Opuntia

“ The typical Rotatæ are the widespread genus Opuntia, numbering about two hundred and fifty species. The greater part of the genus are characterized by broad, thickened, fleshy, jointed stems; but a small subgenus, and this probably the less highly specialized, have cylindrical joints. Most of the species are more or less spreading and prostrate, but a large number are truly arborescent in growth. Several species are thoroughly naturalized in the northeastern quarter of the United States, and these are among the most brilliant acquisitions of our Northern flora. ”

“ In the genus of Opuntia there are no radial nor central spines; the thorns are merely spines in the full sense of the word. We note that the Prickly Pear is really a shrub with many stems branching from the base, and that their pear-shaped joints are in reality stems or branches and are not just leaves as many suppose; the true leaves being very small and scalelike and disappearing after a short time, withering away and falling off. The species grow readily from these pearlike joints, and this is a common method of propagating Opuntia. ”

“ Flowers not seen. It thrives in a warm greenhouse temperature. The best examples of this pretty Opuntia are grafted on a robust-growing kind, the stock being about 1 ft. long, and the scion forming a compact head of pretty, healthy-looking joints. Treated in this way, this species is most interesting and attractive. It may also be grown on its own roots. ”

“ Opuntia, with a circular or spiral embryo, (circular and with a larger albumen in all Opuntiae cylindraceae; spiral and with a much smaller albumen in all Opuntiae ellipticae, examined by me,) and very large cotyledons. Rhipsalis and Pereskia may also belong here, but were out of my reach.
The flowers of all the species belonging to the first class, with the doubtful exception of some Mammillariae, make their appearance on the growth of the same year. Those of the second class produce the flowers always upon the growth of the next preceding or former years. ”

“ Flowers scattered along the younger branches, 1 in. across, greenish-yellow, borne in June. Fruit 1 in. long, pear-shaped, smooth, scarlet, with tufts of bristles all over it, and a depression in the apex. Mexico. This forms an interesting pot-plant when properly cultivated. It should be grown in a warm greenhouse.
O. Grahami (Graham's) .—This is one of several species of Opuntia which are remarkable in having thick, fleshy roots, not unlike those of the Dahlia. The joints are 2 in. long and 1 in. in diameter, cylindrical, with adpressed tubercles, 1⁄2 in. ”

“ Gladwin, 1800, ii. 68; [Jarrett, ii. 239; Sidi Ali, ed. Vambery, p. 31] as used for hedges in Guzerat, is doubtless Euphorbia also. The Opuntia is very common as a hedge plant in cantonments, &c., and it was much used by Tippoo as an obstruction round his fortifications. Both the E. Royleana and the Opuntia are used for fences in parts of the Punjab. The latter is objectionable, from harbouring dirt and reptiles; but it spreads rapidly both from birds eating the fruit, and from the facility with which the joints take root. ”

“ A European acquainted only with the opuntia in our hot-houses is surprised to see the wood of this plant become so hard from age, that it resists for centuries both air and moisture: the Indians of Cumana therefore employ it in preference to any other for oars and door-posts. Cumana, Coro, the island of Margareta, and Curassao, are the parts of South America that abound most in plants of the nopal family. ”

“ Fournier, Buff., Azara, No. 221. This bird is common in Banda Oriental, on the banks of the Plata; but I did not see it further southward. It is called by the Spaniards Casaro, or housebuilder, from the very singular nest which it constructs. The most exposed situation, as on the top of a post, the stem of an opuntia, or bare rock, is chosen. The nest consists of mud and bits of straw; it is very strong, and the sides are thick; in shape it resembles a depressed beehive or oven, and hence the name of the genus. ”

“ It will be remembered that this species at Ghardaia, as well as at a certain bordj east of that place, had roots which were somewhat fleshy as well as roots which were fibrous, on one and the same plant. I was interested to learn whether similar conditions should obtain at Biskra, since it had been learned, in the case of two species of Opuntia in the Tucson region, [62] that a different habit followed certain differences in habitat. ”

“ The opuntia and palmetto here grew to a large size; and among many less familiar forms, the oleander was a conspicuous ornament, growing freely up to about 4,500 feet above the sea.
As we gradually wound upwards, and the Aït Mesan [240] valley was finally lost to view, we found that, instead of reaching a pass whence we should descend into an adjoining valley more or less parallel to that which we had left, the country before us was an undulating plateau, extending over a space of many miles, through which no stream runs from the higher mountains towards the plain. ”

“ The yellow-flowering Opuntia Ovallei, which has a creeping stem, does not descend below 6746 feet, advancing as high as the line of perpetual snow; and even above it, wherever a few masses of rock remain uncovered. These little plants have been gathered at spots lying at an elevation of 13,663 feet above the level of the sea. [OS] Some species of Echinocactus are also true alpine plants in Chili. A counterpart to the much admired fine-haired Cactus senilis is presented by the thick-wooled Cereus lanatus, called by the natives Piscol, which has a fine red fruit. ”

“ Sepals, petals, and stamens numerous in many series, their cohering bases coating the one-celled ovary and forming a cup above it. Petals.—Spreading. Style one, with several stigmas. Fruit.—Purple; oval; pulpy; juicy; two inches long. Hab.—Southern California, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc.
The genus Opuntia is divided into two sections, consisting respectively of flat-stemmed and cylindrical-stemmed plants, the former commonly known as "prickly-pear," or "tuna," the latter as Cholla cactus. [ 171]
Of the former, O. Engelmanni is our commonest wild species. ”

“ As stocks for grafting, many of the more robust kinds of Opuntia are well adapted, and very singular-looking specimens may be obtained by making the most of this fact. One of the crested or monstrous forms, when grafted on a flat-stemmed kind, presents the queerest of appearances, looking like a large green cockscomb growing out of the top of a bladdery kind of stem. ”

“ In this respect the plant is as striking as any of the so-called compass plants, although the plane in which the leaves lie may be in any direction. Another interesting adaptation is the drooping of the top of the young plant. The entire inflorescence nods at first and finally the individual heads, but one by one these assume the upright position as the flowers begin to open.
J. H. S. Winter Adaptation of Opuntia.—The Ohio species of cactus, Opuntia humifusa Raf., has an interesting habit which seems to be a protective measure against cold. ”

“ A similar growth was observed in the fruit of Philadelphus speciosus by M. A. Gris, who observed that the so-called calyx-tube was provided with two small bracts, from the axil of one of which proceeded a small flower-bud. [177]
Fig. 93.—Small buds projecting from the edges of the fruit in Opuntia.
The fruits of Opuntia Salmiana, O. fragilis, [178] O. monacantha, and of some species of Echinocactus, have been observed to form small fruit-like branches around their summits. M. Napoléon Doumet describes the fruit as ripening as usual, but as being destitute of seeds in the interior ”

“ The Œnotheras, the Gauras, and the different species of the Mirabilis, furnish examples of this kind. Thus, too, the Cactus opuntia opens its magnificent blossoms at night only, and towards morning shuts them up for ever. The flowers of many plants of the nineteenth class are observed to hang their heads during night—the Camellia, for example—by which means the rain, or dew, which might injure the tender organs of fructification, can run off the more easily. ”

“ A very peculiar phenomenon has been observed from time to time: a fruit or short branch will sometimes appear growing directly out of another fruit on this fantastic Opuntia leptocaulis, and thus Nature impregnates her seeming freaks of fancy in thoughtful system and design upon these strange Cactaceæ. ”

“ Wislizenus confirm the opinion of that acute observer and successful cultivator of Cactaceae, Prince Salm-Dyck, viz: that most species of this family have a very limited geographical range, the most striking exception being those belonging to the genus Opuntia. ”

“ The popular name, in both E. and W. Indies, of the Opuntia Dillenii, Haworth (Cactus Indica, Roxb.) , a plant spread all over India, and to which Roxburgh gave the latter name, apparently in the belief of its being indigenous in that country. Undoubtedly, however, it came from America, wide as has been its spread over Southern Europe and Asia. On some parts of the Mediterranean shores (e.g. in Sicily) it has become so characteristic that it is hard to realize the fact that the plant had no existence there before the 16th century. ”

“ The old base is kept for stock, as it often happens that just below the point where the stem was severed, lateral buds are developed, and these, when grown into branches, are removed and used as cuttings. Large Opuntias are treated in the same way, with the almost invariable result that even the largest branches root freely, and are in no way injured by what appears to be exceedingly rough treatment. ”

“ It is probable that the well-known multiplication of the Indian fig, or Opuntia, gave the first idea of this experiment; for every joint of that plant, stuck into the earth, and properly nurtured, throws out roots and grows. As these joints were commonly considered to be leaves, people tried whether other leaves would not grow in the like manner. ”

“ One feature of the cliff vegetation cannot fail to strike every one, and that is the soft bluish-green of nearly all the plants. The prickly pears, as both the Cactuses are commonly called, Opuntia Dillenii and Opuntia coccinellifera—the latter especially appears to have been introduced for the cultivation of cochineal, and has remained as a weed—the sow thistles (Sonchus) , Kleinias, Artemerias, and nearly all the succulent plants have grey-green colouring, which is in such beautiful contrast to the dark cliffs. ”

“ The fruit of the opuntia, or prickly-pear cactus, which the Apache call hush, is much used for food both in its fresh state and dried. It is picked from the plant with pincers of split sticks. When the tú̆tza, or burden basket, is filled its contents are poured on the ground and the fruit is brushed about with a small grass besom until the spines are worn off. In preparing hush the women grind seeds and pulp into a mass, thus retaining the full food value of the fruit. ”

“ In Sempervivum, in Echeveria, in Bryophyllum, they do not appear to exist; and I have been unable to discover them in Kalanchoë rotundifolia, in Kleinia ante-euphorbium and ficoides, in the several species of Crassula, and in other succulent plants. It may be added that they are not absolutely confined to leaves, but occur in stems that have assumed the functions of leaves. At least I have found, in the green parenchyma of Opuntia, organs that are analogous though much more rudely and irregularly formed. ”

“ Cactornis assimilis.
105The species of this sub-genus alone can be distinguished in habits from the several foregoing ones belonging to Geospiza and Camarhynchus. Their most frequent resort is the Opuntia Galapageia, about the fleshy leaves of which they hop and climb, even with their back downwards, whilst feeding with their sharp beaks, both on the fruit and flowers. Often, however, they alight on the ground, and mingled with the flock of the above mentioned species, they search for seeds in the parched volcanic soil. ”

“ Flowers not known on cultivated plants. This sturdy species is a native of Mexico, and succeeds well if planted on a little rockery or raised mound in a warm house, where, properly treated, it branches freely, and forms a dense mass of circular joints. It is one of the most useful of the larger Opuntias for cultivation in large houses. ”

“ The vitality in the branches of most of the species is very great, the smallest piece, as a rule, emitting roots and developing into a plant in a comparatively short time. The branches are soft, and easily broken, so that, in gathering the fruits, many pieces are broken off and cast aside; these soon grow into plants, and in a short time an extensive "colony" of Opuntias springs up where previously only one had been. The seeds, too, are a ready means of increase, being distributed by birds and other animals, which eat the fruits. ”

“ Root woody, branching, with soft bark. Stem branching or simple, round, angular, channelled, winged, flattened, or cylindrical; sometimes clothed with numerous tufts of spines which vary in texture, size, and form very considerably; or, when spineless, the stems bear numerous dot-like scars, termed areoles. Leaves very minute, or entirely absent, falling off very early, except in the Pereskia and several of the Opuntias, in which they are large, fleshy, and persistent. Flowers solitary, except in the Pereskia, and borne on the top or side of the stem ”

“ Petals disposed in two or more series, hardly distinguishable from the inner sepals, and somewhat united to them; sometimes irregular, and disposed in a long tube at the base, but distinct at the apex, as in the genera Mammillaria, Melocactus, and Cereus; sometimes equal and distinct to the very base, forming a rotate corolla, as in the genera Opuntia, Pereskia, and Rhipsalis. Stamens indefinite, disposed in many series, more or less cohering with the petals or inner sepals; filaments slender, filiform; anthers ovate, versatile, two-celled. Ovarium obovate, fleshy, one-celled. ”