the extremity, the svdstance thick, firm, coriaceous, of a full dark 
green colour (not at all glaucescent), the margin spinoso-dentate, 
spines erecto-patent, short, with a broad base, suddenly acumi- 
nate, scarcely a line long, hard, horny, almost black. Scape, 
including the spike, nearly six feet long, more than an inch 
thick, arising from among the inferior leaves, or terminal, bear- 
ing two or three small narrow leaves at the base; these leaves 
suddenly pass into long (three to four inches), subulate, mem- 
branaceous dracts, at first green, then pale brown, numerous, 
more or less erect, or spreading, or even deflexed. Spike 
gradually elongating as the flowers advance, at length a foot 
and more long in the state of the densely compacted innu- 
merable flower-buds, cylindrical, acuminate, pale green. The 
flowers expand from below upwards, and soon the spike takes a 
broad fusiform shape, below narrow, and brownish with the 
withered reflected flowers, then a broad band of yellowish flowers 
past perfection, but not withered: these are succeeded by the 
rich purple of the stamens and pistils of the recently opened 
blossoms, and the apex is formed by the unexpanded buds. 
Flowers often only staminiferous, all densely crowded, sessile, each 
pair subtended by a subulate dractea. Perianth yellow-green, 
hypocrateriform ; segments of the limb patenti-reflexed, sphace- 
late at the pomt. Filaments more than twice as long as the pe- 
rianth, tapering at each end, hence fusiform, purple. Anfhers 
-long-linear, versatile, dark purple, yellow when burst, from the 
copious pollen. Ovary elliptical, somewhat angled, three-celled ; 
seeds many, in two rows in each cell. Style shorter than the 
stamen, stout filiform. Stiyma obtuse, a little dilated. 
Flowering plant, greatly reduced. Fig. 1. Apex of a leaf, nat. size. 2. Pair 
of flowers and bract. 3. Ovary. 4. Trensverse section of ditto :—magnified. 
