CHAP. CXVI. 



YU'CCA. 



2523 



their houses together, and to make their swinging beds, called hammocks. At 

 Carthagena, a starch, or rather glue, is made from the stem, which is sold 

 there at \\d. the Spanish pound. A specimen of this starch was sent to us 

 in 1834, by Dr. Hamilton of Plymouth. (See Gard.Mag., vol. x. p. 454.) 



i 2. F. (G.) SUPE'RBA. The superb Yucca. 



Identification. Haworth Suppl., Plant. Suec., p. 35. ; Bot. Reg., 1698. 



Synonyme. Y. gloribsa And. Bot. Rep., t. 473. 



Engravings. Bot. Rep., t. 473/; Bot. Reg., t. 1698. ; and our fig. 2392. 



Spec. Char., $c. Stem arborescent. Leaves sword- 

 shaped and plaited, with a very strong spine. Flow- 

 ers ovate, bell-shaped, and drooping; pure white. 

 (And.} This species was separated from Y. gloriosa 

 by Mr. Haworth, on account of its more arborescent 

 stem, the greater density of the flowers, and the 



whiteness of their petals when expanded ; the young 

 gloriosa. In cultivation in Malcolm's Nursery about 



buds, however, have a tinge 



of purple 

 Malcolm' 



le like those of 



1810 ; and there are plants in the Horticultural So- 

 ciety's Garden. 



1 3. Y. v4Loi'FO v LiA L. The Aloe-leaved Yucca, or Adam's Needle. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 457.; Reich., 2.83.; Willd., 2. 184.; Mart. Mill., 2. ; Ait. Hort. Kew., 



ed. 2., 2. p. 291. ; Desf. Hist, des Arb., &c., 1. p. 18. ; N. Du Ham., 3. p. 14fi. ; Lodd. Cat., 



ed. 1836; Bon Jard., 1837- 

 Synonymes. Y. arbor^scens, &c., Dill. Elth., 435.; A'loe Yuccee foliis, caulescens, Pluk. Aim., 19., 



A. americana Yuccte fb\ns, arborescens, Com. Prtel., 64. ; Y. caulscens, fbliis lineari-lanceol&tis, 



&c., Michx. Fl. Bar. Amer., 5. p. 196. 

 Engravings. Dil. Elth., t. 323. f. 416.; Pluk. Aim., t 256. f. 4. ; Comm. Prael., t. 14. ; Bot. Mag., 



t. 1700. ; and our Jig. 2393. 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves crenulate, stiff. {Willd.) A native of South Ame- 

 rica. Introduced before 1696, and flowering in August and September. 



Variety. 



1 Y. a. 2 pendula Cat. Hort. Par., p. 24., N. Du Ham., iii. p. 147., Bon 

 Jard., ed. 1837, has the leaves pendent. 



Description, $c. A remarkable palm-like tree, with a thick tough stem 

 or trunk, 10ft. or 12ft. high, crowned with a header tuft of stiff, narrow, 

 light green leaves, the edges of which are slightly t 

 serrated, and the points ending in sharp, strong, very 

 hard spines. The flower-stalk rises from the centre 

 of the leaves, and is 2ft. or 3ft. high, branching out 

 so as to form a pyramid. The flowers grow close 

 to the branches, and form a regular spike : they are 

 purplish without and white within. When the flowers 

 have dropped, the head from which they sprang 

 dies ; but, generally, one or two young heads come 

 out from the side of the stalk, below the old head. 

 This species is rather more tender than F. gloriosa. 

 It is a native of South America, and was cultivated 

 before 1696, in the Royal Gardens at Hampton 

 Court. Fig. 2394. is a portrait of a plant, or rather 

 tree, of Y. alo'ifolia, growing in the gardens at Adare, 

 which was taken in October, 1837, and kindly sent 

 to us by the Countess Dunraven. The plant mea- 

 sures 28 ft. in height ; the circumference of the trunk, at 10 ft. from the ground, 

 is 17 in.; and, at the height of 20 ft., it divides into six massy branches, 

 each terminating in a pyramid of flowers. In the figure, only four of these 

 branches are exhibited, this being the greatest number that could be seen at 

 one time from any one point of view. It is supposed to have been planted 

 upwards of 40 years, and appears, from the drooping habit of the leaves, 

 to be the variety Y. a. pendula. It is the finest specimen of Yucca that we 



2393 



