3? 



2. ALBUCA MINOR- 

 LESSER ALBUCA. 



THIS genus furnishes different bulbous-rooted herbaceous peren- 

 nial plants of the flowery ornamental kind. 



It belongs to the class and order of Hexandria Monogynia, and 

 ranks in the natural order of Liliacece. 



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 filaments 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; antherne 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. A. major, Great Al- 

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

 Albuca; 5. A. 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 than the leaves, the 

 thickness of a finger. The raceme two feet 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 bracteae green, except at the edge, where they are of a 

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



