34 



AGAVE 



AGAVE 



lata, 39 ; njacnlosn, 3S ; !\Ipxicaiia. 2 ; iiikTacaiitha, S.T ; 

 mitis, 33; mil m l.. mux. -,: Nisscni. li:,; i,„lal,,n, „i . ]1; 

 Potosina, 41; l'nimlfl,4; n-ciirva. ::4 ; /w. /,„ r./.s// . 34 ; 

 rigida, 3; ri<ii,liss,i,i,: .'^X: l<nh,uftu,i . -,: ,M-lii.li«-.Ta, 14; 

 Scolymus, 11; Scliottii, 18; Shawii, !1; Sisalana, 3; stri- 

 ata, 34 ; stricta, 34 ; Taylori, 17 ; Thuacanensis, 5 ; unl- 

 vittata, 21; Utalieasis, 12; vestita, 15; Victoris-Reglnaa, 

 24; Vlrginica, 37; xylouacantha, 27; yuccsefolia, 35. 



A. Foliage persisting from year to year: inflorescence 



dense, many-fid.: plants flowering after a more 

 or less long interval, often but once, in others 

 occasionally. 



B. Infloresence a compact panicle; fls. borne in clusters 

 near the ends of horizontal branches. [Extagave.) 



1. Americana, Linn. Common Centuky Plant. Figs. 

 45, 46. Plants becoming very large : Ivs. 40-50, either 

 straight or the tips recurved; the margin scalloped be- 

 tween the sharp teeth; fl. 3 in. long, yellow. The most 

 common species in cult. A.F. 7:503. Gn. 12, p. 397. 

 G.C. HI. 19:17. Gn.47,p. ,59. P. E. 10:. 595. Trop. Amer. 

 Several varieties, of which vur. picta, var. variegata (B. 

 M. 3654) and var. recurvita an- tlic ln-st kiii>\\ ti. — Sume 

 forms have Ivs. striin-d. ami orlicrs lionltrt-d witirytlluw. 

 This species is the one which is commonly grown as a tub 

 plant by florists, being used out-of-doors in the summer 

 for lawn and porch decoration. 



2. Mexic&na, Lam. Plants becoming very large : Ivs. 

 20-30; similar to ^. .4»nF/-icrt»io. Common in Eu. Int. 

 about 1817, from Mex. G.C. II. 19:149. 



3. rigida, Miller. St. wanting or sometimes 4 ft. long: 

 Ivs. thin, narrow, elongated; the margin either smooth 

 or toothed. S. Mex. Perhaps more than one species in- 

 cluded under this name. A. angustifdlia. Haw., seems 

 to belong here. B.W. 589Z, a,s A. ixtlioldes. Gng. 5:89. 



Var. elong&ta, Baker (A. Candelabrum, Todaro). St. 

 much elongated. 



Var. Siaalina, Engelm. Sisal Hemp. Margin of the 

 Ivs. entire. Yucatan. Naturalized on Fla. keys. — Rec- 

 ommended for cult, on a large scale in certain cheap 

 lands of Fla. Largely grown in Yucatan as a fiber plant, 

 the fiber being exported to U. S. and used in making 

 cheap cordage. 



4. Fringlei, Engelm. Lvs. sword-like, very stiff, 18 

 in. or less long, narrowed from near the base to the 

 sharp tip, the margin with small, hooked, brown prick- 

 les: fl. IJ^in. long, yellow. Lower Calif. 



5. atrovirens, Karw.(>4. 2'AHacaM<'«sis,Karw. A.Sal- 

 «i/')*n(. I )ti(»). Often attaining a great size: lvs. few, 

 10-30, luTuiiiitig 9 in. broad and 7-9 ft. long, very thick 

 at base and glaucous throughout, tipped with a stout 

 spine; the upper part of the margin horny: fl. 4 in. 

 long Mex. G.C. II. 8:177. — Several species have passed 

 under this name. 



Var. latissima {A. latissima, coarclAta, Lehmanni, 

 and mitr(pf6rmis, Jacobi). Lvs. broader, oblong-spatu- 

 late {8-9 in. brtiad above the middle). 



6. cocliled,ris, Jacobi. Pulque Plant of W. Mex. 

 Very similar to the above, but lvs. longer and a foot 

 wide, not glaucous. Int. about 1867, but rare in col- 

 lections. 



7. applan&ta, Lem. Stemless : lvs. sometimes 150, 

 3-3/-2in. broad, stiff and glaucous, with long, pungent 

 end spine: fl. 3 in. long, greenish yellow.— A beautiful 

 species from Mex. Int. about 1862. 



8. macraciintlia, Zucc. Small, stemless, compact: lvs. 

 about 50, a foot long, very stiff and pungent, glaucous: 

 fls. in a lax raceme. Int. about 1830, from central Mex. 

 G.C. 11. 8:137. 



9. Shiwii, Engelm. Stemless : lvs. 50-60 or even 

 more, oblong-spatulate, 8-10 in. long, dull green and 

 slightly glaucous, with a brown tip-spine an inch long, 

 the edge with upturned brown teeth Kin. or less long: 

 fls. 3-3Kin. long, greenish yellow. S. Cal. Int. about 

 1875. 



10 Des^Tti, Engelm. Stemless : Ivs. few, in a rosette, 

 oblanceolate, a foot or less long, deep concave above, 

 very glaucous, tip-spined, the lower half of the blade 

 with hooked prickles : fl. yellow, 2 in. or less long. S. 

 Cal. Int. about 1875. 



11. Scdlymus, Karw. Lvs. 20-40, 9-18 in. long. 3-6 in. 

 wide, glaucous; the margin indented between the teeth: 

 fl. 2-3 in. long, yellowish. Mex. Gn. 12, p. 397. Int. 

 about 1880. — Said to be common, with several varieties. 

 A. potatdrum, Zucc, may be only a form of the above. 



12. Utahfensis, Engelm. Stemless : lvs. sword-like, 1 

 ft. or less long, thick and rigid, the sharp tip-spine an 

 inch long, the margin with triangular teeth, glaucous: 

 fl. an inch long. Utah and Ariz. 



BB. Inflorescence a dense, cylindrical spike; fls. usu- 

 ally borne in twos. (Littcfa.) 

 c. Margins of lvs. not toothed. 



D. Lvs, linear, stiff, smooth, tcith the margins splitting 

 off into fine threads. 



13. {ilifera, Salm-Dyck. Plant small, compact, about 



1 ft. in diam. : lvs. about 100, linear, stiff, 9 or 10 in. in 

 diam., light green in color, with a very pungent tip: fl. 



2 in. long, brownish: stalk 5-8 ft. long. Mex. G.C. III. 

 21: 167. I.H. 7: 243.- 

 Several species are often 

 found in collections un- 

 der this name. 



14. flchidigera, Lem. 

 Very similar to the 

 above, but with some- 

 what broader lvs. and 

 the margin splitting off 

 into white ribbons. Mex. 

 B.M. 5641. -Frequently 

 flowers in cult. 





47. Agave 



attenuata. 



15. vestita, Watson, also of the type of A. filifera, is a 

 very recently described and introduced species. Lvs. 

 more bronzy than that species. Mex. table lands, A.G 

 1892:609. — It deserves a place in any large Agave col- 

 lection. 



16. gemlnifldra, Ker-Gawl. {Bonapdrtea juncea^ 

 Haw.). Lvs. often 200-300, narrowly linear, somewhat 

 recurved, 1/^-2 ft. lonj;, somewhat convex on both 

 sides: Hower stalk sometimes 25 ft. long. Mexico, where 

 it grows commonly along streams. B.R. 1145. F.S. 7, 

 p. 6. — Very common. 



17. TAylori, Hort. A garden hybrid of A. ge mini flora 

 and A. densiflora is often seen in cult. Mn. 7:111. 

 G.C. II. 8:621. 



18. Sch6ttil, Engelm. (A. gemniflbra var. SondrcB, 

 Torr. ) . Stemless : lvs. linear, 1 ft. or less long and only 

 J^ in. broad, flat or concave, very rigid, sharp-tipped, 

 the margin usually with white threads: fls. Ij^in. long 

 S.Ariz. B.M. 7567. 



