AGAVE WASHINGTONENSIS AND OTHEK AGAVES. 123 
pale glaucous green and composed of a dense rosette of 
leaves. Mr. Baker in his Handbook of Amaryllideae states 
that the segments of the flower are greenish-yellow, but 
later he says, in the Botanical Magazine, that they are 
‘green outside, brown inside.”” In our specimens the 
upper half of the segments is brown outside and on the in- 
side they are brown throughout. This species has flowered 
but once at Kew and twice in our gardens. The following 
are the only instances with date of flowering of which I 
have knowledge: (1) In the Belgium Garden, Count 
d’Osselghem, 1867. (2) At Blueberry, Mr. Justus Cor- 
deroy, 1887. (3) At Kew in 1891. (4) In the Botanic 
Garden at Washington, Mr. Smith, 1896. (5) In the 
Botanic Garden at Washington, Mr. Smith, 1897. 
The flowers much resemble in color and shape those of 
A. Haselofii. The stamens mature several days before the 
style. In our specimen the spike was nearly three weeks 
in developing all its flowers. Mr. Watson in speaking of 
the Kew plant says it lived after flowering, developing two 
lateral growths. I have observed these lateral growths in 
both of our specimens. 
The plant which flowered in 1897 has four strong buds, 
while the other one has eight lateral buds. The species is, 
therefore, as Mr. Watson has shown, polycarpic. 
Our specimens may be described as follows: — 
Acaulescent; leaves about 30 in a dense cluster, 15 inches long, ob- 
lanceolate, 3 to 34 inches broad above the middle, tapering above into a 
weak black spine less than one inch long, the margin with small black 
teeth, pale and glaucous on both sides; peduncle stiff, nearly erect, 24 
feet long, clothed with long attenuate green bracts; spike 15 inches 
long, rather dense-flowered; flowers including ovary 14 to 14 inches 
long, including the stamens 3 inches; style developing several days after 
the stamens; segments of flower thick, ovate, purplish within and at the 
tip without. 
AGAVE SARTORII. 
A. Sartorii is a native of Mexico and Guatemala and was 
introduced into cultivation about 1863. It has flowered at 
Kew, first in 1877, and frequently since. The specimen at 
Flies eee 
