellow
or reddish, 7.5 cm. broad; sepals broad, each with a broad red stripe down the middle; petals golden-
yellow, widely spreading; filaments greenish; style white; stigma-lobes 6, white; ovary spineless,
3.5 cm. long; fruit obovoid, 5 to 7.5 cm. long, reddish purple, long-persisting, sometimes proliferous.
Type locality: Type based on an illustration, the origin unknown.
Distribution: Coast and islands of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina; in the interior to
Paraguay; an escape in Cuba, India, and south Africa and naturalized in Australia; fre-
quently cultivated. According to J. H. Maiden it is found in every state of Australia, but
it is not inclined to spread and become a pest.
As has been recently pointed out by Burkill, the Opuntia vulgaris of Miller is the same
as 0. monacantha Haworth. 0. vulgaris was based on Bauhin's figure (Hist. PI. i: 154.
1650), which was taken from Lobelius (Icones 2: 241. 1591), and is a tall, branching plant.
This species is not to be confused with the low, spreading species of the eastern United
States, long known as O. vulgaris. (See. p. 127.)
This species is said by Burkill to be distributed over the earth more widely than any
other, but our observation in America is that O.ficits-indica is by far the most widely-
spread species.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXVII
M. I- Kuton deT
1. Upper part of fruiting joint of Opuntia sfluimaniiii. 3. Flowering joint of Opuntia vulgaris.
2. Flower of Opuntia schumannii. 4. Flowering joint of Opuntia stricta.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
157
O. vulgaris was one of those most commonly used in the nopalries of India and South
Africa in the cochineal industry.
We have referred both of Roxburgh's species here, although Burkill was inclined to
refer Cactus chinensis to 0. dccumana, which in his sense is O. ficus-indica.
Opuntia monacantha varicgata (listed in Cat. Darrah Succ. Manchester 57. 1908) is
common in cultivation. Some of the joints are normally green; others are more or less
blotched with white or yellow, while others may be entirely white or yellow; the leaves
are bright red and though small are conspicuous.
Opuntia urumbclla Steudel (Nom. ed. 2. i: 246. 1840), given as a synonym of Cactus
urumbella, is doubtless a name for this species.
Opuntia deflcxa Lemaire (Cact. Gen. Nov. Sp. 68. 1839) was given as a synonym of
0. monacantha gracilior; while the latter was given as a synonym of 0. elatior deflcxa Salm-
Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 47. 1845).
Illustrations: Rev. Hort. 41: f. 37; 66: f. 58; Bauhin, Hist. PI. i: 154 [ = Lobelius,
Icones 2: 241], this last as Opuntia mdgo, etc. Anal. Mus. Nac. Montevideo 5: pi. 32;
Curtis's Bot. Mag. 68: pi. 3911 ; Dept. Agr. N. S. W. Misc. Publ. 253: pi. [3], [4]; Agr. Gaz.
N. S. W. 24: facing p. 864; Kdwards's Bot. Reg. 20: pi. 1726; Gard. Chron. III. 30: f. 122,
in part; 34: f. 35; Journ. Dept. Agr. Viet. 6: pi. 25; Martius, Fl. Bras. 42: pi. 62; Weeds,
Pois. PI. Nat. Al. Viet. pt. i. pi.
[10], [32], all asOpuntia monacantha;
Amer. Garden n: 529; Cact. Journ.
i: 167, these last two as Opuntia
monacantha varicgata; Vellozo, Fl.
Flum. 5: pi. 32, as Cactus urumbcba;
De Candolle, PI. Succ. Hist. 2: pi.
138 [B] ; De Tussac, Fl. Antill. 2 : pi.
31, these last two as Cactus opuntia
tuna; Gard. Chron. III. 47: f. 174,
this as Opuntia ficus-indica; Rum-
pier, Sukkulenten f. 122, this as
Opuntia tuna; Addisonia i : pi. 38.
Plate xxvn, figure 3, represents
a flowering joint of a plant pre-
sented to the New York Botanical
Garden by Mr. Gustav Rix in 1900.
FIG. 196. — O. elata. Xo.4.
FIG. 197. — O. cardiospcrma. Xo.4.
165. Opuntia elata Link and Otto in
Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 361.
1834.
An erect plant, i meter high or more; joints thick, dark green, oblong, 5 to 25 cm. long, half
as broad as long; leaves minute, caducous; areoles remote, large (7 mm. in diameter), filled with
short white wool, usually spineless; spines if present only i to 3, except on old stems and there
more, horn-colored, stiff, sometimes 3.5 cm. long; glochids very tardy in appearing, long persistent;
flowers about 5 cm. broad, orange-yellow; petals obtuse, broad; filaments short; stigma-lobes white;
fruit oblong, 6 cm. long, spineless, with a truncate umbilicus; seeds 6 mm. broad.
Type locality: In Brazil.
Distribution: Paraguay, but according to Salm-Dyck and Pfeiffer, from Brazil and
probably Curacao; our exploration of Curasao failed to prove its existence there. It is
grown for ornament in Cuba and has there escaped from cultivation in gardens to road-
sides and waste grounds.
Schumann did not know where to place this species, but we believe it is most nearly
related to Opuntia vulgaris.
158 THE CACTACEAE.
Plate xxvi, figure 4, represents a flowering joint of a plant given to the New York
Botanical Garden by Frank Weinberg in 1903; figure 5 represents another joint of the
same plant. Figure 196 represents a joint of a plant obtained by Professor Carlos de la
Torre at Punta de los Molinos, Cuba, in 1912.
166. Opuntia cardiosperma Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 9: 150. 1899.
About 2 meters high, erect, branching; joints narrowly ftblong to obovate; rounded at apex,
10 to 15 cm. long or smaller in greenhouse specimens, easily breaking apart, pale green, more or
less tuberculate ; leaves minute, subulate; areoles large, i to 2 cm. apart, with white wool, when young
having conspicuous secreting glands; spines, when present, i to 4, acicular, stiff, more commonly i or
2 from an areole, short, i to 2 cm. long, brownish at first but nearly white when old, porrect or ascend-
ing; glochids tardily developing, never conspicuous, brownish; flowers unknown; fruit elongated,
pear-shaped, 7.5 cm. long; seeds 6 mm. broad, 2.5 to 3 mm. thick, cordate, gray, with broad yellow
margins, woolly on the sides.
Type locality: At Recoleta, near Asuncion, Paraguay.
Distribution : Paraguay.
Figure 197 represents joints of the plant sent to the New York Botanical Garden
from La Mortola, Italy, in 1913.
167. Opuntia arechavaletai Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires. III. 4: 520. 1905.
Plants tall, i to 3 meters high, much branched; joints flattened, oblong to obovate, 25 to 30 cm.
long, green; spines, usually i, sometimes 3, elongated, porrect, up to 9 cm. long, white, flattened;
flowers 4.5 cm. long, yellow; stamens and style white; fruit violet-purple, 7 cm. long.
Type locality: Near Montevideo, Uruguay.
Distribution: Argentina and Uruguay.
Illustration: Anal. Mus. Nac. Montevideo 5: pi. 35.
168. Opuntia mieckleyi Schumann, Bliihende Kaktcen i: pi. 44. 1903.
Plant erect, much branched; joints narrowly oblong, 15 to 25 cm. long, 4 to 6 cm. broad, glab-
rous, dark green, darker below the areoles; tubercles rather prominent; leaves small; areoles large,
filled with white wool; spines, when present, i or 2, very short (5 mm. long), dark-colored; flower-
buds obtuse; flowers brick-red, 6 cm. broad; petals irregularly notched; ovary spineless.
Type locality: In Paraguay.
Distribution: Paraguay; Estancia Loma, in San .Salvador.
Named for W. Mieckley, gardener in the Berlin Botanical Garden.
Illustration: Bliihende Kakteen i: pi. 44.
169. Opuntia bonaerensis Spegazzini, Contr. Fl. Tandil 18. 1904.
Opitnlia chakcnsis Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. III. 4: 519. 1905.
Two meters high, very much branched; joints spatulate to elliptic-spatulate, 15 to 25 cm. long,
green; spines wanting or one, short; flowers orange, large, 4 cm. long; fruit obconic, 6 to 7 cm.
long, dull purple ; seeds 5 to 6 mm. long, subglobose.
Type locality: Sierra de Curamalal, Argentina.
Distribution: Argentina and perhaps Paraguay.
Opuntia paraguayensis Schumann (Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 9: 149. 1899) accord-
ing to Spegazzini, and if so this name would supplant 0. bonaerensis.
Illustration: Anal. Mus. Nac. Montevideo 5: pi. 23.
The three following, known to us only from descriptions, may belong to this series.
OPUNTIA STENARTHRA Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 9: 149. 1899.
Shrubby, erect or decumbent, creeping over stones or ascending trees; joints thin, narrow,
yellowish green, oblong to lanceolate, rounded at base, glabrous; spines either wanting or i to 3
from an areole, stoutish, subangular; flowers yellow; seeds woolly.
Type locality: Estancia Tagatiya, Paraguay.
Distribution: Paraguay.
OPUNTIA.
159
OPUNTIA ASSUMPTIONS Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 9: 153. 1899.
Erect, i meter high; joints obovate, narrowed at base, thickish; spines at areoles on the faces
of the joints none, but on the edges i or 2, stout, subulate, the upper one stouter, 3 to 4.5 cm. long;
flower 3.5 cm. long, lemon-yellow; fruit pear-shaped, with a deep umbilicus; seeds densely villous.
Type locality: Ascuncion, Paraguay.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
OPUNTIA CANTERAI Arechavaleta, Anal. Mus. Nac. Montevideo 3: 278. 1905.
Stems erect, branching, 5 to 10 dm. high; joints elongated, shining green, attenuate below,
15 to 20 cm. long, 4 to 6 cm. broad; areoles orbicular, when young each surrounded by a violet
spot, mostly spineless, about 4 cm. apart; spines, when present, i or 2 from an areole, 1.5 to 2 cm.
long, whitish, with brownish tips; flowers orange-colored, 4 to 4.5 cm. broad; stigma-lobes 6 or 7,
light flesh-colored; fruit somewhat pear-shaped, 5 cm. long; seeds flattened.
Type locality: In Uruguay.
Distribution: Along the coast of Uruguay.
In Uruguay this species flowers in January and Feb-
ruary.
Series 14. SCHEERIANAE.
A single bushy species, with broad, thin, persistent joints, the
areoles close together, each bearing several yellow, acicular
spines and long white or yellow hairs. Its. home is unknown.
170. Opuntia scheeri Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 895. 1898.
About i meter high, branching at base, the lower branches
sprawling over the ground; joints oblong to orbicular, 1.5 to 3
dm. long, bluish green; areoles circular, elevated, filled with
short brown wool; spines 10 to 12, yellow, acicular, each sur-
rounded by a row of long white or yellow hairs; flowers large,
pale yellow, but in age salmon-colored; stigma-lobes deep
green; fruit globular, red, juicy, truncate; seed small, 4 mm.
broad, with a broad irregular margin.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Mexico, but known to us only from
cultivated specimens.
This is a very beautiful species, covered as it is by yellow spines and long hairs. A
fine plant is growing in the open at La Mortola, Italy. The seedlings produce a long mass
of soft white hairs almost covering the joints and giving an appearance very different from
the adult plant. In this young stage, according to Mr. Alwin Berger, they readily pass
for Opuntia scnilis (O. crinifera).
Figure 198 represents a joint from a specimen sent from I/a Mortola, Italy, in 1912.
Series 15. DILLENIANAE.
Mostly bushy or tall species, with large, flat, persistent joints, and yellow spines which are
sometimes brown at base, some species spineless or nearly so. We recognize thirteen species as
composing the series, but many more have been described. The plants inhabit the southern United
States, the West Indies, Mexico, and northern .South America.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines nearly setaceous, most of them reflexed 171. 0. chlorotica
Spines, when present, acicular to subulate.
Joints spineless, or with only i or 2 spines at some of the areoles, or spines very short.
Corolla rotate; petals yellow.
Plant tall; spines, when present, 2 cm. long or less 172. O. laevis
Plant depressed, bushy or spreading; spines, when present, up to 7 cm. long .... 173. O. stricta
Corolla cup-shaped; petals salmon 1730. O. keyensis
Joints usually manifestly spiny ; spines mostly 2 or more at the areoles.
Spines mostly stout, commonly flattened 174. O. dillenii
Spines acicular to subulate, terete, or slightly flattened at the base.
FIG. 198. — Opuntia scheeri. Xo.5.
i6o
THE CACTACEAE.
Joints elongated-lanceolate or oblong, several times longer than wide .. 175 0. linguiformis
Joints obovate to suborbicular.
Spines long.
Areoles mostly 1.5 to ? cm. apart.
Spines subulate, up to 7.5 cm. long. . .176. U. tapona
Spines acicular, 4 cm. long or less.
Spines nearly clear yellow, short. . • '77-
Spines brown at base, long and slender. . ... 178.
Areoles mostly 2.5 to 4 cm. apart.
Bushy species.
Spines yellow or yellowish brown • • • '79-
Spines pale yellow or whitish . . . 180.
Depressed or procumbent plant .181.
Spines only 1.5 cm. long or less, or becoming longer on old joints.
Plant i meter high or less; joints thin. . • i°2-
Plant 3 to 5 meters high ; joints very thick.
Spines reflexed; flowers yellow • l83-
Spines spreading, deciduous; flowers orange-red.
171. Opuntia chlorotica Engelmann and Bigelow, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 291. 1856.
0. littoralis
0. aciculata
0. linilieimeri
O. cantabrigiensis
0. procumbens
O. Canada
0. pyriformis
0. bonplandii
Opuntia tidballii Bigelow, Pac. R. Rep. 4: n. 1856.
Opunlia curvospina Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 88.
1916.
Erect bushy, sometimes 2 meters high or more, with a definite trunk; main branches nearly
erect- joints ovate to orbicular, sometimes broader than long, 15 to 20 cm. long, more or less glau-
cous,'bluish green; leaves subulate, small, reddish at tip; areoles closely set, prominent; spines
yellow, several, most of them usually appressed and reflexed, setaceous, 3 to 4 cm. long; glochids
yellow, numerous, elongated, persistent; flowers yellow, 6 to 7.5 cm. broad; filaments white; fruit
purple without, green within, 4 cm. long; seeds small.
FIG. 199. — Opuntia chlorotica.
FIG. 200. — Opuntia chlorotica. Xo.4-
Type locality: On both sides of the Colorado from San Francisco Mountains to head-
waters of Bill Williams River.
Distribution: Sonora and New Mexico to Nevada, California, and Lower California.
This species is of wide distribution, but is chiefly confined to mountain canyons, being
rarely found on the open mesas.
Illustrations: Bull. Torr. Club 43: pi. 3; Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 6, f. i to 3; Bull. Torr.
Club 43: pi. 2, this last as Opuntia curvospina.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXVIII
M £ Kill..;! del.
1. Flowering joint of Ofiitntia laevis. 2. Flowering joint of Ofrmtia dillcnii.
3. Upper part of flowering joint of Opuntia adculata. (All natural size.)
OPUNTIA. l6l
Figure 199 is from a photograph of a plant with narrow joints, in McCleary's Canyon,
Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona, taken by Dr. MacDougal; figure 200 represents a joint of
a plant from the collection made by Professor J. W. Tourney at Tucson, Arizona, obtained
by Dr. MacDougal in 1902.
OPUNTIA PALMERI Engelmann in Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 423. 1896.
This plant has not been again collected and is still a doubtful species ; it came from St.
George, southwestern Utah. In 1909 E- W. Nelson made a collection for us in this region,
but the only shrubby, juicy-fruited species which he collected has brown spines and brown
glochids, which would seem to exclude it from 0. palmer i. It is not at all unlikely that
0. palmer i should be referred to O. ehlorotica, a widely dispersed species, but of which we
have not seen any specimens from Utah.
172. Opuntia laevis Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 419. 1896.
Loosely few-branched, i to 2 meters high, but in cultivation often forming a low, dense bush;
joints obovate to oblong, 1.5 to 3 dm. long, light green, often spineless but usually with a few (i to 3)
short spines i cm. long or less at the areoles of the upper part of the joint; areoles rather distant,
small; flower large, 6 to 7 cm. broad; petals lemon-yellow, sometimes tinged with red, broad, and
obtuse or retuse; filaments and style short, pale yellow; stigma-lobes green; ovary turbinate, more
or less tuberculate, at first leafy, often bristly at top; fruit obovoid, 5 to 7 cm. long; seeds 4 to 5 mm.
broad.
Type locality: In Arizona.
Distribution: In the mountains about Tucson, Arizona.
Referred by Professor Schumann to O. incrmis (O. stricta), but it is not that species.
Illustrations: Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 67: p1. 8, f. i; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull.
72: pi. i; Plant World n10: f. 5.
Plate xxviu, figure i, represents a flowering joint of a plant brought by Dr. Mac-
Dougal from Tucson, Arizona, in 1902, to the New York Botanical Garden.
173. Opuntia stricta Haworth, Syn. PI. Succ. 191. 1812.
Cactus opuntia incrmis De Candolle, PI. Succ. Hist. 2: pi. 138 [Cj. 1799.*
Cactus strictus Haworth, Misc. Nat. 188. 1803.
Opuntia inermis De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 473. 1828.
Opuntia airampo Philippi, Anal. Univ. Chile 85: 492. 1894.
Opuntia parva Berger, Hort. Mortol. 411. 1912.
Opuntia bentonii Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 22: 25. 1912.
Opuntia longiclada Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 525. 1916 (according to description and illustration).
Bushy, low, spreading plants, sometimes forming large clumps, seldom over 8 dm. high; joints
obovate to oblong, usually 8 to 15 cm. long, but sometimes much elongated and then 30 cm. long
or more, green or bluish green, glabrous, often spineless especially in greenhouse specimens, some-
times but a spine or two on a joint, at other times spines more abundant; leaves stout, subulate,
3 to 4 mm. long; areoles distant, the wool brownish, the glochids short; spines, when present, usually
i or 2 from an areole, stiff, terete, yellow, i to 4 cm. long; flowers 6 to 7 cm. long; petals yellow,
broad, obtuse, apiculate; filaments yellow to greenish; style usually white; stigma-lobes usually
white but sometimes greenish; fruit purple, usually broadest at top, tapering to a slender base,
4 to 6 cm. long, with a more or less depressed umbilicus.
Type locality: Not given.
Distribution: Western Cuba; Florida to southern Texas.
Opuntia Tiilgaris balearica Weber (Diet. Hort. Bois 894. 1898) is given by Weber as
a synonym of 0. incrmis; Opuntia balearica Weber (Hirscht, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 8:
17=5. 1898) has also been used, but not described, and Hirscht says it belongs here.
This species is often cultivated on the west coast of South America. It was there
given the name 0. airampo by Dr. Philippi, who supposed it to be the airampo of the Peru-
vians, a native species, quite different from this one.
This species is the pest pear of New South Wales and Queensland. It has now run
wild over thousands of acres of the best agricultural and grazing land of the interior of
*Berger (Hort. Mortol. 411. 1912) gives the date 1797.
162
THE CACTACEAE.
Australia. J. H. Maiden says: "The growth of this Opuntia is one of the wonders of the
world, and the spread of few plants in any country can be compared with it. "
Illustrations: Dept. Agr. N. S. W. Misc. Publ. 253: pi. [5]; Card. Chron. III. 34: f. 32;
Gartenflora 31: pi. 1082, f. d, e, f ; De Candolle, PI. Succ. Hist. 2: pi. 138 [C]; De Tussac, Fl.
Antill. 2: pi. 34, the last two as Cactus opuntia inermis; Agr. Gaz. N. S. W. 23: pi. opp. 713 ;
pi. opp. 714; pi. opp. 716; Bliihende Kakteen 2: pi. 108, all these as Opuntia inermis.
Plate xxvn, figure 4, represents a flowering joint of the plant collected by Dr. Brit-
ton and John F. Cowell on limestone rocks near Pinar del Rio, Cuba, in 191 1.
173a. Opuntia keyensis Britton. (See Appendix, p. 222.)
174. Opuntia dillenii (Ker-Gawler) Haworth, Suppl. PL Succ. 79. 1819.
Cactus dillenii Ker-Gawler, Edwards 's Bot. Reg. 3: pi. 255. 1818.
Opittitia liorrida Salm-Dyck in De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 472. 1828.
Opuntia maritime Rafinesque, Atl. Journ. 146. 1832.
Opuntia tnnoidea Gibbes, Proc. Elliott Soc. Nat. Hist, i: 272. 1859.
FIG. 201. — Opuntia dillenii, Antigua. West Indies.
Low, spreading bushes growing in broad clumps and often forming dense thickets, or tall and
much branched, 2 to 3 meters high, sometimes with definite terete trunks; joints obovate to oblong,
7 to 40 cm. long, the margin more or less undulate, bluish green, somewhat glaucous, but bright
green when young, the areoles somewhat elevated; leaves subulate, curved backward, 5 mm. long;
areoles often large, filled with short brown or white wool when young, usually few and remote, on
old joints 10 to 12 mm. in diameter; spines often 10 from an areole on first-year joints, very variable,
usually more or less flattened and curved, sometimes terete and straight, yellow, more or less brown-
banded, or mottled, often brownish in age, sometimes 7 cm. long, but usually shorter, sometimes few
or none; glochids numerous, yellow; wool in areoles short, sometimes brown, sometimes white;
flowers in the typical form lemon-yellow, in some forms red from the first, 7 to 8 cm. long; petals
broadly obovate, 4 to 5 cm. long; filaments greenish yellow; style thick, white; stigma-lobes white;
fruit pear-shaped to subglobose, narrowed at base, 5 to 7.5 cm. long, purplish, spineless, juicy.
Type locality: Based on Dillenius's illustration.
Distribution: Coasts of South Carolina, Florida, Bermuda, the West Indies, east coast
of Mexico, and northern South America; extending inland in Cuba.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXIX
1. View of Opunlia keyensis.
2. View of Opunlia dillenii.
OPUNTIA. 163
This species is composed of many races varying greatly in habit, character and number
of spines, shape of joints, and color of flowers. Brother Leon has sent us specimens of
several individually quite different plants which inhabit hilltops in Cuba.
Opuntia litcayana Britton (Bull. N. Y. Bot. Card. 4: 141. 1906), inhabiting Grand
Turk Island, Bahamas, differs in having elongated, often narrowly oblong joints 2 to 4
times as long as wide and many elongated, little-flattened spines. It grows with Opuntia
dillcnii and O. nashii, and is believed to be a hybrid with these species as parents. A
closely similar plant was observed on Buck Island, St. Thomas, Danish West Indies,
growing immediately with 0. dillcnii and 0. rubcsccns, the hybrid nature of which was
unmistakable, and similar plants were seen also on Antigua, British West Indies.
Opuntia cubcnsis Britton and Rose (Torreya 12: 14. 1912), observed in a valley near
the southern coast of Cuba at Guantanamo Bay, differs in having narrower joints, rather
readily separable and smaller flowers, its stout spines little flattened. It grows near
colonies of Opuntia dillcnii and 0. militaris, and is probably a hybrid between them.
Reference has already been made to the possible hybrid origin of Opuntia ant ilia n a,
with 0. dillcnii as one of its parents. (See p. 115).
Two varieties of Opuntia dillcnii are given by name only; minor Salm-Dyck (Hort.
Dyck. 185. 1834); orbiculata Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 67. 1850).
Opuntia gilva Berger (Hort. Mortol. 233. 1912) is unpublished. The name was ap-
plied to a specimen collected by Carl F. Baker in Cuba in 1907, and has been distributed
under this name. It is only a form of this very variable species.
The plant is hardy on the Gulf coast of the United States and in southern California.
It is widely distributed through cultivation in the warmer parts of the Old World, being
a "pest pear" in southern India and in Australia; it is used for hedges in Teneriffe, and is
common along the sea on Grand Canary Island. On Bermuda, when growing in shade,
the plant is often spineless, and its joints elongate sometimes to a length of 3 dm., while
only 6 or 7 cm. wide. This elongation of the joints also appears in plants from Florida.
Illustrations: Edwards's Bot. Reg. 3: pi. 255, as Cactus dillcnii: Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard.
22: pi. i, 2, both these as Opuntia bentonii; Dillenius, Hort. Elth. 2: pi. 296, this as Tuna
major, etc. ; Amer. Journ. Pharm. 68: pi. opp. 169, as Opuntia vulgar is; Descourtilz, Fl. Med.
Antill. 7: pi. 513, this as Cactus Opuntia. Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Miinchen 2: pi. 3, f. 7 (?) ;
Amer. Garden 11:473 (?);Cycl. Amer. Hort. Bailey 3: f. 1545, 1 546; Cact. Journ. i: 154 (?);
Dept. Agr. N. S. W. Misc. Publ. 253: pi. [2]; Diet. Gard. Nicholson 2: f. 757; W. Watson,
Cact. Cult. f. 86, all these as Opuntia tuna; Journ. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 10: f. 26, this as Opun-
tia incnnis; Loudon, Encycl. PI. ed. 3. f. 6878, this as Cactus tuna; Britton, Fl. Bermuda 255.
Plate xxvin, figure 2, represents a flowering joint of a plant collected in 1901 by N. L.
Britton and J. F. Cowell on the Island St. Martin, West Indies; plate xxix, figure i, is
from a photograph of the related Opuntia kcyensis growing on Boot Key, Florida, taken
by Marshall A. Howe in 1909; figure 2 is from a photograph of the plant on Bermuda,
obtained by Dr. Britton in 1912. Figure 201 is from a photograph of the plant growing
on Antigua, British West Indies, taken by Paul G. Russell in 1913.
175. Opuntia linguiformis Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: 270. 1908.
A bushy plant, i meter high or more; joints elongated, oblong to ovate-oblong or lanceolate,
2 to 5 dm. long or even more, often several times longer than wide, pale green and slightly glaucous ;
leaves 6 mm. long, terete; spines yellow, very slender, terete or nearly so; areoles filled with brown
wool; flowers yellow, 7 to 8 cm. broad; petals broad ; filaments white or greenish at base; stigma-
lobes 9, green; ovary bearing numerous long glochids at the upper areoles; fruit reddish purple;
seeds 3 or 4 mm. broad, acute on the back.
Type locality: Near San Antonio, Texas.
Distribution: Southern Texas, in the vicinity of San Antonio.
i64
THE CACTACEAE.
This plant is rather common in cultivation in the Southwest and is now found in
most cactus collections. According to Dr. Griffiths, it is occasionally ;ound wild near
San Antonio. We have seen somewhat similar plants from near Brownsville, Texas,
probably referable to one of the races of Opuntia lindheimcri.
On account of the shape of the joints, this species is commonly called cow's tongue or
lengua de vaca.
Illustration: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 19: pi. 27, lower figure.
Plate xxx represents a flowering joint of a plant obtained by Dr. MacDougal from
the collection of Professor J. W. Tourney at Tucson, Arizona, for the New York Botani-
cal Garden in 1902.
176. Opuntia tapona Engelmann in Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 423. 1896.
Low, spreading plants rarely over 6 dm. high ; joints glabrous, orbicular to obovate, 20 to 25 cm
in diameter, turgid, pale green; spines 2 to 4, yellow, one much longer, 5 to 7 cm. long, slender,
porrect or sometimes curved downward; glochids brownish; fruit 4 to 6 cm. long, clavate, dark
purple without, red within, spineless.
Type locality: Near Loreto, Lower California.
Distribution: Southern part of Lower California.
Figure 202 represents a joint of the plant collected by Dr. Rose on Pichilinquc Island,
Lower California, in 1911.
Related to 0. tapona, but probably specifically distinct from it, is a plant growing
in the mountains of Cedros Island, Lower California; it was recorded from this island by
Dr. E. L- Greene as 0. cngclniatinii, and a specimen was brought to Washington by Dr.
Rose in 1911. This plant may be described
as follows: About i meter high; joints ob-
long, large, 20 cm. long or more, smooth;
areoles 3 cm. apart or more, very large, filled
with brown wool; spines usually about 7, pale
yellow, slender, terete, the longest ones 3
cm. long; glochids yellow. (Rose No. 16170.)
FIG. 202. — Opuntia tapona. Xo.4.
FIG. 203. — Opuntia littoralis.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXX
M. E. Eaton del.
Flowering joint of Opunlia linguiformis.
(Natural size.)
OPUNTIA. 165
177. Opuntia littoralis (Engelmann) Cockerell, Bull. South. Calif. Acad. 4: 15. 1905.
Opuntia engelmnnnii Utloralis Engelmann in Brewer and Watson, Bot. Calif, i: 248. 1876.
Opuntia lindhcimeri littaralis Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 422. 1896.
Bushy plants, low and spreading; joints thick, orbicular to oblong, 15 cm. long or more, usually
smaller in greenhouse plants, dull green; areoles rather closely set, large, often elevated on old joints;
spines numerous, yellow, rather short on young joints (i to 2 cm. long), but on old joints much
longer, in age more or less flattened; wool of the areoles brown; flowers large, yellow, 8 to 12 cm.
broad; sepals broad, apiculate; petals retuse; ovary with many areoles; fruit red, juicy; seeds
4 to 5 mm. in diameter.
Type locality: Coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego, California.
Distribution: Along and near the coast of southern California.
This species was very briefly described as a variety of Opuntia cngclmanuii in 1876.
No definite locality was given for it, and the original material preserved is so poor that its
identification is doubtful. We have taken as our representative of this species the low,
bushy plant with rather thick joints, large and closely set areoles and yellow spines.
Opnntia littoralis often grows in proximity to 0. occidcntalis in southern California,
and hybrids of the two may exist.
Figure 203 represents joints of the plant collected at Elsinore, California, by Dr.
MacDougal in 1913.
178. Opuntia aciculata Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: 10. 1916.
Low, bushy plant, i meter high or more, often 3 meters broad or more, the lower branches
decumbent and sending up erect branches; joints obovate, 12 to 20 cm. long, rounded at apex, dull
dark green, somewhat glaucous, bearing large, closely set areoles, these often spineless; leaves
subulate, 7 mm. long; spines several in a cluster, acicular, slender, 3 to 5.5 cm. long, often reflexed,
brownish at base, with yellow tips, seemingly deciduous; glochids numerous, from all parts of the
areoles, long, persisting for several years; flower golden yellow, sometimes with a greenish center,
large, 8 to 10 cm. broad; petals broad, rounded or retuse; filaments yellowish; style dull yellowish
green; stigma-lobes 8 to 10, green; fruit pyriform, purple.
Type locality: Near Laredo, Texas.
Distribution: On high gravelly ground at type locality and vicinity.
This species is not very common about Laredo, Texas, but grows in small colonies
usually to the exclusion of all other plants. It can easily be distinguished from related
species, and is usually restricted to dry hills. Our description is based on specimens ob-
tained by Dr. Rose at Laredo in 1913. Since then it has been grown both in Washington
and New York.
Plate xxvin, figure 3, represents a flowering joint of the plant collected by Dr. Rose
near the type locality in 1913.
179. Opuntia lindheimeri Engelmann, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 6: 207. 1850.
Opuntia dulcis Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 291. 1856.
Opuntia lindheimeri dulcis Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 421. 1896.
Opuntia engelmannii dulcis Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 725. 1898.
Opuntia cacanapa Griffiths and Hare, N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: 47. 1906.
Opuntia ferruginispina Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 19: 267. 1908.
Opuntia tricolor Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: 85. 1909.
Opuntia texana Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: 92. 1909.
Opuntia subarmata Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: 94. 1909.
Opuntia alia Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 165. 1910.
Opuntia gotnei Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 167. 1910.
Opuntia sinclairii Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 173. 1910.
Opuntia cyanella Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 30. 1912.
Opuntia gilvoalba Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 35. 1912.
Opuntia convexa Mackensen, Bull. Torr. Club 39: 290. 1912.
Opuntia griffithsiana Mackensen, Bull. Torr. Club 39: 291. 1912.
Opuntia reflexa Mackensen, Bull. Torr. Club 39: 292. 1912.
Opuntia deltica Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 84. 1916.
Opuntia laxiflora Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 85. 1916.
Opuntia flexospina Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 87. 1916.
Opuntia squarrosa Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 91. 1916.
1 66 THE CACTACEAE.
Usually erect, 2 to 4 meters high, with a more or less definite trunk, but at times much lower and
spreading; joints green or bluish green, somewhat glaucous, orbicular to obovate, up to 25 dm. long;
leaves subulate, 3 to 4 mm. long, somewhat flattened, pointed; areoles distant, often 6 cm. apart;
spines usually i to 6, often only 2, one porrect and 4 cm. long or more, the others somewhat shorter
and only slightly spreading, pale yellow to nearly white, sometimes brownish or blackish at base,
or some plants spineless; glochids yellow or sometimes brownish, usually prominent; petals yellow
to dark red; stigma-lobes usually green; fruit purple, pyriform to oblong, 3.5 to 5.5 cm. long.
Type locality: About New Braunfels, Texas.
Distribution: Southwestern Louisiana, southeastern Texas, and Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Opnntia Undheimeri is an extremely variable species, composed of many races, differing
in armament, color of flowers, size and shape of joints and of fruit. Certain forms have
been described which in cultivation we have been able to recognize as possibly distinct;
but in the field they seem to intergrade with other forms, indicating that they are at most
only races of a very variable species. In the delta of the Rio Grande this is especially true,
and from this region a number of species has been described. In fact, all the plants
described as species which are cited above in the synonymy grow within a relatively small
distributional area. Dr. Rose has examined all this region and is of the opinion that only
one species of this series exists there, and this we believe is to be referred to Opnntia litid-
lit'iincri. It is very common about Brownsville and Corpus Christi, where it forms thickets
covering thousands of acres of land. It is very variable in habit, being either low and widely
spreading or becoming tall and tree-like, sometimes 3 meters high, with a definite cylin-
dric trunk. Plants from these two extremes, if studied apart from the field, might be con-
sidered as different species, but in the field one sees innumerable intergrading forms. The
low, prostrate forms gradually pass into others with more or less erect or ascending branches,
while the large tree-like forms often bear large lateral branches which lie prostrate on the
ground, indicating that they have developed from the prostrate ones. Decided differences
in the flower colors have been pointed out in the original descriptions, and we have observed
them in greenhouse specimens, but they do not correlate with other characters.
Opuntia ellisiana Griffiths (Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 170. pi. 25. 1910), an unarmed
species, is known only from cultivated plants. Dr. Griffiths states that it is quite different
from the Ficus-indicae series, which it much resembles, and is quite hardy in southern Texas.
It may be a spineless race of the common 0. Undheimeri of this region.
Opnntia pyrocarpa Griffiths (Bull. Torr. Club 43: 90. 1916) we do not know; in its
long pyriform fruit it suggests this plant ; the type comes from Marble Falls, Texas.
O. wintcriana Berger and 0. haematocarpa Berger (Bot. Jahrb. Engler 36:455 and
456. 1905) are of this relationship, but have browner spines than is usual in the species.
Opnntia leptocarpa Mackensen (Bull. Torr. Club 38: 141. 1911), characterized by its
low, bushy habit and elongated, almost abnormal fruits, suggests a natural hybrid between
( ). Undheimeri and 0. macrorhiza. Indeed, Mr. Mackensen described the species as inter-
mediate between these two, and all three species are often found growing together. 0.
leptocarpa originally came from San Antonio, Texas.
Illustrations: Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst. 1911: pi. 3, 4, B; Cact. Mex. Bound, pi. 75, f.
5 to 7; Karsten, Deutsch. Fl. f. 501. 13, i3a, i3b; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 78: pi. [13,
14], all as Opuntia ditlcis. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. 31: pi. 3, f. i, this as Opnntia cacanapa;
Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: pi. 4, in part, this as Opnntia tricolor; Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20:
pi. 9; pi. 13, f. i, these two as Opnntia tcxana. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. 31: pi. 2, f. i ; Rep.
Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: pi. 2, f. i ; pi. n ; pi. 13, f. 4, all these as Opuntia subannata. Rep. Mo.
Bot. Gard. 21: pi. 19; pi. 20, in part, these two as Opnntia alta. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard.
21: pi. 21 ; pi. 22, in part, these two as Opnntia gomei. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: pi. 28, this
as Opnntia sinclairii. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: pi. 9, in part; pi. 10; Journ. Agr. Research
4. pi. f., these three as Opnntia cyanclla. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: pi. 9, in part; pi. 16,
17, these three as Opnntia gilvoalba. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. 31: f. i.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXXI
M K. Katon del
Flowering joints*)! Opuntia lindheimeri.
1. Orange-flowered race. 2. Red-flowered race.
(Natural size. )
OPUNTIA.
i67
Plate xxxi, figure i, represents a flowering joint of a plant collected near Brownsville,
Texas, by Dr. Rose in 1913 ; figure 2 represents a flowering joint of a plant obtained by the
same collector at the same locality; plate xxxn, figure i, represents a flowering joint of a plant
sent by Mr. M. Mackensen from the type locality of 0. Icptocarpa in 1910; figure 2 shows
the fruit of the same.
180. Opuntia cantabrigiensis Lynch, Card. Chron. III. 33: 98. 1903.
Oputi/ia engelmamiii niija Griffiths and Hare, N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: 44.
cuija Britton and Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50:529. 1908.
1906.
Rounded bushy plant, i to 2 meters high; joints orbicular to obovate, 12 to 20 cm. long, rather
pale bluish green; areoles remote, large, filled with brown wool; spines usually 3 to 6 but sometimes
more, somewhat spreading, acicular, yellow with brown or reddish bases, 1.5 to 4 cm. long; glochids
numerous, large, i cm. long or more, yellowish, not forming a brush; flowers 5 to 6 cm. long, yel-
lowish with reddish centers ; upper areoles on the ovary bearing long bristles ; stigma-lobes green ;
fruit, globular, about 4 cm. in diameter, purple; seeds numerous, small, 4 mm. in diamter.
Type locality: Described from specimen in Cambridge Botanic Garden, England.
Distribution: Very common in the States of San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, and Hidalgo,
Mexico.
Opuntia chrysacantha (Berger, Hort. Mortol. 231. 1912, name only), an undescribed
species, probably belongs here.
Our determination of the identity of 0. cantabrigiensis and 0. cuija is based on a living
plant of the former received from Mr. Lynch.
Illustrations: N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: pi. 2, as Opuntia ciigchnaiinii cuija;
Card. Chron. III. 30: f. 123, as Opuntia engelmannii.
Figure 204 represents joints of a nlant collected by Dr. Rose near Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo,
Mexico, in 1905.
Fro. 204. — O. cantabrigiensis. Xo.4.
FIG. 205. — O. procumhens.
181. Opuntia procumbens Engelmann, Proc. Amer. Acad. 3: 292. 1856.
Stems low and spreading, forming broad masses; joints "always edgewise," orbicular, 2 to 4 or
even 5 dm. in diameter, yellowish green, somewhat glaucous; areoles distant (3 to 5 cm. apart),
i68
THE CACTACEAE.
large, bearing long yellow glochids; spines i to 5, spreading, 2.5 to 5 cm. long, yellow, lighter above,
flattened; flowers said to be yellow; fruit red, juicy.
Type locality: San Francisco Mountains to Cactus Pass, Arizona.
Distribution: Northern Arizona.
This species has long been wanting or poorly represented in our great herbaria. Dr.
Rose collected it near Flagstaff, Arizona, and the above description is largely drawn from
his notes; but his material was lost. In 1913 it was again collected by Mr. E. A. Goldman.
Illustration: Pac. R. Rep. 4: pi. 6, f. 4, 5.
Figure 205 is copied from the illustration above cited.
182. Opuntia Canada Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 20: 90. 1909.
Plant about i meter high, with many erect or ascending branches, forming a broad top; joints
ovate to obovate, 16 to 22 cm. long, smooth, and shining; leaves subulate, i cm. long; spines various,
white to yellow, flattened, sometimes twisted; glochids few on young joints, very abundant on old
ones; flowers yellow with red or orange centers; style white to reddish; stigma-lobes green; fruit red.
Type locality: Foothills of the
Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona.
Distribution: Southeastern Ari-
zona.
Dr. Griffiths comments on the
close relationship of this plant to 0.
laevis.
Illustrations: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card.
20: pi. 2, f. 6; pi. 6, in part; pi. 13, f. 2, 12.
Figure 206 is copied from the
second illustration above cited.
183. Opuntia pyriformis Rose, Contr.
U. S. Nat. Herb. 12:292. 1909.
Plant 3 to 5 meters high, with widely
spreading branches, the lower ones almost
resting on the ground and 3 to 5 meters
long; joints obovate, thick, 18 cm. long
or more; areoles closely set, small; spines
i or 2, on old joints more, usually reflexed,
slender, weak, yellow, 10 to 22 mm. long;
flowers yellow; fruit 4 cm. long, some-
what tuberculate, spineless, its large are-
oles crowded with brown hairs forming
hemispherical cushions.
Type locality: Hacienda de Ce-
dros, Zacatecas, Mexico.
Distribution: Zacatecas, Mexico.
The type of this species is in the U. S. National Herbarium. It is known only from
the original collection of Professor F. E. Lloyd, made in 1908.
Illustrations: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: f. 35; pi. 26.
Figure 207 is copied from the second illustration above cited.
183(7. Opuntia bonplandii (HBK.) Weber. (See Appendix, p. 223.)
The three following described species may belong to this series:
OPUNTIA BECKERIANA Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 722. 1898.
The plant on which this species is based was sent to Dr. Schumann from a garden at
Bordighera, Italy, and its origin is unknown; Dr. Schumann thought that it might have
FIG. 207. — Opuntia pyriformis. Xo.j.
OPUNTIA.
169
come from Mexico. From the description it may belong to our series Dilleniaunc, but we
are unable to associate it with any species known to us; the ovary is described as com-
pressed and tubercled.
OPUNTIA ANAHUACENSIS Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 92. 1916.
A low, reclining or prostrate plant, up to 5 dm. high, 1.5 meters broad; joints obovate, glossy,
yellowish green, 27 cm. long, 13 cm. broad; spines yellow or becoming white, i or 2, porrect, flattened,
twisted, 2 or 3 cm. long; flowers yellow; style white; stigma-lobes 6, white; fruit dark purplish red,
pyriform, 7 cm. long.
Type locality: Anahuac, Texas.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality, at the mouth of Trinity River,
eastern Texas.
OPUNTIA MEGALANTHA Griffiths, Bull. Torr. Club 43: 530. 1916.
A tall, erect, open-branching plant, 2 meters high or more; joints obovate, glaucous, grayish
green, 21 cm. long, 14 cm. broad; spines yellow, i to 3, or even 5 or 6 on old wood, the longest often
4 to 5 cm. long; flowers yellow, 10 to n cm. in diameter; petals 5 cm. long, obovate; style white;
stigma-lobes 8 or 9, white or tinged with green; fruit dark red.
Known only from cultivated plants received from the Berlin Botanical Garden, where
it was grown as Opuntia bergeriana.
Series 16. MACDOUGALIANAE.
Erect, mostly tall species, with flat, broad,
and thin, persistent joints, the epidermis, at least
that of the ovary, pubescent or puberulent. The
spines, when present, yellow. There are about
half a dozen species, natives of central and
southern Mexico.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints merely finely puberulent or
glabrous; spines 1.5 cm. long or
less; ovary velvety 184. 0. durangensis
Joints distinctly pubescent ; spines
2 to 3 cm. long.
Petals red.
Style shorter than the petals 185. O. atropes
Style as long as the petals. 186. 0. affinis
Petals yellow.
Spines acicular, at first yel-
low, soon white 187. 0. macdougaliana
Spines subulate.
Petals retuse; areoles of
ovary many, approxi-
mate 1 88. 0. velutina
Petals mucronate ; are-
oles of ovary few, dis-
tant 189. O. wilcoxii
184. Opuntia durangensis Britton and Rose,
Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50:518. 1908. F,G. ,08,-Opuntia durangensis. Xo.4.
Joints broadly obovate, about 20 cm. long,
16 cm. broad, pale green, glabrous or minutely puberulent, bearing numerous areoles; areoles i to
2 cm. apart, elevated; spines 3 to 5 at an areole, short, 1.5 cm. long or less, pungent, spreading,
yellow, but in age becoming darker; glochids brown, 2 to 3 mm. long; flowers yellow, 5 cm. long;
petals broad, apiculate; ovary 3 to 4 cm. long, finely pubescent, bearing many areoles with numer-
ous glochids and a few spines; fruit white or red; seeds about 3 mm. broad.
Type locality: Near Durango, Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico.
This species was collected by the late Dr. E. Palmer in 1912, but he did not record
the size and habit of the plant. The joints suggest a large, bushy species.
Figure 208 represents a joint of the type specimen.
170
THE CACTACEAE.
185. Opuntia atropes Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 518. 1908.
Plant i to 3 meters high, much branched; joints oblong to obovate, 20 to 30 cm. long, deep
green, softly pubescent; young joints somewhat glossy, leaves 4 to 5 mm. long, acuminate, pubescent,
standing almost at right angles to the joints, the tips reddish, areoles circular, filled with short
tawny wool; young spines white or yellowish; old spines 3 to 6 cm. long, somewhat angled, standing
almost at right angles to the joints, dark yellow or brown at the base, much lighter, often white
above; glochids numerous, long, yellow; petals reddish; ovary pubescent, covered with large cushion-
like areoles bearing long glochids near the top but with few spines or none, truncate at apex.
Type locality: Lava beds near Yautepec, Morelos, Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico.
186. Opuntia affinis Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 27. 1914.
"A low, arborescent species, from 125 cm. high with us at 4 years of age to 2 m. or more in its
natural habitat; joints obovate, 13 by 35 cm., broadly rounded above and gradually narrowed below,
densely silky, villous to the touch, and villous nature plainly visible when viewed in proper light,
slightly raised at areoles, the tubercles being surrounded by a sunken dark-green line; leaves small,
subulate, pointed, scarcely 2 mm. in length; areole small, obovate, 3 mm. long, 25 to 30 mm. apart,
white to gray; spicules light straw-colored, at first not conspicuous but rather in a connivent tuft,
-; mm. long; spines absent below and i to 5 in upper five-sixths of joint, straw-colored, becoming
white the second year, the longest 3 cm. and others much shorter, increasing in age in both length
FIG, 209. — Opuntia macdougaliana, Tehuacan. Mexico.
OPUNTIA.
171
and numbers, at 3 years often 10 in number and some 6 cm. long, divergent, flattened, angular,
twisted; flowers dull dark-red in bud, with stigma protruding the day before the petals
spread, small, about 3 cm. in diameter when opened, petals 20 to 25 mm. long, slightly, when at all,
recurved, ribs of petals red and wings orange, filaments greenish below and pink above, style bright-
glossy red, stigma dull greenish red, 4-parted, equaling the petals in length; ovary small, subglobose,
deeply pitted, 15 to 17 mm. in diameter, with small subcircular to slightly transversely elongated,
dirty brown areoles, 4 mm. apart; fruit small, subglobose, red."
Type locality: State of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Distribution: Known only from type locality.
Our examination of the type specimen of this species showed that it is closely related
to Opuntia macdougaliana, differing in the color of its petals, which may not be a specific
character.
FIG. 210. — Opuntia macdougaliana
1908.
187. Opuntia macdougaliana Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 516.
Opuntia micrarlhra Griffiths, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23: 130. 1913.
Plant about 4 meters high, with a distinct cylindric trunk branching from near the base; joints
oblong, 30 cm. long by 8 to 10 cm. broad, softly pubescent; areoles distinct, small; spines generally 4,
one much longer (2.5 to 4 cm. long), somewhat flattened, yellowish, becoming whitish in age;
glochids short, numerous, yellow; fruit globular to oblong, 5 cm. long, the surface divided into
diamond-shaped plates, red, with a broad deep cup at apex, the numerous small rounded areoles
filled with clumps of yellow glochids, very rarely with one or two spines.
Type locality: Near Tehuacan, Mexico.
Distribution: Southern Mexico.
Figure 209 is from a photograph of the type plant taken by Dr. MacDougal at El Riego,
Tehuacan, Mexico, in 1906; figure 210 represents a plant grown from a cutting of the type.
172
THE CACTACEAE.
188. Opuntia velutina Weber in Gosselin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 389. 1904.
Opuntia iielsoiiii Rose, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 516. 1908.
Stems i to 4 meters high; joints flattened, oblong to pear-shaped in outline, 15 to 20 cm. long
by 10 to 15 cm. broad near the top, pubescent, pale yellowish green in herbarium specimens; areoles
2 to 3 cm. apart; spines 2 to 6, yellow, becoming white in age, very unequal, the longer ones 3 to 4
cm. long; bristles many, yellow, becoming brownish; flowers rather small; petals yellow, i to 3 cm.
long ; ovary pubescent, bearing many yellowish brown bristles ; filaments red ; stigma-lobes pale green ;
fruit "dark red."
Type locality: In Guerrero, Mexico.
Distribution: Southern Mexico.
Plate xxxri, figure 3, represents a flowering joint of a plant collected at Tehuacan,
Mexico, by Dr. MacDougal and Dr. Rose in 1906.
189. Opuntia wilcoxii sp. nov.
A tall, bushy plant, i to 2 meters high, very much branched; joints oblong, thinnish, large, 2 cm.
long, dark green, more or less purplish about the large areoles, finely puberulent; glochids numerous,
long, yellow; spines i to 3, one very long (5 to 6 cm. long), porrect, white or somewhat yellowish;
flower, including ovary, 6 cm. long, yellow; petals oblong, mucronate; ovary bearing few large
areoles, these filled with brown wool and yellow glochids; filaments short; style thick, 2 cm. long,
with 10 stigma-lobes; fruit pubescent, 4 cm. long.
Very common on the hills in the coastal plain of west-
ern Mexico from southern Sonora to southern Sinaloa,
Mexico, where it was frequently collected by Rose,
Standley, and Russell in 1910; their No. 13546, with
flower, from Fuerte, Sinaloa, is selected as the type of
the species. It is named for Dr. Glover B. Wilcox, who
first sent in living specimens in 1909.
Figure 211 represents a joint of the type specimen.
To this series belong two plants which we have not
been able to identify but are here briefly characterized :
The first, a very peculiar species, collected by Rose,
Standley, and Russell, March 14, 1910 (No. 12853), on
the dry hills near Alamos, Sonora, Mexico, is unlike any of
the described species. It is living both in Washington
and New York, but it has not done well in cultivation.
It may be described as follows :
Bushy; joints oblong, thickish, pale green in color, with very
short puberulence, nearly or quite spineless; glochids yellowish
or greenish, numerous; young areoles brown in the center,
white- woolly in the margin; flowers and fruit not known.
Dr. H. H. Rusby collected the second species on the Balsas River, southern Mexico.
It comes from the region of 0. vclntina, but we do not know its flowers. It may be described
as follows:
Joints oblong, 18 cm. long, but cultivated specimens smaller, usually obovate, dark green;
spines few, short, at first white; young areoles large, bordered with white wool, bearing the spines
and glochids from the center.
Living specimens are growing in the New York Botanical Garden under No. 32811.
Series 17. TOMENTOSAE.
Tall, erect, pubescent or puberulent species, with flat persistent joints, the spines, when present,
white. \Ye know three species, natives of Mexico and Guatemala.
Fir,. JM. — Opuntia wilcoxii. Xo-4.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXXII
. E. Eaton del
1 . Upper part of flowering joint of Opun/ia leptocarpa. 3. Flowering joint of Ofwntia rrliitina.
2. Fruit of the same. 4. Upper part of joint of Opun/ia mt.iracan.lha.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
173
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints narrowly obovate.
Joints grayish green, densely velvety
Joints bright green, minutely pubcrulent . .
Joints broadly obovate
190. 0. lomentnsa
10.1. ('. tonifiitcllii
192. O. guilanchi
1822.
1837.
1913.
190. Opuntia tomentosa Salm-Dyck, Observ. Bot. 3: 8.
Cactus tomentosus Link, Enum. Hort. Berol. 2: 24. 1822.
Opuntia oblongala \Vendland in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 161.
Opuntia icterica Griffiths, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 23: 138.
Becoming 3 to 6 meters high or more, with a broad top and a smooth trunk 10 to 30 cm. in
diameter; joints oblong to narrowly obovate, 10 to 20 cm. long, velvety pubescent, somewhat
tuberculate when young; glochids yellow; spines usually wanting but sometimes i or more appear;
flowers orange-colored, 4 to 5 cm. long; filaments white or rose-colored; style dark carmine, longer
than the stamens; stigma-lobes 5 or 6, white; fruit ovoid, red, sweetish; seeds 4 mm. broad.
FIG. 212. — Opuntia tomentosa.
Type locality: Not cited; doubtless Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico and as an escape in Australia.
This species was first described from cultivated plants and has long been a favorite.
When grown out of doors, as it is in Bermuda, it forms a large and conspicuous plant. It
is usually nearly or quite spineless, but plants which come from the Valley of Mexico are
often spiny.
According to J. H. Maiden, this plant had been sent to him under the unpublished
name Opuntia lurida, and as O. pubescens.
Illustrations: Agr. Gaz. N. S. W. 23: pi. opp. 1028; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 16: 121;
De Candolle, PI. Succ. Hist. 2: pi. 137 [A, B], this last as Cactus cochenillijer (fide Berger).
174
THE CACTACEAE.
Plate xxxin, figure i, represents a fruiting joint of a plant raised from seeds received
by the United States Department of Agriculture. Figure 212 is from a photograph of a
plant near St. Georges, Bermuda, taken by Stewardson Brown in 1912.
191. Opuntia tomentella Berger, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 22: 147. 1912.
Bushy; joints obovate to oblong, 20 to 30 cm. long, 9 to 15 cm. broad, light green, somewhat
shining, finely puberulent; areoles about 3 cm. apart, small; spines i or 2, acicular, white, short
(7 to 10 mm. long), porrect, sometimes wanting; glochids few; flowers numerous, 5 to 6 cm. long;
petals obovate, reddish yellow; filaments yellowish green; style rose-colored; stigma-lobes white;
ovary tomentose, armed with numerous black glochids; fruit oblong, red, sour.
Type locality: In Guatemala.
Distribution : Guatemala.
This species was distributed by the late F. Eichlam, who sent
plants both to Washington and to La Mortola, those sent to La
Mortola being used by Mr. Berger for his description. The species
is perhaps near the common Mexican species O. tonicntosa, but
does not grow so tall, and the tomentum is not so dense nor so
soft.
Figure 213 represents a joint of a plant collected in Guatemala
by F. Eichlam in 1909.
192. Opuntia guilanchi Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: 265. 1908.
Becoming 1.5 to 2 meters high, often with a distinct trunk 1.5 to
2.5 cm. in diameter; joints broadly obovate, 14 to 16 cm. wide, 20 to
24 cm. long, minutely pubescent ; spines at first white, slightly flat-
tened, the longest 2 cm. long; glochids light yellow; fruit subglobose, 4
cm. in diameter, pubescent, variously colored, aromatic.
Type locality: Near the city of Zacatecas, Mexico.
Distribution: Zacatecas, Mexico.
Series 18. LEUCOTRICHAE.
This series is restricted to a single species. Schumann grouped as
Chaetophorae, 0. leucotricha with 0. ursina, the latter a species with simi-
lar long bristles on the stem but otherwise very different, it being dry-
fruited. Opuntia leucotricha is characterized by its long, weak, hair-
like or bristle-like spines on many of the joints, especially the stem and IflG-
very old joints. The fruit of this plant is very different from that of
related series in that the pulp is fragrant and does not come free from the rind when mature.
193. Opuntia leucotricha De Candolle, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 17: 119. 1828.
j.— Opuntia tomentella.
Opuntia fulvispina Salm-Dyck in Pfeiffcr, Enum. Cact. 164. 1837.
Opuntia leitfolricha fuh'ispina Weber in Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen Nachtr. 157.
1903.
Often 3 to 5 meters high, with a large top; trunk as well as the older joints covered with long
white bristles; joints oblong to orbicular, i to 2 cm. long, pubescent; areoles closely set, the upper
part filled with yellow glochids, the lower part at first with only i to 3 weak white spines; flowers,
including ovary, 4 to 5 cm. long; petals yellow, broad; ovary with numerous areoles, the upper ones
bearing long, bristly glochids (i cm. long); style red; stigma-lobes green; fruit variable, 4 to 6 cm.
long, white or red, the rind not easily coming off from the pulp, aromatic, edible.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico.
Opuntia erythrocentron Lemaire (Forster, Handb. Cact. 492. 1846) was given as a
synonym of 0. fulvispina.
t tpuntia Icncosticta Wendland (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 167, 1837) probably belongs here.
Opuntia Icucacautlia Link and Otto (Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 362. 1834), published
first in 1834 — although the name occurs in literature as early as 1830 (Verh. Ver. Beford.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXXIII
M. K. Eaton
1. Upper part of joint of Ofuntia tomentosa. 2, 3. Flowering joint and branch of Ofrunlia brasiliensis.
4. Joint of Grusonia bradtiana. (All natural size.)
OPUNTIA.
175
Gartenb. 6: 434. 1830) — which was later taken up as Consoled Icitcai >inllui by Lemaire (Rev.
Hort. 1862: 174. 1862), seems to belong here rather than to (.). spiiwsissinia. If it came
from Mexico, as reported, it could not be 0. spinosissima or any of its relatives, for none
of them is known from Mexico.
Opuntia siihfcrox Schott (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 167. 1837) was given as a synonym
of this species, while 0. leucacantha laevior Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 47. 1845)
and 0. leucacantha snbferox Salm-Dyck (Forster, Handb. Cact. 497. 1846) were supposed
to be based on 0. snbferox.
Opuntia leucantha (De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 474. 1828), unpublished, is doubtless the
same as 0. Icucacautlia.
FIG. 214. — Opuntta leucotricha.
Opuntia fulmspina laevior Salm-Dyck (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 164. 1837) and 0. ful-
vispina badia Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 65. 1850) are given as synonyms of
0. leucotricha; while O. rufescens Salm-Dyck (Forster, Handb. Cact. 493. 1846) is given
as a synonym of fulmspina laevior; all these seem to belong here.
This is called durasnilla in Mexico. It is grown in Bermuda under the name of Aaron's
Beard.
Illustrations: Engler and Prantl, Pflanzenfam. 36a: f. 56, J; N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta.
Bull. 60: pi. 4, f. i, 2.
Plate xxxiv, figure i , represents a flowering joint of a plant in the collection of the
New York Botanical Garden. Figure 214 is from a photograph of a plant grown from a
cutting received from the collection of M. Simon, St. Ouen, Paris, France, in 1901.
176
THE CACTACEAE.
Series 19. ORBICULATAE.
We have retained the series Crinifcrac, although changing its name to Orbiculatac, but we have
excluded O. scheeri, which was placed here by Schumann. The species are characterized by long
hairs produced from the areoles. The species retained in the series are not closely related; while
others, like O. macrocentra, in other series, sometimes produce long hairs from the areoles in the
seedling stage, and 0. kyptiacantha and some other species have a few hairs at the areoles of mature
joints.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Hairs from the areoles of young plants long and white, long-persistent; plant low. . 194. O. orbit nlata
Hairs from the areoles of young joints of old plants early deciduous; plant tall. . . 195. 0. pilifcra
194. Opuntia orbiculata Salm-Dyck in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 156. 1837.
Opuntia crinifcra Salm-Dyck in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 157. 1837.
Opuntia crinifera lanigera Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 157. 1837.
Opuntia lanigera Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 65. 1850.
A plant without a very definite trunk, about i meter high, often
broader than high; joints green or bluish green, orbicular to obo-
vate, sometimes spatulate, about 15 cm. long; leaves subulate, 2
to 3 mm. long; areoles small, in seedlings and young plants pro-
ducing long white hairs or wool long-persistent; spines acicular,
several, yellow; flowers yellow.
FIG. 215. — Opuntia orbiculata. Xo.66.
Type locality: Cited as Brazil, but undoubtedly by error.
Distribution: Northern Mexico.
Opuntia scnilis Parmenteer is given by Pfeiffer
(Enum. Cact. 157. 1837) as a synonym of 0. crinifcra,
and O. pintadcra by Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck.
1844. 47. 1845) as a synonym of 0. lanigera. They
doubtless both belong here.
Opuntia mcttcrnicliii Piccioli (Salm-Dyck, Cact.
Hort. Dyck. 1844. 46. 1845) and 0. orbiculata ttict-
ternichii Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 68.
1850), names without descriptions, doubtless be-
long here.
We have studied living plants sent from the
Berlin Botanical Garden as O. crinifcra and from
the Botanical Garden of Santiago, Chile, as 0. orbic-
ulata; the plant is not native in Chile.
Illustration: Monatsschr. Kakteenk. n: 155, as Opuntia lanigera.
Figure 215 represents joints of a plant sent from the Berlin Botanical Garden in 1902.
195. Opuntia pilifera Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 894. 1898.
Becoming 4 to 5 meters high, with a definite, thick, woody, cylindric trunk and a broad, rounded
top; joints oblong to orbicular, i to 3 dm. long, obtuse at apex, pale green; leaves subulate, about
5 mm. long; areoles 2 to 3 cm. apart, scarcely elevated; spines 2 to 9, white, slightly spreading,
acicular; the outer part of the areole filled with nearly white, more or less deciduous hairs 2 to 3 cm.
long; flowers large, red; areoles on the ovary bearing brown glochids and deciduous hairs, the latter
especially abundant towards the top of the ovary; fruit red, juicy.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Puebla, Mexico.
No definite locality was given for this species when it was first described, and apparently
no type material was preserved; living specimens identified by Weber are still grown at
La Mortola, Italy. The species is common about Tehuacan, Mexico, being one of the
large forms occurring in that region. It is common in all large greenhouse collections.
OPUNTIA.
177
Figure 216 is from a photograph of a plant in the collection of the New York Botanical
Garden grown from a cutting brought by Dr. MacDougal and Dr. Rose from Tehuacan,
Mexico, in 1906.
Series 20. FICUS-INDICAE.
Large plants, usually with large, nearly
spineless green joints; spines, when present, few,
small, white; flowers large, usually orange to yel-
low. None of the species is definitely known in
the wild state, but all doubtless originated from
tropical American ancestors, and they may all
represent spineless races of plants here included
in our series Streptacanthae. Some of them are
cultivated for their fruit and others for forage.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Joints obovate to elliptic, comparatively
broad, more or less glaucous.
Joints dull.
Joints thin, up to 5 dm. long. . 196. O. ficus-indica
Joints thick, 15 cm. long or less. 197. O. crassa
Joints glossy 198. O. undulala
Joints elongated, comparatively nar-
row.
Flowers yellow; joints somewhat
tuberculate 199. 0. lanceolala
Flowers orange-red; joints not tu-
berculate 200. O. maxima
196. Opuntia ficus-indica ( Linnaeus) Miller, Card .
Diet. ed. 8. No. 2. 1768.
Cactus ficus-indica Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 468. 1753
Cactus opuntia Gussone, Fl. Sic. Prodr. 559
1827-8. Not Linnaeus.
Opuntia vulgaris Tenore, Syll. Fl. Neap. 239.
1831. Not Miller.
Opuntia ficits-barbarica Berger, Monatsschr.
Kakteenk. 22: 181. 1912.
Large and bushy or sometimes erect and tree- FIG- 216.— Opuntia pilifcra.
like and then with a definite woody trunk up to
5 meters high, usually with a large top; joints oblong to spatulate-oblong, usually 3 to 5 cm. long,
sometimes even larger; areoles small, usually spineless; glochids yellow, numerous, soon dropping
off; leaves subulate, green, 3 mm. long; flowers large, normally bright yellow, 7 to 10 cm. broad;
ovary 5 cm. long; fruit normally red, edible, 5 to 9 cm. long, with a low, depressed umbilicus.
Type locality: Tropical America.
Distribution: Native home not known, but now found all over the tropics and sub-
tropics either as cultivated plants or as escapes. It is hardy in Bermuda and Florida.
This cactus is widely cultivated in all tropical and subtropical countries, where it is
grown for its fruits and for forage. It has run wild in many waste places along the Mediter-
ranean Sea, about the Red Sea, in southern Africa, and in Mexico.
We have not attempted to list the many named garden varieties of this species,
which are sometimes Latin and sometimes English in form.
Opuntia amydaea ficus-indica (Berger, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 15: 154. 1905) has
never been described.
The origin of this common, cultivated species doubtless dates back to prehistoric
times. We have long been convinced that it is a close relative of the Streptacanthae, and
have kept it out of that series as only a matter of convenience. Mr. A. Berger believed it
to be a spineless form of 0. amydaea, which is now a well-established species in certain parts
of Italy. Dr. Griffiths has recently figured a reversion which appeared on the common
178
THE CACTACEAE.
spineless form which points very definitely to 0. megacantha as the origin of this form. (See
Reversion in Prickly Pears, Journ. Hered. 5: 222. 1914.)
Illustrations: Amer. Garden u: 471 ; Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. 31: pi. i ; pi. 2, f. i ; Cycl.
Amer. Hort. Bailey 3: f. 1543; Dept. Agr. N. S. W. Misc. Publ. 253: pi. [i], f. i, 3; Diet.
Card. Nicholson 2: f. 753; Dodon. Pempt. f. to, n ; Lemaire, Cact. f. 10; Meehan's Monthly
10: 28; Mem. Acad. Neap. 6: pi. i, 2; Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 15: 151; W. Watson, Cact.
Cult. f. 8, in part; f. 80.
FIG 217. — Opuntia licus-indica, Cordoba, Argentina.
Figure 217 is from a photograph of the plant growing at Cordoba, Argentina, taken by
Paul G. Russell in 1915 ; figure 218 represents the fruit, obtained in Bermuda by Dr. Britton
in 1913.
197. Opuntia crassa Haworth, Suppl. PI. Succ. Si. 1819.
Opuntia parvula Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 364. 1834.
Opuntia crassa major Pfciffer, Enum. Cact. 153. 1837.
Opuntia glauca Forbes, Hort. Tour Germ. 158. 1837.
Plant i to 2 meters high, somewhat branched; joints ovate to ob-
long, 3 to 12.5 cm. long, thick, bluish green, glaucous; areoles bearing
brown wool and brown glochids; spines wanting or sometimes i or 2,
acicular, 2.5 cm. long or less; flowers and fruit unknown.
Type locality: Described from cultivated specimens supposed
to have come from Mexico.
Distribution: Unknown in the wild state; locally found in
cultivation in tropical America.
Haworth, who first described this species, thought it to be
near 0. stricta.
Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. 153. 1837) uses 0. glabcrrhna Hort.
Berol. as a synonym of O. crassa major.
Opuntia parvula, when first published, was supposed to be
native of Chile, but this was a mistake. Salm-Dyck compared
the species with 0. crassa and 0. spinulifera, but says it is thrice smaller than either.
vSchumann refers 0. parvula directly to 0. crassa, which disposition we follow.
Figure 219 is from a photograph of a plant in the Organ Mountains, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, taken by Paul G. Russell in 1915.
FIG. 218. — Fruit of Opuntia
ficus-indica. Xo.66.
OPUNTIA.
179
198. Opuntia undulata Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 22: 32. 1912.
Opiintia undosa Griffiths, Monatsschr. Kaktenk. 23: 139. 1913.
" Plant tall, large, stout, open-branching, with cylindrical trunk, often 30 cm. or more in
diameter; joints very large, obovate, broadly rounded above, widest above middle, commonly
35 by 55 cm., firm, hard, quite fibrous, dished, wavy or flat, glossy light yellowish green at first, but
changing through a darker green with a slight touch of glaucous to scurfy brown on old trunks;
leaves subcircular in section, subulate, pointed, usually tinged with red at the tip, about 4 mm. long,
upon a prominent tubercle and subtending a prominent dark-brown areole; areoles subcircular to
ellipsoid or obovate, about 3.5 by 4.5 mm., gray, 5 to 6 cm. apart; spicules yellow in a short, compact
tuft in upper part of areole, about .
i mm. long, soon becoming dirty
and inconspicuous; spines white,
few, short, erect, flattened, straight
or twisted, 10 to 15 mm. long, i
to 3 or 4, mostly one or none;
fruit large, 4 to 5 by 9 to 10 cm.,
dull red to slightly tinged with
orange and pulp streaked with red
and orange when rind is removed."
Type locality: Described
from cultivated plant obtained
at Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Distribution: Mexico.
Illustrations: Rep. Mo. Bot.
Card. 22: pi. n, in part; pi. 12.
We have doubtfully referred
to this species plants collected
by Dr. Rose on the west coast
of Mexico, where they were
growing wild ; this is some dis-
tance from the place where the
type was obtained from culti-
vated plants. These speci-
mens are like this species in having quite glossy joints with few spines. The plants were
not in bloom when seen by Dr. Rose in the spring of 1910.
Dr. Griffiths has changed his first name, 0. undulata, on account of the use of that
name at an earlier time, which was not accompanied, however, by description.
199. Opuntia lanceolata Haworth, Syn. PI. Succ. 192. 1812.
Cactus lanceolatits Haworth, Misc. Nat. 188. 1803.
Cactus elongatus Willdenow, Enum. PI. Suppl. 34. 1813.
Opuntia elongala Haworth, Suppl. PI. Succ. 81. 1819.
Plants tall, much branched; joints elongated, 3.5 cm. long, dull green, somewhat tuberculate;
areoles distant, small; spines if present few, small, white, i cm. long or less; glochids yellow; flowers
large, yellow.
Type locality: In South America.
Distribution: Known only in cultivation.
We have combined O. lanceolata and O. clongata, although there is a possibility of their
being different. O. lanceolata was first described essentially as follows: Joints flattened,
suberect, subnaked, with leaves 3 lines long; stems at first erect; joints lanceolate, green,
when young with many leaves; spines (spicules?) in fascicles, the shortest of all species
(except Cactus coccinellifcr) ; leaves longer than in other species.
The species was received by Haworth from W. Anderson; no habitat given. In 1812
Haworth calls it the spear-shaped Opuntia. He says it probably came from South America,
FIG. 219. — Opuntia crassa.
i So
THE CACTACEAE.
and flowers in July. It had been in cultivation before 1796; it flowered in 1808 with Haw-
orth and was described as follows: Flowers shiny yellow; filaments yellow, half as long as
petals; style longer than stamens; stigmas 5, thick, obtuse, 2 lines long, sulphur-colored.
De Candolle says the flowers are 4 inches in diameter.
Pfeiffer states the joints are 5 to 6 inches long by i to 1.5 inches broad; that the leaves
are red and the spicules yellow.
Opuntia elongata laevior Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 242. 1850) may or may not
belong here.
FIG. 220. — Opuntia maxima.
200. Opuntia maxima Miller, Card. Diet. ed. 8. No. 5. 1768.
Cactus deciimainis Willdenow, Enum. PI. Suppl. 34. 1813.
Opuntia decnmana Haworth, Rev. PI. Succ. 71. 1821.
Opuntia gymnocarpa Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 893. 1898.
Opuntia labouretiana Console* in Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 717. 1898.
Opuntia ficus-indica decumana Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 512. 1905.
Opuntia ficus-indica gymnocarpa Spegazzini, Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires III. 4: 512. 1905.
Forming large, much branched plants; joints elongated, more or less spatulate, 35 cm. long
or more, 10 to 12 cm. broad, rounded at apex, somewhat cuneate at base, pale green, not at all
tuberculate; areoles small, distant; spines sometimes wanting or sometimes i or 2, short, white;
glochids yellow (brown in some specimens referred here) ; flowers conspicuous, 8 cm. broad, orange-
red; ovary elongated, 7 to 8 cm. long, bearing numerous large glochids.
*Berger (Hort. Mortol. 409. 1912) says this is known as O. labouretiana Console.
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXXIV
11 I I ,ilou del.
1. Part of joint of (tyttnlia Itucotricha. 3. Joint of Ofiinilia !ii.itlia.
2. Part of joint of Opnntiti maxima. 4. Joint of O/>nnliti xi/'t/ata.
(All natural size.)
OPUNTIA. l8l
Type locality: In America.
Distribution: Known only in cultivation.
Opuntia maxima Miller was described as the largest of all the opuntias and as the
name is older than any of those here cited, it is taken up for this species. Haworth was
uncertain whether or not his 0. decumana is distinct from Miller's O. maxima, although
in the Index Kewensis the two are considered the same; Burkill considered them distinct,
but his idea of 0. decumana is the 0. ficus-indica type. Mr. Berger, on the other hand,
states that it is evidently of the 0. dillcnii group, but this is hardly warranted by the descrip-
tion. Berger is convinced that 0. elongata is distinct from 0. decumana.
Opuntia labouretiana macrocarpa (Cat. Darrah Succ. Manchester 55. 1908) is only a
garden name.
Plate xxxiv, figure 2, represents a flowering joint of a plant presented to the New
York Botanical Garden by Frank Weinberg in 1901, which bloomed in May 1916. Fig-
ure 220 is from a photograph of the same plant.
Opuntia bartramii Rafinesque (Atl. Journ. i: 146. 1832) is based on Bartram's de-
scription (Travels p. 163. 1790), in which he states that the plant is 7 to 8 feet high; joints
very large, bright green, glossy; spines none; glochids numerous; flowers large, yellow;
fruit pear-shaped, purple. It was found about 6 miles from Lake George, northern Florida,
associated with Zamia pumila and Erythrina. We do not know of any Opuntia answering
the description, growing in Florida at the present time. Dr. Small visited the type
locality in 1918 but failed to find any plant answering Rafinesque's description.
Opuntia hernandezii De Candolle (Mem. Hist. Nat. Paris 17 : 69. pi. 16. 1828) is a com-
plex. The reference to Hernandez applies to Nopalca cochenilli/era. Schumann was not
able to identify the plant illustrated by De Candolle, but thought it might be referable to
Opuntia ficus-indica, in which we agree.
Series 21. STREPTACANTHAE.
Tall, branched, glabrous, green species with white or faintly yellow, acicular or subulate spines,
large yellow or red flowers, and fleshy fruits, natives of Mexico and Central and South America.
We recognize twelve species. The fruits, known as tunas, are mostly edible and are sold in large
quantities in Mexican markets, a practice which probably dates from prehistoric time. The long-
continued selection of plants for their fruit has perpetuated many slightly differing races.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Spines short, 5 mm. to 8 cm. long.
Joints scarcely if at all tuberculate.
Joints obovate to elliptic, mostly not more than twice as long as wide.
Areoles close together, sunken 201 . O. spinitlifera
Areoles not close together, not sunken.
Joints dull.
Spines acicular 202. O. lasiacantlia
Spines subulate.
Areoles with 2 or more short reflexed hairs or bristles at the lower part
of the areoles.
Spines strongly depressed; areoles with several hairs 203. 0. hyptiacanl/ia
Spines not strongly depressed; areoles with i or 2 hairs.
Joints obovate 204. 0. streplacantlia
Joints oblong 205. O. amyclaea
Areoles without reflexed hairs or bristles.
Spines clear white, terete or nearly so; fruit spineless, 6 to 8 cm. long,
yellow, edible 206. 0. megacantlia •
Spines white to dull yellow, somewhat flattened; fruit 6 cm. long or
less bearing a few spines near the top, red, not edible.
Plant with a definite trunk; petals reddish; fruit spiny only at top 207. 0. deamii
Plant bushy; petals chocolate-colored; fruit spiny all over. . . . 2070. O dobbieana
Joints shining 208. 0. eichlamii
Joints oblong to oblanceolate, some of them much longer than wide.
Joints shining; wool of young areoles white; petals yellow 209. O. inaequilateralis
Joints dull; wool of young areoles brown; petals deep orange to scarlet 210. 0. pittieri
Joints strongly tuberculate . 21 1. O. cordobensis
Spines elongated, 10 to 14 cm. long 212. 0. quimilo
182
THE CACTACEAE.
201. Opuntia spinulifera Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 364. 1834.
Opuntia candelabriformis Martius in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 159. 1837.
Opuntia oligacantha Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 241. 1850.
Tall, much branched plants; joints orbicular to oblong, sometimes obovate, 20 to 30 cm. long,
glabrous, a little glaucous; leaves small, red, 4 to 6 mm. long; areoles on young joints usually small,
sometimes longer than broad, the margin at first bordered with cobwebby hairs, afterwards short
white hairs, either spineless or with short white bristle-like spines; areoles on old joints more or less
sunken, rather close together; spines on old joints i to 3, i to 2 cm. long, subulate, bone-colored.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Mexico.
We have seen no wild specimens of this species, but Mr. Berger has grown it at La
Mortola, Italy, and has distributed specimens now growing in New York and Washington.
So-called Opuntia candelabriformis and 0.
oligacantha are also in cultivation; but the
original descriptions indicate that these two
species should be merged into 0. s-pinulifera,
and plants so determined in European collec-
tions support this view. In so far as we have
been able to ascertain, no type specimens of
any of the three supposed species are extant.
Schumann (Gesamtb. Kakteen 740. 1898) de-
scribes the flowers of O. candelabriformis as
purple, 6 to 7 cm. broad. Opuntia candela-
briformis rigid ior Salm-Dyck (Cact. Hort. Dyck.
1849. 68. 1850), an unpublished variety, may
belong here.
Figure 221 represents a joint of a plant
presented to the New York Botanical Garden
by Mrs. George Such in 1900.
FIG. 221. — Opuntia spinulifera. Xo.4-
202. Opuntia lasiacantha Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 160.
1837-
Opuntia megacanlha lasiacantha Berger, Bot.
Jahrb. Engler 36: 453. 1905.
A tall plant, with a more or less definite trunk; joints obovate to oblong, 20 to 30 cm. long;
leaves short, red; areoles small, 2 to 3 cm. apart; spines usually i to 3, acicular, white, 2 to 4 cm.
long, slightly spreading; glochids numerous, prominent, dirty yellow to brown; flowers large, yellow
or deep orange, 6 to 8 cm. broad; ovary bearing long, brown, deciduous bristles, especially from
the upper areoles; style pinkish; stigma-lobes pale green.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Central Mexico.
Schumann refers 0. lasiacantha to 0. robusta, but wrongly, as Berger states, and as
living plants show. Pfeiffer said it is near 0. candelabriformis, here taken up under
0. spinulifera.
This species is very variable and, while it seems distinct from O. megacantha, it is
to be noted that Mr. Berger referred it to that species as a variety.
Opuntia chaetocarpa Griffiths (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 27: 25. 1914), in its few
long white spines, resembles plants collected by Dr. Rose in southern Mexico which we
have referred to this species.
Illustration: Addisonia 3: pi. 90.
Plate xxxiv, figure 3, represents a flowering joint of a plant collected by Dr. Rose near
the City of Mexico in 1906. Figure 222 represents a joint of a plant collected by Dr. Mac-
Dougal and Dr. Rose at Tehuacan, Mexico, in 1906.
OPUNTIA.
183
OPUNTIA ZACUAPANENSIS Berger, Hort. Mortol. 413. 1912.
"A fine new species with bright-orange flowers. We received this plant a few years ago from
M. L. Puteaux, Versailles, as Opuntia spec, from Zacuapan.* Joints 13 to 20 cm. long and 9.5 cm.
broad, obovate, smooth, glossy green, areoles 15 to 25 mm. distant, slightly elevated, small, roundish
or obovate. Spicules yellow, short, not numerous. Spines generally two, white, with yellowish
points and base, terete, the lower deflexed shorter, the upper one spreading (2-) 3 cm. long. Flowers
numerous from the top of the joint, 7.5 cm. long and 6.5 cm. broad, ovary obovate turbinate,
3.5 to 4 cm. long and 22 mm. broad, areoles somewhat elevated, prickly; petals obovate lanceolate,
acute and aristate, orange-yellow, with a more reddish-brown hue along the midrib on the back
and as well on the shorter obtuse outer petals; stamens yellow, style yellowish, thickened or clavate
above the base, stigmata (6-) 7, dirty rose-coloured."
We have studied a plant, sent from La Mortola to the New York Botanical Garden
in 1913, which has not flowered; it appears to be related to 0. lasiacantha.
Figure 223 represents a joint from the plant received from La Mortola, Italy, in 1913.
FIG. 222. — Opuntia lasiacantha.
Xo.4.
FIG. 223. — Opuntia zacuapanensis.
Xo.4.
FIG. 224. — Opuntia hyptiacantha.
Xo.5.
203. Opuntia hyptiacantha Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 894. 1898.
Opuntia nigrilu Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Hot. Card. 21: 169. 1910.
? Opuntia cretochaeta Griffiths, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 29: n. 1916.
A tall, much branched plant, but in cultivation often only i meter high ; joints oblong to obovate,
20 to 30 cm. long, pale green, but when young bright green; spines on young joints single, porrect,
and accompanied by 2 or 3, sometimes many, white, slightly pungent hairs; spines on old joints
*Perhaps Zacualpan, in Vera Cruz, Mexico.
1 84
THE CACTACEAE.
4 to 6 (in the original description 8 to 10), somewhat spreading or appressed, i to 2 cm. long; glochids
few, brownish; areoles small, 1.5 cm. apart; leaves small, brownish; flowers red; fruit globular,
yellowish, its areoles filled with long, weak glochids; umbilicus broad, only slightly depressed.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Oaxaca, Mexico.
This species is very near Opuntia streptacantha, and in many cases it is difficult to
separate them. It is also near O. pilifera, but the areoles are not so hairy. Weber, who
first described it, gives no definite locality for the species; but Dr. Rose has examined, at
La Mortola, Italy, a living plant sent by Weber which seems to be the same as one of the
large opuntias from Tehuacan, Mexico.
Opuntia chavcna Griffiths (Rep. Mo. Bot.
Card. 19: 264. pi. 23, in part. 1908) is a
near relative of 0. hyptiacantha or not dis-
tinct from it.
Illustration: Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 21:
pi. 24, as Opuntia nignta.
Figure 224 represents a joint of a plant
obtained for the New York Botanical Garden
from the collection of M. Simon, St. Ouen,
Paris, France, in 1901.
204. Opuntia streptacantha Lemaire, Cact. Gen.
Nov. Sp. 62. 1839.
Much branched, up to 5 meters high, sometimes
with a trunk 45 cm. in diameter; joints obovate
to orbicular, 25 to 30 cm. long, dark green; areoles
small, rather close together for this group; spines
numerous, spreading or some of them appressed,
white ; glochids reddish brown, very short ; flowers
7 to 9 cm. broad, yellow to orange, the sepals red-
dish; filaments greenish or reddish; stigma-lobes
8 to 1 2 , green ; fruit globular, 5 cm. in diameter, dull
red or sometimes yellow, both within and without.
Type locality: Not cited.
Distribution : Very common on the Mex-
ican table-lands, especially on the deserts of
San Luis Potosi.
This species is known as tuna cardona or nopal cardon, and is one of the most impor-
tant economic opuntias in Mexico. It has many forms and seems to grade into some of
the species which we have here recognized.
Opuntia cardona Weber (Diet. Hort. Bois 895. 1898) and 0. coindettii Weber (Diet.
Hort. Bois 895. 1898) are two names given as synonyms of the species by Weber, but they
were never published. 0. diplacantha (Berger, Hort. Mortol. 232. 1912) must be referred
here, but of this, so far as we know, there is no published description. Berger has distrib-
uted living specimens which we are inclined to refer here.
Opuntia pachona Griffiths (Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 21: 168. pi. 22. 1910) is closely related
to 0. streptacantha, if not a race of that species. Opuntia megacantha tennis pina Salm-Dyck
(Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 45. 1845) was given as a new name for 0. lasiacantha, but was
never described.
Illustrations: N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 60: pi. i ; Safford, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst.
1908: pi. 9, f. 6; U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. PI. Ind. Bull. 102' : pi. i ; 116: pi. i, this last as tuna
cardona; Engler and Prantl, Pflanzenfam. 36a: f. 70, this last as Opuntia psnutiotitna.
Figure 225 represents a joint of a plant received from C. Werckle in 1902 as 0. cardona.
FIG. 225. — Opuntia streptacantha. Xo 5.
OPUNTIA.
205. Opuntia amyclaea Tenore, Fl. Neap. Prodr. App. 5:15. 1826.
Opuntia fie tis-indica amyclaea Bcrgcr, Hort. Mortol. 411. 1912.
Erect; joints oblong to elliptic, 3 to 4 dm. long, about twice as long as broad, thick, dull green, a
little glaucous; leaves 4 mm. long, acute, red; areoles small, with i or 2 short bristles from the lower
parts of areoles; spines i to 4, stiff, nearly porrect, usually less than 3 cm. long, white or horn-colored,
the stoutest angled; glochids brown, soon disappearing; flowers yellow; fruit yellowish red, not very
juicy.
Type locality: Described from specimens grown in Italy.
Distribution: Doubtless Mexico, but not known in the wild state.
Our description is based on the original description and a specimen collected by A.
Berger near Palermo, where it is grown as a hedge plant. Berger's plant suggests very
much (_"). streptacantha, but is not quite so spiny; it does not suggest very much 0. ficus-
indica, where Berger has placed it. Our description of the spines is taken from Berger's
plant, while the original description states that the spines are 3 to 8, stout, spreading,
unequal, white, the longest 35 mm. long.
O. al/agayucca (Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1849. 68. 1850) and 0. alfayucca (Rum-
pier in Forster, Handb. Cact. ed. 2. 938. 1885) were given as synonyms of 0. amyclaea.
FIG. 226. — Opuntia megacantha.
206. Opuntia megacantha Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 363. 1834.
Opuntia castillae Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 19: 261. 1908.
? Opuntia incarnadilla Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 27. 1912.
Plant tall, 4 to 5 meters high or more, with a more or less definite woody trunk; joints of large
plants obovate to oblong, often oblique, sometimes 40 to 60 cm. long or more, but in greenhouse
specimens often much smaller, pale dull green, slightly glaucous; leaves minute, often only 3 mm.
long, green or purplish; areoles rather small, on large joints often 4 to 5 cm. apart, when young
bearing brown wool; spines white, usually i to 5, slightly spreading, sometimes nearly porrect,
usually only 2 to 3 cm. long, sometimes few and confined to the upper areoles; glochids few, yellow,
caducous, sometimes appearing again on old joints; flowers yellow to orange, about 8 cm. broad;
ovary spiny or spineless, obovoid; fruit 7 to 8 cm. long.
1 86
THE CACTACEAE.
FIG. 227 — Opuntia megacantha on Lanai, Hawaiian Islands.
Type locality: In Mexico.
Distribution: Much cultivated in Mexico; grown also in Jamaica and southern Cali-
fornia and escaped from cultivation in Hawaii.
This species was originally described by Salm-Dyck essentially as follows : Erect and
of the size of O. decmnana; joints 17.5 cm. long by 7.5 cm. broad and 2.5 cm. or more
thick ; areoles close together, filled with gray wool ;
glochids brownish, becoming blackish ; spines 7 to
10, white, unequal, acicular, somewhat radiating,
the longest one deflexed, 5 cm. long; flowers not
known; leaves small, reddish.
Opnntia megacantha trichacantha Salm-Dyck
was given as a synonym of this species by Forster
(Handb. Cact. 486. 1846), but was never pub-
lished.
Opuntia tribuloides Griffiths (Monatsschr.
Kakteenk. 23: 137. 1913), according to the de-
scription, is of this relationship.
This is the chief Mission cactus. It is the
one from which the best varieties of edible tunas
are obtained and is one of the commonest culti-
vated opuntias in Mexico, having numerous forms,
many of them bearing local names.
Illustrations: Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 67:
pi. 8, f. 2; Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 19: pi. 24, both as
Opuntia castillae. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: pi. 4,
5, these two as Opuntia incarnadilla; Amer. Journ.
Bot. 4: 572. f. 6.
Plate xxxn, figure 4, represents a flowering
joint of a plant in the same collection received
from Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, in 1905.
Figure 226 is from a photograph of a plant in
the collection of the New York Botanical Garden; p,G 22S._ Opuntia megacantha. Xc locality: Jamaica.
Distribution: Southern coast of Jamaica.
Plate xxxvi, from a painting by Miss H. A. Wood at Hope Gardens, Jamaica,
sent by William Harris in 1907. Figure 258 is from a photograph of a plant obtained
by Professor John F. Cowell in Jamaica and sent from the Buffalo Botanical Garden to
the New York Botanical Garden in 1904.
233. Opuntia millspaughii Britton, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 513. 1908.
Trunk terete, 7 cm. thick at base, 5 cm. thick at top, 6 dm. high or less, branching at the summit,
the branches divaricate-ascending, narrowly oblong, much compressed, 40 cm. long or less, 5 to
BRITTON AND ROSE
PLATE XXXVI
H. A. « i ,M Opunlia spinosissima .
1. Flowering joint. 6. Cross-section ot ovnry
2,3. Single flowers. 7. Style.
4, 5. Longitudinal section of flower.
OPUNTIA.
205
10 cm. wide, i to 1.5 cm. thick, light green; branchlets obliquely lanceolate, obtuse, as wide as
the branches, but shorter, i cm. thick or less, floriferous at and near the apex; areoles of the older
branches pitted, about i cm. apart, those of very young shoots slightly elevated, the glochids very
short, yellowish brown; spines of the trunk 15 cm. long or less, very numerous and densely clothing
the trunk, very slender, gray, mostly strongly reflexed, pungent, those of the branches and branch-
lets restricted to the areoles on their edges, shorter than those of the trunk but similar, purple when
FIG. 257. — Opuntia macracantha.
I'i<:. ^58. — Opuntia spinosissima.
young, those of the fruit yellowish gray, 2 cm. long or less; flowers cupulate, crimson-lake, i cm.
wide; sepals fleshy, ovate, acute, 4 mm. long and wide; petals erect-ascending, obovate, mucro-
nulate, about 4 mm. wide; stamens half as long as the corolla; style about as long as the corolla;
stigma-lobes oblong, yellowish crimson; fruit compressed-obovoid, 2 cm. long, 1.5 cm. thick, bear-
ing one or two spines at most of the areoles.
2O6
THE CACTACEAE.
Type locality: Rock Sound, Eleuthera Island, Bahamas.
Distribution : Eleuthera and Great Ragged Island, Bahamas ; Cayo Paredon Grande, Cuba.
Figure 259 is from a photograph of the type plant taken at the type locality by Dr.
C. F. Millspaugh, February 22, 1907.
234. Opuntia moniliformis (Linnaeus) Haworth in Steu-
del, Nom. ed. 2. 2: 221. 1841.
Cactus moniliformis Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 468. 1753.
Cactus ferox Willdenow, Enum. PI. Suppl. 35. 1813.
Opuntia ferox Haworth, Suppl. PI. Succ. 82. 1819.
Cereus moniliformis De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 470. 1828.
Consolea ferox Lemaire, Rev. Hort. 1862: 174 1862.
Opuntia microcarpa vSehumann. Gesamtb. Kakteen 714.
1898. Not Engelmann. 1848.
Nopalea moniliformis Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 750.
1898.
Opuntia testudinis-crus Weber in Gosselin, Bull. Mus.
Hist. Nat. Paris 10: 389. 1904.
Opuntia liaiticnsis Britton, Smiths. Misc. Coll. 50: 513.
1908.
Trunk somewhat flattened above, 3 to 4 m. high,
branching at the top, densely armed with acicular, yel-
lowish or gray spines 12 cm. long or less, their bases
clothed with yellowish-white wool i to 2 cm. long; joints
obliquely linear-oblong to obovate, i to 3 dm. long, 13 cm.
wide or less, about i cm. thick, obtuse, distinctly areolate-
reticulate, the areoles somewhat elevated, i to 1.5 cm.
apart, those of young joints bearing near the edges 3 to 6
acicular spines i to 2.5 cm. long, those on the sides of the
young joints often spineless or with i to 3 yellowish
FIG. 259. — Opuntia tnillspaughii.
FIG. 260. — Opuntia moniliformis on the plain at Azua, Santu Domingo.
OPUNTIA.
207
spines, and with small tufts of grayish wool; older joints bearing at all areoles 5 to 8 yellowish
spines similar to those of the trunk, and brown glochids 6 or 8 mm. long; flowers about 2.5 cm.
broad; sepals as broad as long, or broader, apiculate; petals yellow to orange, ovate, apiculate,
spreading; stamens much shorter than the petals; ovary cylindric to obovoid-cylindric, terete or
nearly so, 4 to 5 cm. long, its distinctly elevated areoles close together, only 5 or 6 mm. apart,
bearing brown glochids 2 mm. long, but no spines; fruit oblong-obovoid, about 6 cm. long.
Type locality: Hispaniola.
Distribution: Hispaniola; Desecheo Island, Porto Rico.
The ovaries, fruits and small joints of this species are readily detached and on falling
to the ground strike root and proliferate, forming masses of subglobose or turgid joints
entirely different in aspect from the fully developed, tree-like plant. It was on this stage
of the organism that the Cactus moniliformis of Linnaeus, founded on Plumier's convention-
alized plate above cited, was based; this illustration is, however, apparently erroneous in
showing the style as long-exserted.
The names Opuntia dolabriformis and Opuntia cniciata were published by Pfeiffer
(Enum. Cact. 167. 1837) as synonyms of 0. fcrox. Some of the joints and, perhaps,
some whole plants of this species are nearly or quite spineless.
Illustrations: Descourtilz, Fl. Med. Antill. ed. 2. 7: pi. 514, as Cactier moniliforme ;
Plumier, PI. Amer. ed. Burmann. pi. 198, as Cactus, etc.
FIG. 261. — Opuntia moniliformis. The same species as 260, but
showing a different mode of growth.
KlG. 262. — Opuntia monili-
formis. Xo.66.
Figure 260 is from a photograph of a plant at Azua, Santo Domingo, taken by
Paul G. Russell in 1913; figure 261 is from a photograph taken by Frank E. Lutz on
Desecheo Island, Mona Passage, Porto Rico, in 1914, showing a mass of proliferating
sterile ovaries or small joints below and the mature stage of the plant above; figure 262
represents several of the small joints of the Desecheo plant.
208
THE CACTACEAE.
235. Opuntia rubescens Salm-Dyck in De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 474. 1828.
Opuntia catacantha Link and Otto in Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 166. 1837.
Consoka rubescens Lemaire, Rev. Hort. 1862: 174. 1862.
Consoled catacantha Lemaire, Rev. Hort. 1862: 174. 1862.
Opuntia guanicana Schumann in Giirke, Monatsschr. Kakttcnk. 18: 180. 1908.
Trunk erect, nearly cylindric below, flattened above, 3 to 6 meters high, sometimes 1.5 dm. in
diameter, branching above, its areoles bearing several or many acicular spines up to 8 cm. long or
more, or spineless: ultimate joints thin and flat, mostly dark green or reddish green, not reticulate-
areolate except when young, oblong to oblong-obovate, 2.5 dm. long or less, mostly 2 to 4 times as
long as wide, the terminal ones often much smaller ; areoles i to 1.5 cm. apart, bearing several acicular
nearly white spines i to 6 cm. long, or spineless; flowers yellow, orange or red, about 2 cm. broad;
ovary long-tuberculate, 4 to 5 cm. long, about 1.5 cm. in diameter; petals obovate, apiculate; sta-
mens about half as long as the petals; fruit reddish, obovoid or subglobose, 5 to 8 cm. in diameter,
spiny or spineless; seeds suborbicular, 6 to 8 mm. in diameter.
FIGS. 263, 264. — Opuntia rubescens.
Tyf>c locality: Cited as Brazil, but erroneously.
Distribution: Mona and Porto Rico to Tortola, St. Croix, and Guadeloupe.
Culebra, St. Thomas, St. Jan, and Montserrat plants agree with the description of
Opuntia rubescens, which clearly belongs with the Spinosissimae (Cruci formes), as pointed
out by Berger, rather than with the South American series Inarmatac, where it was placed
by Schumann; it is a spineless state of 0. catacantha, as was conclusively proven by us
through field observations in the Virgin Islands, and greenhouse plants of 0. rubescens
develop spines.
Both the spiny and spineless races exhibit remarkable proliferation of the ovaries,
these often forming chains of several joints while attached to the plant; these, falling to
the ground, strike root and form many small, flattened joints 2 to 4 cm. long, as in Opuntia
tnonilifonnis, to which this species is otherwise closely related.
Illustration: Journ. N. Y. Bot. Card. 7: f. 6, as Opuntia.
OPUNTIA.
209
Figure 263 is from a photograph of the plant taken by Professor John F. Cowell at
Guanica, Porto Rico, in 1915; figure 264 is from a photograph taken by Professor Cowell
at the same time and place, showing in the foreground a mass of young plants arisen
from proliferating joints, and a mature plant behind; figure 265 represents proliferating
joints of a plant grown at Nisky, St. Thomas, collected by Dr. Britton and Dr. Rose
in 1913; figure 266 represents a fruit, collected by Dr. Britton and Dr. Shafer on Buck
Island, St. Thomas, in 1913.
FIGS. 265. 266. — Opuntia rubescens. Xo.66.
FIG. 267. — Opuntia brasiliensis. Xo.75.
Series 27. BRASILIENSES.
This series represents one of the five subgenera described by Dr. Schumann, which he called
Brasilia puntia. It perhaps should be recognized as a distinct genus. We recognize three species in
the series, which may be races of a single one, characterized by an erect cylindric trunk with cylin-
dric, horizontal branches terminating in a series of flattened, thin, leaf-like branches. The
leaves are small and caducous. The spines are few on the young growth, but large clusters are
developed on the old stem and trunk. The flowers are small, the fruit is juicy, and the seeds are
large and covered with a dense mass of wool. Unlike most species of Opuntia, these grow
in the moist tropical forests, forming tall, slender, tree-like plants.
KEY TO SPECIES.
236. O. brasiliensis
Fruit globular, yellow
Fruit clavate to oblong, red.
Fruit oblong, 3 to 4 cm. long 237. O. tahiensis
Fruit clavate, 5 cm. long . 238. 0. argentina
236. Opuntia brasiliensis (Willdenow) Haworth, Suppl. PI. Succ. 79. 1819.
Cactus brasiliensis Willdenow, Enum. PI. Suppl. 33. 1813.
Cactus paradoxus Hornemann, Hort. Hafn. 2: 443. 1815.
Cactus arboreus Vellozo, Fl. Flum. 207. 1825.
Opuntia arborea Steudel, Nom. ed. 2. 2: 220. 1841.
Cereiis paradoxns Steudel, Nom. ed. 2. i: 335. 1841.
Becoming 4 meters high, with a cylindric woody trunk and a small rounded top; old trunk
either naked or spiny; branches dimorphic, the lateral ones horizontal, terete; the terminal joints
flat and leaf -like, many of these in time dropping off; flowers 5 to 5.5 cm. long; petals yellow, oblong,
obtuse ; filaments very short ; fruit yellow, globular, 3 to 4 cm. in diameter, with a low or nearly trun-
cate umbilicus, bearing large areoles; seed usually one, very woolly, 10 mm. broad.
Type locality: Near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Distribution: Southern Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and central Bolivia. Natural-
ized in southern Florida.
210
THE CACTACEAE.
A number of varieties of this species appear in literature, of which we may mention
the following: minor Pfeiffer (Enum. Cact. 169. 1837); schomburgkii Salm-Dyck (Cact.
Hort. Dyck. 1849. 74. 1850); spinosior Salm-Dyck (Hort. Dyck. 184. 1834); tenui folia
Forbes (Hort. Tour Germ. 159. 1837) ; and tcuuior Salm-Dyck (Hort. Dyck. 376. 1834).
Dr. John H. Barnhart recently called our attention to a number of cactus names
published by St. Hilaire which have been overlooked by later writers. One of these,
(\ictns hctcrodadus St. Hilaire (Voy. Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes 2: 103. 1830)
seems to belong here, as the following free translation would indicate :
"Another cactus, which I have already seen near Rio de
Janeiro, raised its branches in the midst of tortuous lianas;
its trunk, which grows more slender from the base to the
summit, is covered with fascicles of spines arranged in a
quincunx, and it shows various stages of verticillate, hori-
zontal, rounded branches, to the number of seven in each
whorl; these branches, like those of the spruce tree, grow
shorter toward the summit of the plant, and they bear sec-
ondary branches, flattened and oval-oblong, which may in a
certain sense be taken as leaves."
Illustrations: Curtis's Bot. Mag. 61: pi. 3293;
Dept. Agr. N. S. W. Misc. Publ. 253: pi. [6]; Martius,
Fl. Bras. 42: pi. 61 ; Pfeiffer and Otto, Abbild. Beschr.
Cact. i: pi. 29; Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 100;
Vellozo, Fl. Flum. 5: pi. 28, this last as Cactus arborcns.
Plate xxx, figure 2, represents a flowering joint
taken from a specimen in the New York Botanical
FIG. 268. — Opuntia brasiliensis. FlGS. 269, 270.— Opuntia bahiensis. Xo.5.
Garden; figure 3 is from the same plant, showing terete and flat joints. Figure 267 repre-
sents a fruit collected by Dr. Rose near Iguaba Grande, Brazil, in 1915; figure 268 is
from a photograph taken by Paul G. Russell in a public park in Bahia, Brazil.
237. Opuntia bahiensis sp. nov.
Trunk 3 to 15 meters high, cylindric, 20 to 25 cm. in diameter, tapering gradually upward;
the center of trunk pithy, hollow in age, surrounded by an open woody cylinder; lateral joints
terete, the terminal ones flat and thin, ovate to oblong; leaves small, 2 to 3 mm. long, turgid;
spines on terminal joints, if present, i or 2, slender, red at first, then brown; spines on old trunk
forming large clusters at all the areoles; flowers not seen; fruit deep red both within and without,
oblong, 3 to 4 cm. long; its small areoles with brown glochids; seeds i to 5, mostly i or 2 in each
fruit, very hairy, thick, 8 nun. broad.
Collected in the vicinity of Toca da Onca, Bahia, Brazil, by Rose and Russell,
June 27 to 29, 1915 (No. 20068).
OPUNTIA.
211
Figure 269 represents joints of the type plant above cited; figure 270 represents a
joint with fruit; figure 271 is from a photograph of the type specimen.
FIG. .271. — Opuntia bahiensis. The tree to the left and
somewhat in the foreground.
FIG. 272. — Opuntia ammophila.
1879.
238. Opuntia argentina Grisebach, Abh. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen 24: 140.
Opuntia liieronymi Grisebach, Abh. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen 24: 140. 1879.
Erect, 5 to 15 meters high, branching at the top, the lateral branches subverticillate, teretes
terminal branches flat, 5 to 12 cm. long, 3 to 8 cm. broad; ovary 2 to 2.5 cm. long; petals elliptic to
spatulate, 1.8 cm. long, 8 mm. broad, greenish yellow; filaments white; style white; stigma-lobe;
yellowish green; ovary flattened, tuberculate, deeply umbilicate; fruit clavate, 5 cm. long, dull
purplish violet, with wine-colored pulp; seeds lens-shaped, 5 to 6 mm. long, 2.5 to 3 mm. broad.
Type locality: Near San Andres, Oran, Argentina.
Distribution: Northern Argentina.
This species was considered identical with 0. brasili-
cnsis by Schumann, but they separate on very good fruit
characters.
Figure 274 is from a photograph of a flowering branch
furnished by Dr. C. Spegazzini.
Series 28. AMMOPHILAE.
One peculiar species, native of Florida, constitutes this
series, characterized by a continuous erect subterete trunk,
flat, spiny branches, and large, yellow flowers.
239. Opuntia ammophila Small, Journ. N. Y. Bot. Card. 20: 29.
1919.
Plant erect, more or less branched throughout or ultimately
with a stem i to 2 meters tall or more, becoming 2 to 2.5 dm. in
diameter, bearing several spreading branches near the top, thus tree-like, tuberous at the base;
joints various, those of the main stem elongate, ultimately fused on the ends and subcylindric,
those of the branches typically obovate or cuneate, varying to elliptic or oval, thickish, 5 to 17 cm.
long, becoming grayish green; leaves stout-subulate, 6 to 10 mm. long, green; areoles relatively
FIG. 273. — Opuntia ammophila.
212
THE CACTACEAE.
numerous, conspicuous on account of the densely crowded long bristles, especially on the older
joints, the marginal ones, at least, armed; spines very slender, solitary or 2 together, reddish or
red, at maturity gray, mostly 2 to 6 cm. long, nearly terete, scarcely spirally twisted; flowers sev-
eral on a joint; sepals lanceolate, acute or slightly acuminate; buds sharply pointed; corolla bright
yellow, 5 to 8 cm. wide; petals obovate, cuneate, notched, and prominently apiculate, 3 cm. long,
scarcely erose; stigma-lobes cream-color; berries obovoid, 2 to 3 cm. long, more or less flushed with
reddish purple, many-seeded; seeds about 4 mm. in diameter.
FIG. 274. — Opuntia argentina.
FIG. 275. — Opuntia chaffeyi. Photograph
by Senor Don Teodoro Chairez.
Type locality: Fort Pierce, Florida.
Distribution: Inland sand-dunes (scrub), peninsular Florida.
The plant was first collected by Dr. Small near Fort Pierce, Florida, in 1917, and again
studied by him in its more northern range west of St. George in 1918. He describes it as
the most conspicuous native prickly pear of Florida, always viciously armed and with a char-
acteristically unjointed trunk. In spite of its many slender spines, cattle browse upon it.
Illustration: Journ. N. Y. Bot. Card. 20: pi. 224.
OPUNTIA.
213
Figure 272 is from a photograph of the plant taken by Dr. Small near Fort Pierce,
Florida; figure 273 shows a fruiting joint of the type specimen.
Series 29. CHAFFEYANAE.
This series contains a single Mexican species, differing from all the other opuntias in having
an annual stem which arises from a large, fleshy root or rootstock. The joints, which are elongated
and nearly terete, resemble somewhat those of 0. leplocaulis, but are more fleshy, while the flowers
and fruit are like those of the platyopuntias.
240. Opuntia chaffeyi Britton and Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 16: 241. 1913.
Perennial by a large, fleshy, deep-seated root or rootstock often 35 cm. long by 4 cm. in diam-
eter; stems normally annual, 5 to 15 cm. long, sometimes in cultivated specimens 25 cm. long, much
branched, often weak and prostrate; joints elongated, 3 to 5 cm. long, 6 to 7 mm. broad, slightly
FIG. 276. — Opuntia chaffeyi.
flattened, glabrous, pale bluish green or sometimes purplish; leaves minute, caducous; areoles small,
circular, with white wool in the lower parts and brown wool in the upper parts ; spines i , rarely 2 or
3, acicular, 2 to 3 cm. long, whitish or pale yellow; glochids numerous, pale yellow; flower-buds, in-
cluding ovary, 8 cm. long; flower opening at 10 a. m., closing at 2 p. m., 6 cm. broad; sepals few, small,
ovate to oblong, greenish; petals few, 7 to 9, pale lemon-yellow, but slightly pinkish on the outside;
filaments numerous, about i cm. long; style slender, extending beyond the stamens, about 22 mm.
long, somewhat swollen at base; ovary deeply umbilicate, somewhat club-shaped, 4 to 5 cm. long,
bearing flattened tubercles and large areoles filled with white wool; upper areoles on ovary bearing
also white bristly spines; ovules numerous, borne in the upper third of the ovary; fruit and seeds
still unknown.
Type locality: Hacienda de Cedros, near Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico.
Distribution: State of Zacatecas, Mexico.
Illustration: Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 16: pi. 72.
2I4
THE CACTACEAE.
Figure 275 is from a photograph of part of the original collection as grown by Dr. E.
Chaff ey, taken and contributed by Senor Don Teodoro Chairez, of Ciudad Lerdo, Mexico ;
figure 276 is from a photograph of the type showing the large root and the young shoot.
As stated in the original description, this is a remarkable Opuntia, being the only one
known which has an annual stem. In cultivation, where the plant is grown under abnor-
mal conditions, the stem persists for more than a year; but Dr. Chaffey assures us that in the
desert, where the species grows naturally, the stem dies down to the ground in the dry
season. We have had it in cultivation since 1910, but it does not do well, and is gradually
dying out. It has not been found in flower in a wild state, but it flowered with Dr. Chaffey
at Ciudad Lerdo, Durango, Mexico, in 1915. Dr. Chaffey, who has been studying this spe-
cies for several years, has made a number of interesting observations; he states that the
large base, which usually is found 15 to 20 cm. beneath the surface of the ground, when
allowed to grow above the ground develops clusters of spines like those on the normal
stems, and finds that the plant is easily started from cuttings which soon develop the
normal, large, underground part. He further states that the desert turtle eats this plant.
It is well known that the Galapagos turtles feed upon the native opuntias of those islands.
The native name of this plant is sacacil.
The following described Opuntias we have been unable to refer to any of the species
otherwise mentioned in this work :
Opuntia bicolor Philippi, Linnaea'33: 83. 1864.
glaucophylla Wendland, Cat. Hort. Herrenh. 1835.
laevior Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 46. 1845.
longiglochia C. Z. Nelson, Galesburg Register. July 20, 1915.
Inciila Hortus, Wiener Illustr. Gartenz. 14: 146. 1889.
prostrata spinosior Schumann, Gesamtb. Kakteen 723. 1898.
spinaurea Karwinsky in Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1844. 46. 1845. As synonym for O.
pseitdoluna elongata Salm-Dyck.
tubercnlala Haworth, Suppl. PI. Succ. 80. 1819, first described as Cactus tuberculatus (Enum.
Hort. Berol. Suppl. 34. 1813).
The following names of Opuntia are chiefly found in catalogues or in lists, or have
been so briefly described that we have not been able to identify them, and it does not seem
worth while even to cite the places where they first occur in literature :
Opuntia alpicola Schumann
americana Forbes
attulica Forbes
barbata K. Brandegee
barbala gracillima K. Brandegee
bernhardinii Hildmann
betancourt Mnrillo
calacantha
calacantha rubrn
Carolina Forbes
ciliosa Forbes
consoleana Todaro
consolei Haage and Schmidt
demorenia Forbes
demoriana Forster
deppei Wendland
dichotoma Forbes
eborina Forster
erecla Schumann
/estiva Sencke
ficus-indica alhispina Haage and Schmidt
flavispina Forster
lievernickii Hildmann
hitchcnii Forbes
italica Tenore
joconoslle Haage and Schmidt
jussieuii Haage
leucostata Forbes
macrophylla Haage and Schmidt
Opiinlia niissouriensis elongata Salm-Dyck
erythrostemma Haage and Schmidt
salmonea Haage and Schmidt
montana Sencke
morenoi Schumann
myriacantha Link and Otto. Not Weber
ottonis Salm-Dyck
pachyarthra flava Haage and Schmidt
pachyclada rosea Haage and Schmidt
spaelhiana Haage and Schmidt
parole Forbes
piccolomini Hort.
platyclada Haworth
praecox Forbes
prolracta Lemaire
elongata Salm-Dyck
pseudococcinelltfer Bertoloni
pseitdotuna Salm-Dyck
elongata Salm-Dyck
spinosior Salm-Dyck
pulvcrata Forster
re plans Karwinsky
sal mii Forbes
schomburgkii Salm-Dyck
speciosa Steudel
spinuliflora Salm-Dyck
spinulosa Salm-Dyck
stratninea Sencke
strifta spiinilescens Salm-Dyck
siibineriiiis Link
OPUNTIA. 215
Opuntia clavata Philippi (Anal. Univ. Chile 41: 722. 1872), 0. ottonis G. Don (Hist.
Dichl. PI. 3: 172. 1834), O. phyllanthus Miller (Card. Diet. ed. 8. No. 9. 1768), 0. salicor-
uioidcs Sprengel (Pfeiffer, Enum. Cact. 141. 1837), and 0. spini flora Philippi (Unnaea
30: 211. 1859) are of the tribe Ccreeae.
7. GRUSONIA F. Reichenbach in Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 6: 177. 1896.
A low, much branched cactus, the branches terete, jointed, and ribbed; areoles borne on the
tops of the ribs, very spiny, but all except the flowering ones without glochids, subtended by small
deciduous leaves; corolla rotate, yellow; fruit baccate.
This was first described as a Cereus from specimens collected by Mrs. Anna B. Nickels
in 1895, then as a new genus Grusonia, and lastly as an Opuntia. It clearly is not Cereus,
but when growing might easily be mistaken by its habit for Echinoccreus. The leaves,
glochids, flowers, and fruit are those of Opuntia, but its ribbed stem is unlike that of any
known species of that genus.
1. Grusonia bradtiana (Coulter).
Cereus bradtianus Coulter, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 406. 1896 (April).
Grusonia cereiformis F. Reichenbach in Schumann, Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 6: 177. 1896 (December).
Opuntia bradtiana K. Brandegee, Erythea 5: 121. 1897.
Opuntia cereiformis Weber, Diet. Hort. Bois 897. 1898.
Forming dense, often impenetrable thickets 2 meters high or less, very spiny; stems light green,
4 to 7 cm. thick, with 8 to i o low, longitudinal, somewhat tuberculate ribs ; areoles i to 1.5 cm. apart,
3 to 5 mm. in diameter; leaves linear, fleshy, green, 8 mm. long, early deciduous; spines 15 to 25,
yellowish brown when young, soon becoming white, acicular, terete or slightly compressed, i to 3
cm. long, not sheathed, some of the longer ones reflexed; wool white, turning brown, early disappear-
ing; corolla rotate, opening in bright sunlight, 3 to 4 cm. broad; sepals ovate, acute, fleshy; petals
bright yellow, spatulate, fringed; filaments brownish yellow; stigma-lobes 8, yellow; areoles of the
ovary with long, yellow, weak spines, white wool, and yellow glochids; berry (according to Schu-
mann) ellipsoid, deeply umbilicate; seeds not seen.
Type locality: Plains of Coahuila, Mexico.
Distribution: Coahuila, Mexico.
This species first appeared in print in the catalogue of Johannes Nicolai under the name
of Grusonia cereiformis, but we are informed that there was no description and therefore it
was not technically published. The same name next appears in the Monatsschrift fur
Kakteenkunde for 1 894. Here Dr. Schumann wrote a long article about the name, especially
condemning the loose manner in vogue of publishing new names without descriptions, but
giving no characters of the plant, and as a matter of fact he did not then know it. Two
months later this name again appears in this same publication, but without description.
Two years later Dr. Schumann records seeing this plant and describes it briefly, although he
does not approve of the name Grusonia. If the name is to be considered published, it should
not date earlier than this (December 1896), although Dalla Torre and Harms accept the
date of 1894. In 1898 Weber transferred the name to Opuntia, publishing it as Opuntia
cereiformis; in the meantime Coulter (in 1896) published the name Cereus bradtianus
for the plant and Mrs. Brandegee (in 1897) transferred it to Opuntia, calling it Opuntia
bradtiana.
Illustrations: Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 21: 121, as Opuntia bradtiana; Schumann,
Gesamtb. Kakteen f. 101, as Opuntia cereiformis.
Plate xxxin, figure 4, represents a joint of the plant collected by C. A. Purpus at
Cerro de Cypriano, near Morano, Mexico, in 1910.
APPENDIX.
3 a. Nopalea gaumeri sp. nov. (See page 37, ante.)
About 3 meters high, much branched; joints small, linear-oblong or oblong-oblanceolate, 6 to
12 cm. long, 2 to 3 cm. broad, rather thin; areoles small, i to 2 cm. apart; spines very unequal, 5
to 20 mm. long, acicular, 4 to 12, yellowish when young; flower small, including ovary and stamens
about 4 cm. long; sepals ovate, acute; petals oblong, 12 mm. long; stamens long-exserted ; style
longer than the stamens; stigma-lobes 6, greenish; fruit red, darker within, obovoid, 3 cm. long, its
numerous areoles bearing spines and yellow glochids; umbilicus prominent, i cm. deep; seeds about
4 mm. broad, with a very narrow margin and a very thin testa.
FIGS. 277 and 278. — Nopalea gaumeri. Xo.8.
Collected by George F. Gaumer and sons near Sisal, Yucatan, March 1916 (No. 23250,
type); also by Dr. Gaumer from Port Silam, 1895 (No. 647).
Dr. Gaumer's field note is as follows: "A coastal cactus, 10 feet high, much branched,
small-jointed and of slight build, not of robust build like the interior species. It blooms from
February to June. The birds are very fond of the fruit and consume it as fast as it ripens."
Figures 277 and 278 show joints of the type-specimen.
77 a. Opuntiadepauperata sp.nov. (See page 101, ante.)
Plant i to 2 dm. high, with a flattened, much
branched top; joints dark green, readily detached,
terete or slightly flattened, 3 to 12 cm. long, 2 to 3
cm. thick, puberulent; spines on young joints 2 or 3,
on old joints sometimes 6 at each areole, reddish to
pale brown, acicular, i to 2.5 cm. long, nearly porrect;
glochids tardily developing, conspicuous on old joints,
yellow; ovary with a deep umbilicus.
Collected by Dr. and Mrs. J. N. Rose north of
the station of Zig Zag, along the railroad above
Caracas, Venezuela, October 17, 1916 (No. 21751).
This little cactus is very inconspicuous and
only a few specimens were observed. The station
is near the top of the mountains which separate
the valley, in which Caracas lies, from the sea.
The region here is not so dry as it is farther down on
the seaward side of the mountains, but there are
several other species of cacti associated with it.
Figure 279 is from a photograph of type plant
taken by Mrs. Rose; figure 280 shows a joint.
A plant, apparently of this relationship, was collected by Dr. H. H. Rusby in 1917 on
granite rocks, narrows of Magdalena River, Colombia. The joints, however, are glabrous,
only 2 to 3 cm. long, the young joints have numerous brown spines and the young areoles
produce long white wool.
216
FIG. 279. — Opuntia depauperata.
APPENDIX.
217
82a. Opuntia pestifer nom. nov. (See page 103, ante.)
Cactus nanus Humboldt, Bonpland. and Kunth, Nov. Gen. et Sp. 6: 68. 1823.
Cereus nanus De Candolle, Prodr. 3: 470. 1828.
Low and nearly prostrate but sometimes 2 dm. high, much branched; the
joints very fragile, glabrous; young joints 2 to 5 cm. long, or when old up to
8 cm. long, nearly terete, i to 3 cm. in diameter, or when young flattened and
2 to 3 cm. broad, very spiny; spines 2 to 5 at each areole, acicular, brownish,
i to 3 cm. long; glochids numerous, yellow; flowers and fruit unknown.
Type locality: Near Sondorello and Guancabamba. In Humboldt 's
time these places were in southern Ecuador, but they are now in
northern Peru.
Distribution: Northern Peru to central Ecuador.
Dr. Rose observed the plant in various places in Ecuador, usually
at an altitude ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 meters. The following col-
lections were made: at Huigra (No. 22306); at Sibambe (No. 22433);
and west of San Pedro, Province of L,oja (No. 23352).
This plant, although widely distributed and very common, has FlG- 28o-~ °Pu"tia de-
. J pauperata. Xo.s-
never been seen by botanists in flower or fruit. The joints, which
come loose easily, are freely distributed by animals. It is so small that, growing half-
hidden in the grass, it is easily overlooked but very annoying when one comes upon it
unawares. Humboldt speaks of its being troublesome to men and dogs.
FIG. 281. — Opuntia pestifer. Xo.5.
Kunth who described it as Cactus nanus referred it with hesitancy to the Section Cereus.
De Candolle transferred it from Cactus to Cereus placing it in a new subgenus Of>nntiacei
along with C. moniliformis (which we know now is an Opuntia) and C. scrpcns. He
thought these might represent a genus between Opuntia and Cereus.
Schumann (Gesamtb. Kakteen 166) considered it an Opuntia but did not formally
refer it to that genus.
This name should not be confused with Opuntia nana (Fl. Damatica 3: 143. 1852)
which is Opuntia opuntia.
Figure 281 is from a photograph taken by George Rose at Sibambe, Ecuador, in 1918;
figure 283 shows the joints of the same plant (Rose, No. 22433.)
218
THE CACTACEAE.
96