PLANTS FROM BAJA CALIFORNIA. 207 



Agave (Euagave) sobria. xlcciulescoiit: leaves about '^0, 

 glaucous, lanceolate, about 2 feet long, narrowed from 

 near the middle, loug-acuminate; terminal spine not decur- 

 rent upon the margin; prickles brownish, hoary, 8-10 mm. 

 long, 20-40 mm. distant, straight or curved in various direc- 

 tions: peduncle, including the panicle, 15 feet high or less, 

 curved in the larger plants, lower bracts 10 inches long, 

 spine-tipped: panicle 4 feet long, with 10-15 short divari- 

 cate branches, bearing dense clusters of liglit greenish- 

 yellow flowers: perianth 25-30 mm. long, the tube not a 

 fourth the length of the oblong-linear segments: stamens 

 adnate nearly to the top of the tube, nearly twice as long as 

 the perianth: style shortly 3-lobed at apex: old capsules of 

 the preceding year 50 mm. long, 15-20 mm. wide. — Comon- 

 du on the mesas. — One of the species Avhich the inhab- 

 itants say is not good for making " mescal." 



Agave (Euagave) aurea. Acaulescent: leaves lanceolate- 

 acuminate, curved outward; terminal spine 20-30 mm. long, 

 stout, subulate, decurrent upon the leaf for about the same 

 distance: teeth rather stout, deltoid, variously curved: pe- 

 duncle G-12 feet high, the panicle occupying more than half 

 the length: branches 20-30 divaricate, more or less divided, 

 bearing large and dense clusters of orange-colored flowers: 

 perianth broadly Campanulate, 25-30 mm. long, the lanceo- 

 late lobes more than twice as long as the teeth: stamens 

 about twice as long as the perianth, adnate to the lower 

 half of the tube: style 3-lobed at apex, at length exceeding 

 the stamens: capsule very minutely roughened, 30-50 mm. 

 long, 12-20 wide; seeds black, very thin, 6 mm. broad, with 

 prominent white marj,in along the contiguous edges. 



This sj^ecies is well marked by its stout habit, outward - 

 curving leaves, campanulate orange-yellow flowers and 

 small fruit. It is the handsomest species of the Peninsula, 

 and is used for making " mescal." — Purisima, Comondu. 



Agave Shawii Engelm. — Very abundant between El Pio- 

 sario and San Quintin. 



