. American forest trees, by Henry H. Gibson;. Trees; Timber. 694 American Forest Trees opuntias, have representatives of tree size in this country. The two genera differ in form. Cereus in the Latin language means a candle, and the cactuses of that genus stand up in straight stems like candles, or have branches like old-fashioned candlesticks. The opunitas have flat, jointed stems, like thick leaves. Giant cactus bears flowers four inches long and two wide; fruit two inches long and one wide, and edible. Indians derive a considerable part of their food from this cactus. They use the wood for r
. American forest trees, by Henry H. Gibson;. Trees; Timber. 694 American Forest Trees opuntias, have representatives of tree size in this country. The two genera differ in form. Cereus in the Latin language means a candle, and the cactuses of that genus stand up in straight stems like candles, or have branches like old-fashioned candlesticks. The opunitas have flat, jointed stems, like thick leaves. Giant cactus bears flowers four inches long and two wide; fruit two inches long and one wide, and edible. Indians derive a considerable part of their food from this cactus. They use the wood for rafters, fences, fuel, lances, and bows. The trunks consist of bundles of fiber, very hard and strong. In the dry region where this cactus grows, the woody parts of fallen stems last long periods, some say for centuries, but there are no records. Schott cactus (Cereus schottii) and Thurber cactus (Cereus thurberi) are found in southern Arizona and southward in Mexico. Cholla (Opuntia fulgida) ranges from Nevada southward into Mexico. It is popularly called "divil's tongue cactus," but there are other species with the same . name. Trunks are occasionally ten or twelve feet high, and the wood is made into canes and small articles of furniture, but as lumber it is not important. The fruit is not eaten. A closely-related species is known as tassajo (Opuntia sponsior). It is found on the dry mesas of southern Arizona where trunks may be ten feet high and a few inches in diameter. It has the same uses as cholla. A third species is Opuntia versicolor of southern Arizona. It is similar to the other opuntias. Attempts have been made to grow spineless varieties of this group of cactuses. It is believed that cattle, sheep, and goats would thrive on the pulpy growth, if the thorns could be gotten rid of. The semi-desert regions of the Southwest produce enormous quan- tities of cactus of many kinds, and if those worthless species could be made way with and thornless varieties subst
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecttrees, bookyear1913
