sr 



2. ALBUCA MINOR 



LESSER ALBUCx\. 



Tins genus furnishes difterent bulbous-rooted herbaceous peren- 

 nial plants of the flowery ornamental kind. 



It belongs to the class and order of Hexandria Monogi/nia, and 

 ranks in the natural order of Liliacect. 



The characters of which are: that it has no calyx: the corolla 

 has six oblong-oval permanent petals, the three outer spreading, and 

 the three inner converging: the stamina have fdaments shorter than 

 the corolla; three opposite to the inner petals, linear-subulate, com- 

 plicate a little above the base, then flat, three opposite to the outer 

 petals, thicker; autherffi on the former oblong, fixed to the inflex 

 tip of the filament, below the middle upright; on the latter, similar, 

 but effete, or none: the pistillum has an oblong triangular germ: 

 style three-sided : stigma a triangular, three-celled, three-valved 

 capsule: the seeds numerous, flat, lying over each other, and widen- 

 ing outwards. 



The species are numerous; but those mostly for the purposes of 

 ornament are: 1. A. altissima. Tall Albuca; 2. yj. majov, Great Al- 

 buca; 3. A. minor, Small Albuca; 4. A. coarctata, Channel-leaved 

 Albuca; 5. yl. spiralis, Spiral-leaved Albuca. 



In the first species the leaves are so deeply channelled as to be 

 almost rolled into a cylinder; two feet long, and almost three inches 

 broad at the base. The scape a little shorter llian the leaves, the 

 thickness of a finger. The raceme two icet long or more. The 

 peduncles bent downwards in the season of flowering, afterwards 

 spreading and becoming finally erect; they are three inches in 

 length. The bracteaj green, except at the edge, where they are of a 

 clear white, an inch long. The flowers arc of a white colour; and 



