148 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



Fuecbaea longaeva Karwinski & Zuccarini. 



Furcraea longaeva Zuccarini, Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. 16 2 : 665. 

 pi. 48. 1833. — As with other species, the generic name is variously 

 spelled Furcraea, Furcroea and Fourcroya; and the specific name 

 has been transformed into longa by Smith, Teysmannia. 7: 131. 

 1897. 



Arboreous, the unbranched trunk becoming 15 m. or 

 more high. Leaves gray, outcurved, lanceolate, subacu- 

 minate, concave, 8-15x200 cm., minutely rough-mar- 

 gined. Inflorescence 5 m. high, broadly conical, short- 

 stalked. Flowers 30-40 mm. long: ovary 20-25 mm. 

 long, rather longer than the perianth. Capsules oblong, 

 narrowed below: seeds 4x6 mm. Bulbils unknown. 



Said to have been found by Skinner in the high moun- 

 tains of Guatemala many years ago. The type was from 

 Mt. Tanga, Oaxaca, at an altitude of 9,000-10,000 ft., 

 and Purpus has rediscovered it on the Cerro de Besetla, 

 in the Sierra de Mixteca, on the boundary between the 

 Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca. 



Furcraea quicheensis n. sp. 



Caulescent, the sometimes branched trunk little over 

 1 m. high. Leaves very pale green, heavily pruinose, 

 lanceolate, acute, smooth, 10x120 cm., the thin subcar- 

 tilaginous margin roughened at intervals of 1-2 mm. by 

 minute straight yellowish denticles. Inflorescence 2.5-5 

 m. high, scarcely 1 m. wide with much reduced lower 

 branches, subsessile (?): pedicels 7-10 mm. long, once 

 or twice surpassed by the subtending bracts. Flowers 

 50-60 mm. long: ovary 25-30 mm. long, equaling the 

 perianth: segments 6-8x25-30 mm., white-margined: 

 filaments 10-12 mm. long. Capsules (immature) very 

 narrowly oblong, 30x100-120 mm. : seeds and bulbils un- 

 known. 



Specimens examined: Guatemala. Between Quiche 

 and Totonicapan (Cook, n. b. 421, May 17, 1906 — the 

 type, in the U. S. National Herbarium as sheet number 

 692,146). 



