[O. basilaris] (branching at the base); Fig. 76.—A dwarf, compact plant, of peculiar habit. Stem short, branching into a number of stout, obovate, often fan-shaped joints, which usually spring from a common base, and curve inwards, suggesting an open cabbage. Joints 5 in. to 8 in. long, about 1 in. thick, covered all over with dot-like cushions of very short, reddish spines, set in slight depressions or wrinkles. Flowers of a beautiful and rich purple colour, about 2½ in. in diameter, and produced in May. This distinct plant is a native of Mexico, and is of recent introduction. Plants of it may be seen in the Kew collection. It is apparently easily kept in health in an ordinary stove temperature along with other Cactuses. It varies in the form of its joints and in its manner of branching, but it seems never to develop the joints one on the top of the other, as do most Opuntias. This species is certain to become a favourite when it becomes better known.
FIG. 76.—OPUNTIA BASILARIS
[O. Bigelovii] (Bigelow's). —A cylinder-stemmed, tall-growing plant, with a stout, woody stem, bearing a dense head of branches. Joints 2 in. to 6 in. long, 1 in. to 2 in. in diameter, light green, covered with small tubercles and little spine-cushions, with larger spines 1 in. long. When wild, the young joints are often shaken off by the wind, and cover the soil around, where they take root or stick to the clothes of the passers-by like burrs. Flowers not known. A native of Mexico, where it forms a tree 12 ft. high; it requires stove treatment. The skeleton of the trunk is a hollow cylinder, perforated with numerous holes, which occur in a regular spiral. The appearance of a full-grown specimen is very striking, the oval joints, thickly covered with long, needle-like spines, hanging in clusters, more suggestive of spiny fruit than branches.
[O. boliviana] (Bolivian); Fig. 77.—Stems 1 ft. high, erect, branching, and composed of roundish, pale green joints, with small, round tubercles, and long, white, flexible spines, sometimes as much as 4 in. in length; cushions about 1 in. apart. Flowers 1½ in. across, yellowish. This is a fat, gouty-looking plant, from Bolivia, requiring stove treatment. It often assumes a yellow hue on the older joints, even when in good health.
FIG. 77.—OPUNTIA BOLIVIANA
[O. brachyarthra] (short-jointed); Fig. 78.—A dwarf-growing, singular-looking plant, with short, tumid joints from 1 in. to 2 in. long and wide, and nearly the same in thickness. The shortness of the joints, together with their growing on the top of each other, has been not inaptly compared to a jointed finger. Cushions very close together, composed of short, white and yellowish bristles, and stout, terete spines, 1 in. or more long, set on little tubercles. Flowers 1 in. in diameter, with about five sepals, eight or nine petals, and a five-rayed stigma; they are borne on the apices of the topmost joints. This species is worth growing on account of its peculiar stems and the length of its white spines. It is a native of New Mexico, and has been recently introduced to Kew, where it is cultivated among the hardy kinds, and also in the greenhouse.
FIG. 78.—OPUNTIA BRACHYARTHRA