AMARYLLIS FAMILY 



(Amaryllidacece) 



Perennial mostly herbaceous plants, resembling the Lilies, 

 but distinguished by having the lower part of the perianth 

 adherent to the surface of the ovary, thus giving the appear- 

 ance of the flower's being set above the ovary. Stamens 6. 

 Leaves usually basal, without distinction of blade and petiole. 



MESCAL (Agdve deserti, Englm.). This is a cousin of the 

 well known Century Plant or Maguey of Mexico, and is found 

 on the sun-scorched, desert-facing slopes of the Southern Cali- 

 fornia mountains. While in general aspect resembling the 

 Century Plant, it is smaller, with clustered basal leaves, fleshy, 

 spiny-pointed and rarely over a foot long. For years the plant 

 grows slowly without any sign of flowering, until some March or 

 April a stalk starts up, resembling a gigantic asparagus sprout 

 and rising rapidly to a height of 8 or 10 feet and opens out a 

 panicle of succulent, bell-shaped yellow flowers. Then follows 

 death. The Indians made great use of the Mescal plant getting 

 a good textile fibre from the leaves, while the base of the young 

 flow r er stalks baked for a day in a hot, covered pit furnished 

 a nutritious item of food, which they call Mescal. 

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