146 A FLORA OF MANILA | 
1. Inflorescence spicate or panicled. 
2. Coarse plants with thick, fleshy, spiny-toothed leaves and very large, 
Patiicled ‘infloresceriCes:.- cies, iennhedanscnh- etme cencnieeaeleokePE aie aev hater 1. Agave 
2. Slender plants with narrow, toothless leaves and spicate flowers. 
2. Polianthes 
1. Flowers solitary or umbellate. 
2. Filaments free. 
3. Flowers solitary......... here tammy meee 3. Zephyranthes 
$.'Flowers ambellate su 2445 An ht a ee 4. Crinum 
2. Filaments appendiculate and united at the base into a distinct cup. 
Bi SED WETS BOLUS EV os ts Seek a tisaceceatinla t+ Wipe ata tan s-bap res aeRe 5. Pancratium 
8. Flowers umbellate. 
4. Leaves linear to linear-lanceolate; ovary-cells 2-ovuled. 
6. Hymenocallis 
4. Leaves broadly ovate to suborbicular; ovary-cells 2- or 3-ovuled. 
7. Eurycles 
4. Leaves elliptic-oblong; ovary-cells many-ovuled............ 8. Eucharis 
1. AGAVE Linnaeus 
Fleshy or somewhat woody, coarse plants, with usually very short stems. 
Leaves crowded on the stem, radiate, thick, fleshy, persisting for several 
years, sharply pointed, margins with stout spiny teeth. Inflorescence 
terminal, tall, stout, branched. Flowers succulent, panicled, usually green- 
ish. Sepals and petals partly united, the lobes equal or subequal. Stamens 
6; filaments more or less adnate to the*perianth-tube. Ovary 3-celled; 
ovules numerous. Fruit a 3-celled capsule. (Greek ‘‘noble.’’) 
Species about 140 in tropical America, 1 introduced in the Philippines. 
*1, A. CANTULA Roxb. Maguey (Sp.-Fil.); Sisal Hemp, Century Plant, 
Stems short, stout. Leaves 20 to 50 in a dense rosette, linear-lanceolate, 
thick, more or less glaucous, 0.8 to 1.3 m long, up to 8 or 10 cm wide, 
narrowed toward both ends, apex with a sharp, horny point, margins 
with sharp spine-like teeth. Inflorescence erect, up to 6 m in height, stout, 
branched. Flowers greenish, the perianth 4 to 5 cm long; filaments exceed- 
ing the segments. (FI. Filip. pl. 96, A. americana.) 
Cultivated in our area for ornamental purposes, in many provinces ex- 
tensively cultivated for the fiber produced by the leaves. The plants 
flower when several years old; bulbils are often produced in place of 
flowers. A native of tropical America, now introduced in many other 
tropical countries. 
2. POLIANTHES Linnaeus 
Erect, leafy, unbranched plants from tuberous rootstocks. Leaves linear, 
basal and scattered along the stem. Inflorescence terminal, spicate, the 
bracts persistent. Perianth with a long, narrowly funnel-shaped, curved 
tube, and short, unequal segments. Stamens inserted at the middle of the 
tube, not exserted. Ovary 3-celled, free at the apex; ovules many; style fili- 
form. Fruit ovoid, crowned by the persistent perianth. (Greek “white” 
and “flower.”’) ; 
A monotypic Mexican genus. 
*1. P. TUBEROSA L. Azucena (Sp.-Fil.) ; Tuberose. 
Rootstock stout, tuberous. Basal leaves linear, 40 to 60 cm long, less 
than 1 em wide, those on the stem much shorter. Stems erect, 0.5 to 1 
