146 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HEEBAEIUM. 



Stamens inserted at the base of the corolla segments; 



leaves bluish green, glaucous, closely imbricated, 



broader, 8 to 14 cm. Avide, usually 20 to 45 cm. 



long. 



Leaves broad, 10 to 14 cm. wide, 30 cm. long or more; 



panicles large and mdely spreading; flowers 



8 to 9 cm. long 4. A. parryi. 



Leaves of same relative proportions but smaller, 15 

 to 20 cm. long and 5 to 8 cm. broad; panicles 

 with few branches; flowers mostly about 6 cm. 

 long 5. A. neomexicana. 



1. Agave schottii Engelm. Trans. Acad. St. Louis 3: 305. 1875. 

 Agave geminiflora sonorae Torr. U. S. & Mex. Bound. Bot. 214. 1859. 

 Type locality: Sierra del Pajarito, southern Arizona. 



Range: Southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and adjacent Mexico. 

 New Mexico: Guadalupe Canyon (Mearns 575). 



2. Agave lechuguilla Torr. U. S. & Mex. Bound. Bot. 213. 1859. Lechuguilla. 

 Type locality: "Mountains near El Paso, and along the Rio Grande downward." 

 Range: Low hills and dry plains, western Mexico and southern New Mexico and 



southward, in the Lower Sonoran Zone. 



]\Iiss Mulford reported this from the Organ Mountains as having been collected May 

 18, 1851. Neither of the writers has seen the plant in this range, but it may occur at 

 the southern end, where little collecting has been done. A single plant &'om the 

 north end of the Franklin Mountains, just on the boundary between New Mexico and 

 Texas, is growing in the garden at the Agricultural College. It is said to occur along 

 the southern border farther east as well. 



The species is of economic importance as a fiber plant in northern Mexico, where it 

 is used extensively in making cordage. The short caudex is used as a substitute for 

 soap, one form of the "amole" found on the market. 



3. Agave palmeri Engelm. Trans. Acad. St. Louis 3: 319. 1875. 

 Type locality: Mountains of southern Arizona. 



Range: Southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico and southward. 



New Mexico: Florida Mountains; Cloverdale; San Luis Mountains; Animas Moun- 

 tains; La Luz Canyon. Dry hills, in the Upper Sonoran Zone. 



Miss Mulford reports finding a plant of this species a few miles from Fort Bayard, 

 and that must be about its northern limit. 



4. Agave parryi Engelm. Trans. Acad. St. Louis 3: 311. 1875. 

 Agave aniericana latifolia Torr. U. S. & Mex. Bound. Bot. 213. 1859. 

 Type locality: Near the Copper Mines, New Mexico. 



Range: Southern Arizona and New Mexico and southward. 



New Mexico: Fierro; Big Hatchet Mountains; Lake Valley; Burro Mountains; 

 Florida Mountains; Bear Mountains; 5 miles north of Reserve; Mogollon Creek. Low 

 hills, in the Lower and Upper Sonoran zones. 



This is the common " mescal " of western New Mexico. It has considerable decora- 

 tive value and, while never as large as A. aniericana, reaches sufiicient size to warrant 

 its use in large urns and in other positions in formal gardening. 



This, like the other larger plants of the genus, was used by the Indians in making 

 mescal. The thick leaves were cooked in large pits made in the ground and lined with 

 stones, which were first fired, then filled with the plant. It is from their preparation 

 of this article of food that the Mescalero Apaches receive their name. 



