LILIACE.K. 277 



Histori/. — The plaut was (liscuvered in New Zealand, and carried to Europe 

 by Captain Cook in 1773, and described by Linnaeus. It is found wild and 

 also under cultivation in its native country. 



Preparation. — The leaves are cut into strips, and the outer green part 

 scraped off ; the tihcrs are then separated and kept straight, and are washed, 

 rubbed, and bleached in the sun ; it is then creamy white, and has a silky 

 luster. While growing, it resembles the American agave or century -plant. 



Use. — It is used in New Zealand for fabrics for garments, and for cordage, 

 and enters into commerce as a material for cordage and coarse bagging. It is 

 also used to adulterate the tiber of the musa textilis in the manufacture of 

 manilla cordage. 



ALOE, L. Perianth tubular, contracted above, straight or slightly 

 curved, (i-lobed at the summit, nearly closed. Stamens 6, inserted 

 below the ovary, exserted ; filaments awl-shaped, as long as the 

 perianth ; anthers linear-oblong, introrse, 3-celIed, many-ovuled ; style 

 thread-like ; stigma small ; capsule leathery, ovoid or oblong ; seeds 

 numerous, 3-angled or flattened, 3-winged ; testa membranaceous and 

 black. Leaves thick, fleshy, in two or three series, crowded near the 

 base of the stem, lanceolate, ends curved down; margins dentate; 

 teeth armed with spines ; scape terminal. Flowers yellowish. 



1. A. vulgaris, Lamarck. (Aloes.) Stem perennial, 2 to 3 feet high, 6 to 8 

 inches in diameter, crowned with a dense cluster of leaves, bases wide, lower 

 ones spreading, up])er ones more erect, lanceolate, thick, Heshy, concave 

 above, convex beneath ; margins toothed ; teeth armed with hooked prickles ; 

 surface of the leaf smooth, dark green or mottled ; scape either sim])le or 

 branched, rising from the crown of leaves, terminated with a slender spike of 

 flowers ; bracts triangular, acute, longer than the jjedicels, veined, and per- 

 sistent. Stamens 6, a little longer than the perianth ; anthers small, oblong. 

 Ovary oblong-oval, bluntly triangular, :?-celled, double row of ovules in each 

 cell ; style as long as stamens ; stigma terminal. Fruit oblong-ovoid, blunt 

 capsule, an inch long, .S-celled ; ])ericar]) tliin, brown, smooth ; seeds numerous, 

 flattened ; testa thin and membranaceous. Flowers yellow, tinged with 

 green. 



1 A. socotrina. Lam. This species differs from the last in a taller stem, 

 which, as it gr(»ws old, becomes forkedly branched, with tufts of leaves at the 

 summits of the branches, prickles on tlie leaves. Perianth an inch and a half 

 long, red or pinkish, with greenish-white tips, part of the stamens extending 

 beyond the perianth. 



8. A spicata, L. f. Stem about .3 feet high. Leaves enveloping the base 

 of the stem, curved, and then deflexed, al)out 2 feet long, flat near the base, 

 becoming nearly cylindrical near the end, armed with strong, sharp, tri- 

 angular prickles, with several small ones at the sununit. Flowers bright 

 orange-yellow. Stamens longer than perianth ; style longer than stamens. 



There arc in all about SO species of this genus, natives of the hot regions 

 of the Old World. But the aloe of connnerce is the product of the species 

 above described, and of others whose ))otaiiical characters have not been deter- 

 mined, and whose home is not known. 



