Melon cactus , Melon thistle Meaning, Definition & Usage
Definitions
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(a) (Bot.) A genus of cactaceous plants (Melocactus ) having a fleshy and usually globose stem with the surface divided into spiny longitudinal ridges, and bearing at the top a prickly and woolly crown in which the small pink flowers are half concealed .M. communis , from the West Indies, is often cultivated, and sometimes calledTurk's cap .(b) The related genusMamillaria , in which the stem is tubercled rather than ribbed, and the flowers sometimes large. See Illust. underCactus .