How to grow
Set out plants at any season, preferably in the spring, in sandy or gravelly clay loam in part shade and give some irrigation monthly to keep the soil moist. They may be grown from seed in sandy loam in flats with sufficient water to keep the soil moist. The flats should be in part shade. The plants grow indoors and out and are not injured by zero temperatures. In colder climates they can be grown in dry sunny conservatories or indoor rock gardens.
Purple Spined Visnagita (Echinocactus erectocentrus—Echinomastus erectocentrus)
(Named erectocentrus from the erect central spines)
How to identify and how it grows
The stems of the Purple Spined Visnagita grow singly and to the height of nine inches, are conical or cylindrical, and have twenty or more ridges which are spirally arranged. The areolas are set closely together and are gray-green. There are as many as sixteen radial spines, less than an inch long, which rotate like the spokes of a wheel. The central spines, of which there are only one or two, are less than one inch long and erect. All of the spines have thickened bases, are a dull light rose-purple, and are covered with a fine gray scurf. The flowers form at the tops of the stems and are about two inches in length and breadth, white suffused with pink or lavender, and have a delicate fragrance. The flower is composed of twenty petals which are oblanceolate. The fruit is quite small, less than an inch, and is oblong, yellowish green, thin-walled; it dries very soon after maturity in June. These plants thrive best in rocky or limestone ridges and slopes. They are a handsome species, and are easily seen in the distance when coming into blossom in April and May.
How to grow
Transplant early in spring in rocky or gravelly soil, using care not to injure the roots and watering monthly to keep the soil moist. The seeds grow readily if planted in May or June in sandy loam in flats in part shade with enough water to keep the soil slightly moist. The plants grow indoors and out and are not injured by zero temperatures.
Traveler’s Friend; Traveler’s Compass (Echinocactus Covillei—Ferocactus Covillei)
(Named in honor of Dr. F. V. Coville, curator of the National Herbarium, Washington, D. C.)