AGAVE 



AGAVE 



233 



6. macroacantha, Zucc. (A. macracdntha, Auct. A. 

 Bessereriana, Jacobi. A. Besseriana, Auct. A. pugio- 

 niformis, Zucc. A. flavescens, Salm. A. subfalcata and A. 

 linedris, Jacobi. A. paucifblia and A. oligophytta, Baker. 

 A. inteffrifolia, Baker?). Nearly trunkless: I vs. 1x8-20 

 in., yellowish gray-green, glaucous, with flat-grooved 

 spine and slender-cusped heavy-based prickles: infl. 

 rather sparse; fls. 2 in.; ovary 1 in., segm. and tube 

 %in. each: caps, oblong, gray, stipitate and beaked. 

 S. Mex. Rep. Mo. Bot. Card. 18. pi. 18-26. At one 

 time a great favorite and, like A. Verschaffeltii, col- 

 lected in a large range of forms designated by descrip- 

 tive varietal names: viridis; cdndida, cdndicans, glauca; 

 nigrispina', elongdta, longifolia', hystrix (B.M. 5940), 

 nana; latifdlia, gigantea, major, concinna or sudbury- 

 ensis. 



BB. Lvs. lanceolate, large, rather firm than fleshy, scarcely 

 repand: spine not decurrent: fls. rather large, 

 greenish, fetid, often followed by bulbils. Nearly 

 trunkless. 



7. neglecta, Small (A. vivipara, Bartram. A. recur- 

 vata and A. rigida recurvata, Hort.). Lvs. gracefully 

 outcurved, 6 x 36 in., glaucous, with slender round- 

 grooved spine and very minute prickles: infl. ample; 

 fls. 2 in.; ovary 1 in., segm. %in., tube J^in. : caps, obo- 

 void, scarcely stipitate or beaked. Trop. Fla. Rep. Mo. 

 Bot. Gard. 7, pi. 60, 61. Dodge, Rep. Fiber Invest. 5, 

 9.ff. G.C.III.31,supp.Feb. 1. Bartram, Travels. Map. 



8. miradorensis, Jacobi. Lvs. rather straight, 3-4 x 

 30^35 in., glaucous, with slender narrowly grooved 

 spine and, toward the base, very minute prickles: infl. 

 ample; fls. 2^ in.; ovary 1 in., segm. %in., tube %\n, 

 E. Mex. G.W. 5, p. 143. A. ananassoldes, A. De- 

 Smettiana, A. pdllida and A. Regelidna, not now recog- 

 nized, were based by Jacobi apparently on specimens 

 from Sartorius' ranch, El Mirador, in the state of Vera 

 Cruz, from which, though ascribed to Brazil, A. mira- 

 dorensis is believed to have come. All are close to if 

 not quite the latter, over the accepted name of which 

 A. DeSmettiana has priority. 



9. vfera-crftz, Mill. (A.bulbifera, Bonpl. A.Manguai, 

 Desf. A. mexicana, Lam., which in part is Furcrsea 

 cubensis and the uses of which in large part pertain to 

 A. atrdvirens. A. vera-crucis, Haw., sometimes spelled 

 verse-crucis. A. vera-crux, Mill.). Lvs. nearly straight, 

 6-7 x 50 in., glaucous, somewhat cross-banded, rather 

 fleshy, concave, with short heavy gray spine and oblique 

 rounded deltoid prickles somewhat raised on green 

 prominences: infl. ample; fls. 2%-3 in.; ovary \ l /^-\ l /i 

 in., segm. %-l 'in., tube %in.: caps, oblong, promi- 

 nently stipitate, scarcely beaked. Mex.(?). G.C. II. 

 19, p. 149. The blue aloe, extensively planted and 

 more or less established in Amoy, India, Mauritius and 

 Peru, and, as A. mexicana, in Italy. It has been hy- 

 bridized with A. sisalana. 



10. lurida, Ait. (A. ttpida, Dietr. A. litdda, Schiede). 

 Lvs. thinner, flatter and more curving, with slenderer 

 spine and smaller scarcely elevated prickles: infl. 

 slighter and sparser. Mex.(?). Zuccarini, Act. Acad. 

 Carol. Leop. 16, pt. 2, pi. 49-51. B.M. 1522(?). Ref. 

 Bot. 307(?). Less frequently seen than the preceding, 

 with which it is confused. Perhaps including the now 

 scarcely recognized A. Beauleuriana, Jacobi, A. cyanea, 

 Hort., A. cyanophylla, Jacobi, A. Haworthiana, Roem., 

 and A. polyphytta, Koch. 



BBB. Lvs. short and broad, fleshy rather than hard, repand: 

 spine somewhat decurrent: fls. rather large, yellow- 

 ish, with lobes often shorter than the tube, and 

 followed by bulbils. Nearly trunkless. 



11. Verschaffeltii, Lem. Lvs. obovate-oblong, acu- 

 minate, 3 x 6-8 in., glaucous, with flexuous or twisted, 

 flat-grooved, red-brown spine and long rusty teeth on 

 large fleshy prominences: infl. rather slight and sparse; 

 fls. about 2% in.; ovary 1J4 in., segm. J^in., tube 



%in.: caps, oblong, very stoutly stipitate, beaked. 

 S. Mex. Ref. Bot. 306, 328. Lyon Hort. 1880, 267. 

 Gt. 346. J. Verschaf., Cat. 1866-7, 1869. f. I. H. 15: 

 564. Extremely variable, the original introducer 

 announcing "as many varieties as there are plants," 

 and 33 named forms having been catalogued once in 

 the Lyon garden. The more distinct, which have 

 received mostly descriptive specific names, are var. 

 crenata (amdsna, cochleata, elegans), var. cucullata 

 (Croiicheri, Simsii), var. Leopfildii, var. pulverulenta, 

 var. quadrata, var. Saundersii (virginica glauca), etc., 

 and such minor forms as dlbida, auricdntha, compdcta, 

 lanceoU-ta, orbicularis, ovalifolia, rhomboidea, rotundi- 

 fdlia and streptacantha. A. tehitacanensis, Karw., 

 is the earliest published name for the species but no 

 description was given. A. Bonnetii, Hort., seems to be 

 this, but A. Bonnetiana, Hort., is referred to A. mitrx- 

 formis, which accompanies A. Verschaffeltii about Te- 

 huacan. Extensively tried in hybridization, and crosses 

 are reported with A. attenuata (x A. Guignardii), A. 

 densiflora, A. micracantha or micrantha, A. schidigera, 

 A. Tonettiana or Tonneliana or heteracantha Tonnel- 

 iana, A. Vanderwinii, or Vanderwinneni (x A. Simonii x 

 A. grandibracteate) and A.xylonacanthaorxylinacantha. 



12. Sc61ymus, Karw. (A. coccinea, Roezl? A. 

 fldccida, Jacobi?). Lvs. oblanceolate, rather acute, 3-4 x 

 12-15 in., green or (when it is A. potatorum) slightly 

 glaucous, with nearly straight, flat-grooved, dull brown 



138. Agave Franzosinii. (No. 20.) 



spine and small prickles on moderately low, fleshy 

 prominences: infl. fairly large but loose; fls. 2 in.; 

 ovary 1}^ in., segm. M m -> tube J^in.: caps, oblong, 

 somewhat stipitate. S. Mex. G.W. 2, p. 603. Much 

 of the "coccinea" of gardens is A. macroculmis, Tod., a 

 member of the subgenus Littsea.. 



BBBB. Lvs. rather oblong, very rigid, gray or glaucous, 

 scarcely repand: spine decurrent: fls. rather large, 

 yellow, rarely followed by bulbils. Nearly trunk- 

 less. 



13. applanata, Jacobi. Lvs. lance-oblong, acute, 4-6 x 

 40-60 in. when mature but commonly seen of much 

 smaller size, glaucous, with broad open gray or pur- 

 plish spine and rather large more or less connected 

 prickles: infl. 25-30 ft.; fls. 2}^ in.; ovary 1M in., segm. 

 Min., tube Y^n. E. Mex. G.C. II. 7, p. 717. D.G.Z. 

 1903, p. 528. Tod., Hort. Pan. pi. 30. Rep. Mo. Bot. 

 Gard. 22, pi. 73, 74. 



14. Pfirryi, Engelm. (A. applanata Pdrryi, Mulford. 

 A. Marcusii, Hort.). Lvs. oblong, acute, 2-4 x 10-12 



