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from the Chelsea Garden by Lord Auckland during 1836, 

 and was looked on by Wallich as doubtfully distinct from 

 the existing " lurida" There can be little question that the 

 plant Haworth meant was Miller's " Vera Cruz " Agave, and 

 this presumbly is the Vera Cruz variety of the Hortus 

 Cliffbrtianus also ; that it is the present " lurida " of the 

 Calcutta Garden we consider certain. What the " lurida " of 

 Roxburgh's day may have been remains to be seen, if indeed 

 we are to think that it was distinct from the " Vtra Cruets " of 

 the Hortus Suburbanus, but it certainly was not " Cantata" 

 Roxburgh's " Cantala" seems to have been lost between 1840 

 and 1847, at which period extensive alterations were in progress. 

 There is a Catalogue of 1847 (which is however probably not 

 exhaustive), in which no Furcrseas are shewn, and only two 

 Agaves, viz., A. americana Linn, and Vera Cruets Haworth. 

 The " americana" if it was the true americana of Linnaeus, must 

 have been a recent introduction, because this is included in 

 Voigt's list of garden desiderata. 



The next after Roxburgh to observe an Agave naturalized 

 in India was Dr. Francis Buchanan (afterwards Hamilton). 



The following is from the " Journeij " (London 1807, p. 36} 

 [march of 6th May 1800, Baydamangulum to Tayculum.] 



" The natives here plant also many aloes (Agave vivipara) in their hedges 

 and use the leaves for making cordage. It forms a strong defence against loth 

 man and beast, and thrives better in the arid soil of Mysore than in any other 

 place that I have seen ; its Canarese or Karnataca name is Havana Meshid." 



There is nothing to shew why Buchanan named his plant 

 (which is pretty certainly the same as Wight's) Agave vivipara, 

 but most likely he was led by Linnaeus' citations in the Species 



Plantarum. 







Moon's Catalogue (Colombo, 1824. p. 25) gives as growing in Ceylon Agave 

 americana, A. lurida, and Furcraa tuberosa. No authorities are cited, but as 

 the English name of "lurida" is given as " Vera Cruz" (Aloe) the species 

 doubtless was = A. lurida H. . C. What Moon's A. americana may have been, 

 we cannot say, and the same applies to records from the Mascarene Islands, from 

 the Cape of Good Hope, and Saint Helena also. A St. Helena plant cultivated 

 in the Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg (Java) has been described as a distinct 

 species by Saworth under the name of A . angustijolia. 



In the Flora Capensis (Stuttgardt, 1S23) Thunberg mentions "Agave 

 americana " as naturalized on Table Mountain, etc. 



Certain Agaveee have been long naturalized in the Mauritius. Mr. Baker 

 (Flora of Mauritius, 1877) shews Agave americana and Furcraea gigantea as 

 established. A Furcraea known as "Mauritius Hemp" is grown in parts of 

 Southern India. 



