620 



FURCRJSA 



FURZE 



except that the Furcraeas are given more heat and water. 

 F. gigantea has a very pretty variegated form, which 

 makes a useful pot-plant. 



As a rule, Furcraeas bear fruit not more than once, and 

 then die without producing suckers. However, they 

 produce while in flower an immense number of bulbels, 

 which may be used for propagation. It is impossible to 

 say at what size or age the plants will bloom. Grown 

 inkpots, they may take a century. On the other hand, 

 plants from bulbels have been known to flower at 3 years. 



885. Funkia ovata. (See page 619.) 



A. Texture of Ivs. firm : spines usually present, deltoid: 

 no minute teeth on margin. (Furcrcea proper.) 



B. Trunk 3-4 ft. long : spines absent. 

 gigantea, Vent. Lvs. 4-6 ft. long, 4-6 in. broad at 

 middle, 2K-3 in. above base, usually without marginal 

 spines, rarely with a few near the base: peduncle 20-40 

 ft. long: odor of fls. strong. Trop. Amer. Naturalized 

 in Mauritius, Madagascar, India. B.M.2250. G.C. III. 

 23:227. R.H. 1857, pp. 206, 207. Var. variegata, Hort., 

 has variegated Ivs. 



BB. Trunk none or short : spines present. 



C. Length of Ivs. 12 ft. or more. 



altissima, Todaro. A recent and little known species 

 named at Palermo, Italy. Franceschi writes that it has 

 hardly any trunk : Ivs. bright green, with very few 



spines, 12 ft, long or more, erect, not drooping. It is 

 tenderer than the other kinds. 



CC. Length of Ivs. 5-6 ft. 



elegans, Todaro. Lvs. 4-5 in. broad at middle, 3 in. 

 above base, rough on the back; prickles large: pedun- 

 cle 20-25 ft. long. Mex. 



ccc. Length of Ivs. 2-3 ft. 

 D. Prickles usually large-sized. 



E. Panicle reaching 10-12 ft.; branches slightly 



compound. 



Cub6nsis, Haw. Lvs. 3-4 in. broad above middle, 1% 

 in. above base, the tip convolute; prickles large, dis- 

 tant, hooked: peduncle 5-6 ft. long. Odor of fls. faint. 

 This and F. gigantea are widely spread in trop. Amer. 

 and often cult, in the Old World. They are the oldest 

 in cult. All the rest are rare. Var. inermis, Baker, is 

 spineless. B.M. 6543. F. Lindeni, Jacobi, has varie- 

 gated Ivs. I. H. 21: 186. 



EE. Panicle reaching 30 ft.; branches copiously 



compound. 



tuberosa, Ait. Lvs. a trifle longer and narrower than 

 in F. Cubensis, 2-3 in. broad: fls. sweet scented. Int. by 

 Franceschi, 1900. 



DD. Prickles middle-sized. 



pubescens, Todaro. Baker does not say that the Ivs. 

 are not convolute at the tip, nor does he distinguish the 

 Ivs. from those of F. Cubensis, except in the smaller- 

 sized prickles. It is presumably the only species in 

 Furcraea proper with a pubescent ovary. Peduncle 

 scarcely longer than the Ivs. : panicle 5 times as long as 

 the peduncle ; branches copiously compound. Trop. 

 Amer. B.M. 7250. 



AA. Texture of Ivs. flexible and u'avy : spines absent: 

 minute teeth on margin. (Subgenus Rotzlia.) 



B. Trunk 5-6 ft. high: Ivs. glaucous. 

 Bedinghausii, K. Koch (F. Roezlii, Andre. Yucca 

 Parmentieri, Roezl. R&zlia regia, Hort.). Lvs. 3-4 

 ft. long, 3-4 in. broad at middle, 1 in. above base, 

 permanently glaucous on both sides, very rough on the 

 back: inflor. 15-20 ft. high. Mex. R.B. 1863, p. 327; 

 1883, p. 133 (full history). R.H. 1887, p. 353 ; 1895, pp. 



. G.C. 



468,469. B.M. 7170. Gn. 52, p. 197. 



III. 9:489. 



BB. Trunk finally 40-50 ft. high: Ivs. not glaucous. 



longaeva, Karw. & Zucc. Lvs. 4-5 ft.. long, 4-5 in. 

 broad, narrowed to 2 in. above base, the roughness on 

 the back only oh the keel: inflorescence 40 ft. long. 

 Mex. B.M. 5519. G.C. II. 16:653. 



F. FRANCESCHI, G. W. OLIVER and W. M. 



FURZE. L'lex, particularly l r . Europwus. 



