d bearing
a tuft of white, silky hairs in each notch. Flowers small, yellow,
tinged with red, springing from the notches; produced in July. Fruit not
seen. A native of Brazil; introduced in 1839. This species resembles
some of the angular-stemmed kinds of Cereus. It grows freely and flowers
annually, if planted in a basket of fibrous soil, and suspended near the
glass in a warm greenhouse or stove. It is attractive even when not in
flower, owing to the form of its stems and the tufts of long, silky,
white hair which spring from the notches. Syn. Lepismium myosurus.

R. pachyptera (thick-winged); Bot. Mag. 2820.--Stem woody; branches
jointed, flattened as in Phyllocactus, with deep notches; width of
joints, 2 in. or more. Flowers small, yellowish-white, borne singly in
the notches in November. Fruit a small, white berry, rarely ripened. A
sturdy, comparatively uninteresting stove plant, introduced from Brazil
in 1830. Syn. Cactus alatus.

R. paradoxa (paradoxical).--Stems trailing, with numerous long branches
of most extraordinary form. Imagine a three-angled, fleshy branch, often
several feet in length, the angles winged, about 1/2 in. deep, green, with
smooth, reddish margins. At intervals of about 2 in. the branch has the
appearance of having been twisted half round. There is no other plant
with branches anything like these. Flowers produced in November, in the
apex of the interrupted angles, small, white. Fruit seldom ripened. A
native of Brazil, whence it was introduced in 1837. There is a fine
example of this trained along a rafter in the Succulent-house at Kew.
The numerous branches hang down several feet from the rafter, and have a
most extraordinary appearance. This species requires stove treatment.

R. penduliflora (pendulous-flowered).--A small, thin-stemmed plant,
with smooth, green branches, no thicker than whipcord, and numerous
fascicled or clustered, small joints, 1/2 in. long, green, with red dots,
angular when young. Flowers on the tips of the terminal joints, pale
yellow, 1/2 in. across, developing in August. Fruit white, Mistletoe-like.
This species was introduced from tropical America in 1877, and requires
stove treatment.

R. p. laxa (loose).--This variety has the branches curving, and more
pendulous; in other respects it resembles the type, and requires the
same treatment.

R. pentaptera (five-winged).--Stems erect; branches stiff,
long-jointed, with five wing-like angles, slightly spiral, the