The thirteen species included in the genus Pereskia differ so markedly from all other kinds of Cactus, that at first sight one can scarcely believe they are true Cactuses, closely related to Cereus and Epiphyllum.  They have erect or trailing stems and branches, and usually form dense, large bushes; the branches are woody and thin, and bear large, laurel-like leaves, which remain on the plants several years—­so that they may be termed evergreen.  They have, however, the spine-cushions, the tufts of woolly hair and stout spines, and the floral characters which distinguish Cactuses from other plants; they are also succulent, the leaves and young branches being soft and fleshy.  They appear to have the same peculiar provision for enabling them to bear long periods of drought without suffering that characterises the more familiar forms of Cactuses.  The development of the spines in this genus is different from what takes place in all other spiny plants of this order.  In the latter the spines are stoutest and most numerous on the younger parts of the plant, the older or woody parts being either spineless, through having cast them, or much less spiny than when they were younger.  Thus, in Opuntia we find few or no spines on the old parts of the stems of even such species as O. horrida, O. nigricans, &c.  In Echinocactus, too, the spines about the base of old plants are much fewer, if not entirely cast off, than on the upper part.  In Pereskia the contrary is the case.  Taking P. aculeata as an example, this is best known in gardens as having branches about as thick as a goose-quill, with ovate leaves, at the base of which there is a pair of curved spines, 1/4 in. long, and shaped like cats’ claws.  But this plant when it gets old has a stem 3 in. in diameter, and clothed down to the ground with cushions of spines fixed firmly in the bark, each cushion composed of from twenty to fifty spines, and each spine 1 in. or more in length.  From two to six new spines are developed in the centre of each healthy cushion annually.  It would be absolutely impossible for any animal to climb an old stem of a Pereskia.  In P. Bleo the spines are 2 in. long, and the cushions are much larger.

The flowers of Pereskias are borne singly or in panicles, at the ends of the young, ripened branches.  In shape, each flower may be compared to a single Rose, the petals being flat and spreading, and the numerous stamens forming a compact cluster in the centre.  The stigma is erect, and divided at the top into four or more rays.  The fruit is a berry shaped like a Gooseberry, and covered with minute clusters of short bristles.

All the species are found in tropical America and the West Indies.

Cultivation.—­Although several of the kinds of Pereskia are sufficiently ornamental to be deserving of a place in gardens as flowering plants, yet they are rarely cultivated—­in England, at least —­for any other purpose than that of forming stocks upon which Epiphyllums and other Cacti are grafted.  Only two species are used, viz., P. aculeata and P. Bleo, the former being much the more popular of the two; whilst P. Bleo, on account of the stoutness of its stems, is employed for only the most robust kinds of grafts.