156 



Fid. 15. Flower o 



Ar/ave americana, batnral 

 size. 



into a subgenus, in which habit and leaf 

 characters and short life duration run par- 

 allel with, a well-marked distinctive type 

 of inflorescence." It may be questioned 

 whether these characters may not prop- 

 erly be considered generic. There are cer- 

 tainly no equally good grounds for keep- 

 ing Bravoa or Prochnyanthes from Poli- 

 anthes. Added to these characters are the 

 peculiar rootstock and bulb of Polianthes 

 and its allies. 



Baker recognizes 12 species in Agave § 

 Manfreda, but this number will be doubled 

 when Mexico has been better explored. 

 Agave L. Sp. PI. 1 : 323. 1753. 



Figures 15, 16. 



Type, A. americana L., 1. c. 



Linmcus gave four species of Agave in 

 the first edition of the Species ITantarum, 

 of which two are here of interest, viz, A. 

 americana and A. virginica. The former 

 is to be taken as the type of the genus. 

 Linnaeus says: "Habitat America cali- 

 diore." 



Known species more than 100. 



The following other genera have 

 been taken out of Agave, but ap- 

 pear to be identical with Manfreda: 



Alibertia Marion, Rev. Hort. Bouch. 

 Rhone, November, 1882. 



Type, A. intermedia Marion, 1. c. 



This is also Agave alibertii Baker, Gard. 

 Chron. N. S. 19 : 176. 1883. 



Leichtlinia Ross,Delect. Som.Panorm. 

 48. 1893. 



Type, Agave protuherans Engelm. in 

 Baker, Handbook Amaryll. 197. 1888. 



We have a duplicate in the National 

 Herbarium. This form, of course, should 

 come out of Agave; but I should not sepa- 

 rate it from Manfreda, for I do not con- 

 sider the Blight projection of the ovary 

 into the perianth tube of sufficient iin- 

 portance to base a genus upon. This 

 character is of no value in Polianthes. 

 Other species of 

 Manfreda prob- 

 ably possess the 

 same character. 

 The fruit of Agave 

 maculosa has a 

 slender beak, but 

 I am not sure 

 whether or not it 

 is free from the F, G .i6. -Agave seedling, 

 perianlli. natural size. 



