‖ melocactus Bot.
(mɛləʊˈkæktəs)
[mod.L. (Tournefort 1700) f. late L. mēlo melon + cactus.]
A genus of cactaceous plants, natives of Central and South America (popularly called melon-thistle); a plant of this genus.
| 1733 Miller Gard. Dict. (ed. 2), Melocactus..Melon-Thistle. 1853 Th. Ross tr. Humboldt's Trav. III. xxvi. 114 The agaves and melocactuses half-buried in the sand. 1871 Kingsley At Last i, We saw our first Melocactus, and our first night-blowing Cereus creeping over the rocks. |