300 TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



belong here. Some species, A. I.xtli, Karw., in the garden of 

 the late Mr. Thnret of Antibes, bears both capsules and bulblets ; 

 and so appears to do A. sobolifera (A. vivipara, Lam.) None 

 of our species possess this peculiarity. 



The native country of the Agaves is preeminently Mexico ; in 

 the southwestern parts of the United States, mostly in Arizona, 

 13 species are found ; but only one of these extends to the 39 and 

 even 40 N. Lat., while in California the northern limit of the 

 Agaves is about 34 . A few species seem to be natives of the 

 West Indies, and a few more may be peculiar to South America. 

 The Agaves said to come from the East Indies, St. Helena, and 

 other parts of the old world, are propably all forms of A. Ame- 

 ricana originally brought there from America. 



I now proceed to the enumeration of the species of the territory 

 of the United States, and of a few undescribed or imperfectly 

 known foreign Agaves of which I possess sufficient material. 



Agave, Lin. 



Perianthium superum tubulosum vel campanulatum, subregu- 

 lare, subpersistens, limbo 6-fido, laciniis valvatis. Stamina 6 ; 

 filamenta tubo plus minus adnata, in alabastro inflexa, demum 

 plerumque longe exserta ; antherre lineares versatiles. Ovarium 

 inferum, triloculare, ovulis anatropis horizontalibus in loculo 

 singulo biseriatis ; stylus apice incrassato trilobus. Capsula cori- 

 acea, loculicide trivalvis ; semina 6-seriata numerosissima. plano- 

 compressa, nigra ; embryo axilis, longitudine albuminis cornei. 



Plantae Americana?, prcecipue Mexicans, acaules vel caule- 

 scentes, saepius giganteae ; foliis crassis saspissime aculeato-denta- 

 tis spinoso-mucronatis. 



I. SlNGULIFLOR.E. 



Flores e bractearum axillis singuli, laxe spicati. 

 The species of this section have a more herbaceous character 

 than those of the two others ; they are stemless, with softer, pro- 

 bably always annual leaves, not contracted above the base, with 

 marginal asperities more than teeth, and a terminal bristle more 

 than a spine. They are the Herbacece and S?ibinermes of au- 

 thors, which, however, include some species of the next section. 

 Only about a dozen species are known, three of them within our 



