TEE CENTURY PLANT 



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winter, and a slender raceme of flowers, A. Virginica, which is 

 now made the type of a distinct genus, Manfreda. From the two 

 Linnaean species left after the segregation of Furcrcea and Man- 

 freda, the genus Agave grew step by step, through later discoveries, to 

 127 species distinguished by its latest monographer. Of these, 35 

 helong to the candelabrum group designated as Euagave and represented 

 by the two Linmean species, and 4(i have the flower-cluster contracted 

 as in A. Lecheguilla, constituting the group Littcea. The inflorescence 

 of the remaining 46 was not known when this monograph was written — 

 nearly twenty years ago, and a very large part of the species have been 

 known only through cultivated plants, most of which were described 

 when immature, and of which no inconsiderable number died or were 

 lost sight of before reaching a flowering age. 



The describer of a garden species of Agave usually finds himself 

 impelled to set down its probable habitat as Mexico. In this guess he is 



Fig. 21. Hotel at Maj.trata. 



favored by the law of chance, for only a few agaves occur to the north or 

 south of Mexico or in the West Indies; but a considerable number of 

 intentional or chance hybrids have originated in gardens in addition to 

 some apparently purely cultural forms, the numerous descriptions of the 

 last two decades are widely scattered and little comparable, and the 

 genus stands to-day as one of the worst confused of its size — the actual 

 number of its species apparently being not far from 200. 



There appears little hope of removing this confusion except by 

 protracted field study under unusually difficult conditions, supple- 

 mented by garden cultivation of plants from definitely ascertained spon- 

 taneous sources. Serviceable herbarium specimens are rarely seen. 

 Their preparation is unusually difficult because of the large size and 

 succulent nature of the plants, but they can be made. The camera is 



