328 AMARVLLIDACE^. [chap. 



Pajicratmm, and some other genera cultivated in Indian 

 gardens, the filaments are united at the base by a mem- 

 branous cup, and in the Daffodils and Narcissus of Europe 

 a cup-like expansion called the corona is inserted in the 

 mouth of the perianth-tube. 



Fig. 2IO. Criniim asiaticuin, much reduced. 



The Family includes many very ornamental species prized 

 in gardens. One of its most useful members is the so- 

 called American Aloe (Agave), which is not an A/oe at all, 

 though very similar in habit to some species of that genus. 

 It is a Mexican plant, and its sap affords to the natives a 



