AGAVES FLOWERING IN WASHINGTON. 83 
finally on June 2, after about three-fourths of the spike 
had flowered, it measured 14 feet. 
This species has long been grown in the Botanical Garden 
at Washington, but its previous history has been lost. It 
belongs to the group Marginatae, but is not very near 
any of the described species. It may be described as 
follows : — 
Very shortly caulescent; leaves about 40, 2 to 24 feet long, 34 
inches wide near the middle, narrowed slightly toward the base, 24 
inches broad just above the base, thin except toward the base, here 1 to 
14 inches thick, light green, not at all banded; margin with a narrow 
but continuous horny border; teeth more or less curved; end spine an 
inch long; uppermost leaves about 10, erect, standing close against the 
spike, linear, somewhat abruptly passing into the scarious entire bracts 
of the peduncle; bracts glaucous, broad at base (14 to 2 inches broad) 
but soon contracted into a long acumination, the lower ones a foot long, 
becoming shorter above, all at first appressed to the peduncle, but 
before the flowers open much spreading; flowers usually in twos, rarely 
single or in threes; perianth about 7 lines long; tube very short; seg- 
ments pale green or cream-colored, glabrous except a tuft of hairs at 
tip; stamens 14 inches long; anthers orange-color, or, in the upper 
flowers, pale yellow, even in the bud. — Plates 9, 10. 
EXPLANATION OF PLATES OF AGAVE. 
Plate 7. Agave attenuata, — habit, reduced. 
Plate 8. Agave Washingtonensis, — lateral flowering, reduced. 
Plate 9. Agave expatriata, — habit, reduced. 
Plate 10. Agave expatriata, —leaf, < 4, with sections, natural size; 
flower, natural size. 
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