haracter by which the
Phyllocactus is distinguished is well described by the name, the
difference between it and Epiphyllum being that in the former the
flowers are produced along the margins of the flattened branches,
whereas in the latter they are borne on the apices of the short,
truncate divisions. If we compare any of the Phyllocactuses with Cereus
triangularis, or with C. speciosissimus, we shall find that the flowers
are precisely similar both in form and colour, and sometimes also in
size.

In all the kinds the stem is compressed laterally, so as to look as if
it had been hammered out flat; or sometimes it is three-angled, and the
margins are deeply notched or serrated. These notches are really the
divisions between one leaf and another, for the flat, fleshy portions or
wings of the stems of these plants are simply modified leaves--not
properly separated from each other and from the stem, but still to all
intents and purposes leaves--which, as the plant increases and matures,
gradually wither away, leaving the central or woody portion to assume
the cylindrical stem which we find in all old Phyllocactuses. It is from
these notches that the large, showy flowers are developed, just as in
plants the flowers of which are borne from the axils of the leaves.

Under the names "Spleenwort-leaved Indian Figs," and "Winged
Torch-thistles," as well as those here adopted, the most beautiful
perhaps of all Cactuses, and certainly the most useful in a garden
sense, have been cultivated in English gardens for more than 150 years;
for it was in 1710 that the flowering of E. Phyllanthus was first
recorded in English horticulture. Philip Miller grew it with many other
Cactuses in the botanical garden at Chelsea which was founded by Sir
Hans Sloane, in 1673, to be maintained "for the manifestation of the
power, wisdom, and glory of God in the works of creation," and which
still exists as the botanical emporium of the Apothecaries' Society. The
majority of the gorgeous Phyllocactuses which we now possess are of only
recent introduction, or are the result of cultivation and crossing.

The species are natives of various parts of tropical America, chiefly
Mexico and Central America, where they are found generally growing, in
company with Bromeliads and Orchids, upon the trunks of gigantic
forest-trees. Phyllocactuses are therefore epiphytes when in a wild
state, but under cultivation with us, they thrive best when planted in
pots or