LXXX. ZILIA V CE^E: YU'CCA. 



1101 



*- 4". R. RACEMO N SUS Li. The racemose Ruscus, or Alexandria Laurel. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1474. ; Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 2., 5. p. 421. 



Synonymes. R. angustifolius, fructu summis ramulis, &c., Tourn. Inst. 79., DM Ham. Arb. 4. ; 



Fragon a Grappes, Fr. ; Trauben Mausedorn, Ger. ; Lauro ideo, Hal. 

 Engravings. Dend. Brit., 1. 145. ; our fig. 2063. to our usual scale ; and fig. 2064. of the natural size. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Flowers hermaphrodite, produced at 

 the ends of the branches. (Willd.) A low evergreen 

 shrub. Portugal. Height 4- ft. In- 

 troduced in 1739. Flowers greenish 

 yellow; May. Berries red, with a 

 round coriaceous white disk at the 

 base ; ripening during winter. 



According to some, this species is 



supposed to be the plant with which 



the ancients crowned their victors ; 



but, though the stalks are flexible 



enough to wreath easily, and the leaves 



resemble those represented on ancient 



busts, yet the fruit being terminal, does 



not agree nearly so well with the fruit 



represented in the crowns on these 



busts as that of the Z/aurus nobilis, 

 which is axillary, and resembles that shown in the 

 coronal wreaths of classical sculpture. 



GENUS II. 



206.3. R. racemosus. 



YU'CCA L. THE YUCCA, or ADAM'S NEEDLE. Lin. Syst. Hexandria 

 Monogynia. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 456. ; Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 2., 2. 291. ; N. Du Ham., 3. 145. 

 Derivation. The name of the plant in Peru. 



Gen. Char. Perianth campanulate, 6-parted, regular. Stamens 5, thickest 

 at top. Anthers small. Stigmas sessile. Capsule oblong, bluntly trigonal ; 

 3-celled, 3-valved, many-seeded. Seeds flat. (G. Don.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, evergreen ; ensiform, pointed. 

 Flowers large, white; disposed in spikes or panicles, terminal. Shrubs ever- 

 green, with the habit of palm trees ; natives of North and South America, 

 chiefly on the sea coast. 



In British gardens, most of the species are somewhat tender. They prefer 

 a dry and deep sandy soil, or a sandy loam ; and they are readily propagated 

 by suckers, which are thrown up by the roots, or by side shoots, which are 

 occasionally produced on the stem. They sometimes ripen seeds, which, if 

 sown immediately after they are gathered, and placed in a moderate hot-bed, 

 will come up in six weeks. In their native countries, their leaves, treated 

 like the stalks of hemp or flax, afford a fibre which may be used like that of 

 those plants, in the manufacture of cloth or cordage ; and the stems, mace- 

 rated in water, deposit a feculent matter, from which starch may be procured. 

 In a floricultural point of view, all the species are highly ornamental ; and 

 no lawn or flower border ought to be without some of them. As the yucca 

 grows naturally on the sea shore, it is particularly adapted for marine gardens. 



1. Y. GLORIO'SA L. The glorious Yucca, or Adam's Needle. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 456. ; Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 2., 2. p. 291. 



Synonymes. Y. canadena Aid. Hort. Par. 33. ; Y. indica, &c., Burr. Ear. 70. 1. 1194. ; Y., or YUcca, 



peruana Ger. Emac. 1543. ; Y. nijva gloribsa, &c., Lob. Adv. 2. p. 507. ; the superb Yucca; Yur-ca 



nain ; Yucca a Feuilles entiferes, Fr. ; prachtiger Yukka, Ger. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 1260. ; and our fig. 2065. 



