FIG. 38.—ECHINOCACTUS LE CONTEI
[E. Leeanus] (Lee's); Bot. Mag. 4184.—This species has many characters in common with E. hexaedrophorus and E. gibbosus, the stem being no larger than a small orange, with plump globose tubercles, bearing star-shaped clusters of short brown spines. The flowers are 1½ in. long and wide, and are composed of a green fleshy tube, with a few whitish scales, which gradually enlarge till, with the white, rose-tipped petals, they form a spreading cup, the large cluster of pale yellow stamens occupying the whole of the centre. This pretty little Cactus was raised from seeds by Messrs. Lee, of the Hammersmith Nursery, in 1840. It is a native of the Argentine Provinces, and flowers in May. The treatment recommended for E. gibbosus will be found suitable for this. It is happiest when grafted on to another kind. For the amateur whose plants are grown in a room window or small plant-case, these tiny Hedgehog Cactuses are much more suitable than larger kinds, as they keep in health under ordinary treatment, and flower annually; whereas, the larger kinds, unless grown in properly-constructed houses, rarely blossom.
[E. longihamatus] (long-hooked); Fig. 39.—We heartily wish all species of Cactaceous plants were as readily distinguished and as easily defined in words as in the present remarkably fine and handsome one —remarkable in the very prominent ridges, the large and regularly-arranged spines, the central one very long, flattened, and usually hooked at the end, and handsome in the size and colouring of its flowers, both in the bud and when fully expanded. The stem is globose, 8 in. or more high; it has about thirteen prominent rounded ridges with waved tumid edges, from which, about 1½ in. apart, spring clusters of spines, about a dozen in each cluster, dark red when young, becoming brown with age. In length, these spines vary from 1 in. to 6 in., the latter being the length of the central, hooked one, which is broad and flattened at the base. The flowers are 4 in. broad and long, the tube short, green, and bearing reddish scales, which gradually pass into bright yellow petals blotched with red on the outside, the inner ones spreading and forming a shallow cup, in the centre of which are the short yellow stamens and large pistil. Plants of this species have been grown with stems 20 in. high; but it takes a great number of years for the development of such specimens. The flowers are produced on the apex of the stem in July. This species was introduced from Mexico about 1850; it thrives only when grown in a warm greenhouse, where the temperature in summer may be allowed to run up to 90 degs. with sun heat. For large collections it is one of the most desirable.
FIG. 39.—PORTION OF PLANT OF ECHINOCACTUS LONGIHAMATUS
[E. Mackieanus] (Mackie's); Bot. Mag. 3561.—A small plant, not more than about 5 in. high, and 2 in. broad at the base, widening slightly upwards. The ridges are broken up into numerous fleshy, rounded, green tubercles, crowned with a tuft of thin brown spines from ½ in. to 1 in. long, their bases set in a small pad of yellow wool: As the stem gets older, it loses its tubercles at the base, which are changed into brown wrinkles. The flowers are developed on the top of the stem, generally two or three together, egg-shaped and scaly when in bud, 2½ in. across when expanded; the petals white, tipped with brown; the stigma green, club-shaped. This curious little Cactus is one of about a dozen species found in the Chilian Andes. It was introduced in 1837 by the gentleman whose name it bears, and who, at that time, possessed a famous collection of Cacti. Like the rest of the Chilian kinds, it should be cultivated in a cool greenhouse in full sunshine, where it will produce its flowers in summer.
[E. mamillarioides] (Mamillaria-like); Bot. Mag. 3558.—This is another small, tubercled species, which, like the preceding, is a native of Chili. Its stem is very irregular in form, owing to the crowding of the tubercles, which look as if they were filled with water. The spines are small, in tufts of about half a dozen, set in a little cushion of yellowish wool. In size, the whole plant is like E. Mackieanus, but it blossoms more freely, as many as sixteen flowers having been borne at one time by a plant at Kew. These were short-tubed, the calyx clothed with green scales, and the petals 2 in. long, recurved at the apex, forming a beautiful cup-like flower of a bright yellow colour, with a band of red down the centre of each petal; the stamens and pistil yellow. The number of flowers developed on the small stem formed by this plant is quite extraordinary. It grows and flowers freely in an ordinary greenhouse, and would thrive in a sunny window if kept dry during the winter.
[E. mamillosus] (nipple-bearing).—A short, dumpy plant, with numerous tubercled ridges, bearing bunches of dark brown hair-like spines, which form a close network about the stem. The flowers are developed on the top of the stem, and are about 4 in. in diameter, with a thick tube; the petals are spreading, bright yellow in colour, and arranged in a regular, bell-like whorl. Inside this bell is a circle of purple filaments or stamens, forming a pretty contrast with the clear yellow of the petals. This is a recent introduction, which flowered in the Kew collection for the first time in June, 1886. It is one of the most beautiful of the large-flowered kinds, and, as it thrives in a warm greenhouse and is very free-flowering, it may be expected to become a favourite with Cactus growers. Owing to the lack of information respecting the conditions under which many of the Cactuses are found wild, and to the fact that little in the way of experimental culture has been done by growers of this family, cultivators are sometimes in the dark as regards the lowest temperature in which the rarer kinds can be safely grown. Many of the species of the present genus, for instance, were grown in stoves years ago but are now known to thrive in a cool greenhouse where frost alone is excluded.
[E. multiflorus] (many-flowered); Bot. Mag. 4181.—A well-named Cactus, as its small stem (seldom more than 5 in. high, and the same in width) often bears a large cap-like cluster of beautiful white flowers, except for a slight tinge of brown on the tips of the petals. Each flower is composed of a green, scaly tube, and several rows of reflexed petals, which form a shallow cup 2½ in. across. The stamens are tipped with orange-coloured anthers, and the stigma is rayed and snow-white. The stem is ridged with rows of fleshy mammae or tubercles, which are curiously humped, and each bears a cluster of spreading, brown spines, 1 in. long. The number of flowers this little plant annually produces seems more than could be possible without proving fatal to its health; but we have seen it blossom year after year, and in no way has its health appeared impaired. It may be grown on a shelf in a warm greenhouse, or in the window of a heated dwelling-room. Introduced, probably from Mexico, in 1845. This, like all the small, globular-stemmed kinds, may be grafted on the stem of a Cereus of suitable thickness. Some cultivators believe that grafting causes the plants to flower more freely, but we have not observed any difference in this respect between grafted and ungrafted plants.