Agave. CXLVII. AMARYLLIDACEiE. 539 



2. NARCISSUS. 



Gr. vapKT}^ stupor; from the effects produced by the smell of some of the speciea which are poiaonous. 



Perianth regular ; corona monophyllous, funnel-form, consisting of 

 • a whorl of united sterile stamens, within which the fertile ones are 

 inserted. 



Ohs.—A. well known, popular genus, whose species are easily cultivated, many of them very fragrant 

 and beautiful. They have bulbous roots, ensiform leaves, and usually yellow flowers, with a long, com- 

 pressed spathe, opening on one side, and deciduous. 



1. N. JoxauiLLA, — Scape 1 — 3-flowered; segments reflexed, spatulate; cup 

 (corona) much shorter than the segments, saucer-shaped, spreading, crenate. — 

 Native of Spain. Scape a foot high, round, slender, bearing at the summit a 

 few flowers ol a rich yellow, and very fragrant. May, Jn. 



2. N. poETicus. PoeVs Narcissus. — Scape 1-flowered ; segments imbricate at 

 base, reflexed ; corona expanded, flat, rotate, crenulate ; 3 arith. shorter than the 

 tube. — Native of S. Europe. Scape about a foot high, leaves of the same 

 length. It bears a single flower, which is mostly white, but having the crown 

 singularly adorned with circles of crimson, white and yellow. Jn. 



3. N. Psbudo-Narcissus. Daffodil. — Scape 2-edged, straight, striated ; seg- 

 ments sulphur color ; corona with a serrate-crenate orifice. — Native of England. 

 Root bulbous. Leaves linear, a foot long, striate, veined. Scape a foot high, 

 bearing at the top a single, very large flower, with a very long cup or corona. 

 April, May. 



4. N. Tazetta. — Spathe many-flowered ; corona campanulate, truncate, shorter 

 than the petals ; Ivs. flat. — Native of Spain. Root a large bulb. Leaves smooth, 

 sv/ord-shaped. Scape naked, striate, a foot high, with 10— 12 flowers. Corolla 

 white, cup a strong yellow, not fragrant. April, May. 



3. GALANTHUS. 



Gr. ya\a, milk, av^oq] on account of the delicate whiteness of the flower. 



Flowers spathaceous ; sepals 3, concave ; corona formed of 3 small, 

 emarginate segments; stigma simple. — Oniamental^ bulbous exotics. 



G. nivalis. Snow-drop. — Lis. linear, radical, keeled, acute ; scape 1-flowered. 

 — Native of the Alps, well known in gardens, flowering early in Spring. It is 

 a small plant, half a foot high, arising from a perennial bulb, bearing a single, 

 large, nodding flower white as snow. Stem usually furnished with 2 long, nar- 

 row leaves towards the top. 



4. AGAVE. 



Gr. ayavoi, admirable ; a terra eminently applicable. 



Perianth tubular, funnel-form, adherent to the ovary, 6-parted ; sta- 

 mens 6, exserted ; anthers versatile ; capsule ovate, attenuate at each 

 end, obtusely triangular, 3-celled, many-seeded. — A splendid Ameri- 

 can genus. Root sometimes ligneous. Stem herbaceous. Lvs. mostly 

 radical^ rigid, channeled, often spiny. Panicle large, pyramidal. 



1. A. ViRGiNiCA. False Aloe. 



Acaulcscent, herbaceous; /r.«c. linear-lanceolate, fleshy, glabrou.s, with car- 

 tilaginous serratures on the margin; scape simple, glabrous, with leaf-like scales 

 and sessile flowers. — Rocky banks, l\-nn. to Ga. Root prcmorse, tuberous. 

 Scape iji' high, terete, glabrous, loo.^ely .spicate above. Radical leaves long, 

 acute. Flowers greenish-yellow, very fragrant, tube longer than the acute seg- 

 ments. Cap.sule roundish, ob.scurely 3-angled, 3-furrowcd, 3-valvcd, 3-celled. Sept. 

 2. A. Amkricana. American Aloe. Century Plant. — Acaulcscent; hs. .spi- 

 nose-dentate, lanceolate, coriaceous and fleshy ; scape branched, lofty and arbo- 

 rescent; cor. tube contracted in the middle; pedicel cis lung as the corolla.— The 

 largest of all herbaceous plants, native of tropical America, olten cultivated. 

 It is a popular notion that it tluwers but once in a liundred years, but it is known 

 to flower much oftener, according to the culture it receives. Leaves radical, 

 thick, 3— 6 or 8f long, 4— 12' wide. Tiie scape arises from the centre of the 

 46 



