AGAVE WASHINGTONENSIS AND OTHER AGAVES. 125 
suckers from near the base of the stem, which either break 
off or may be removed and transplanted. I have so far 
seen no bulbs developing in the inflorescence as sometimes 
occurs in certain other species. 
The previous history of our plant is unknown, but it 
undoubtedly came from Mexico, the home of the species. 
It differs from all the figures and descriptions in having a 
perfectly straight pole or spike of flowers instead of a 
curved one. In all other respects the plant differs little 
from the descriptions of A. attenuata. 
In our specimen the woody stem below the crown of 
leaves is four feet high and one foot in circumference at 
thickest point, which is a short distance below the crown. 
It is marked with quadrangular scars, three to four inches 
wide by one inch deep. The crown is truly a noble sight, 
consisting as it does of twenty or more immense leaves and 
measuring nearly six feet in diameter. The leaves are at 
first erect, but when mature they are spreading and in age 
drooping, the lower ones gradually falling off, leaving the 
peculiar scars referred to above. The larger are from two 
and a half to three feet long, from six to eight inches broad 
at the widest point, which is about two-thirds of the dis- 
tance from the base, gradually tapering to near the base, 
where they are three or four inches wide, while they rap- 
idly taper upward into long weak spines. All are very 
glaucous on both sides, while the margin is entire and thin, 
at first whitish, but in age brownish. During the flowering 
period the larger leaves drop off, leaving only ten to twelve, 
which are not more than two inches in width and two feet 
long. The peduncle is only about one foot long, and is 
very thickly covered with large leaf-like bracts, somewhat 
appressed, but spreading at the base, and acuminate. The 
flowering spike is very dense and fully five feet long; the 
flowers are in pairs subtended by bracts ; these bracts are 
green, attenuate, horizontal, the lower ones being five inches 
long. The flowers are mostly sterile, the perianth tube 
very short, the stamens much longer than the petals. 
