NOTES ON AGAVE. 301 
He adds that he has “named them Agave, because that word indicates something grand and admi- 
rable.” It is interesting to observe how even at that early date, when botanical geography was not 
yet born, the geographical domains of these different groups of plants struck the discriminating mind 
of Linnzus as something remarkable and characteristic. 
The AGAVE were first recognized as a distinct tribe by R. A. Salisbury,! who united in his 12th 
order of Sarmentacee Yucca (with a “ pericarpium superum”) and Agave, Polyanthes, and others 
(with a “pericarpium inferum”), thus recognizing the great resemblance of these plants, which we 
now place in different but parallel families, just on account of the relation of the ovary to the other 
parts of the flower. 
Other botanists? have appended them to the Amaryllidacee, but it must be confessed 
that they have only the inferior ® ovary in common with the true bulbiferous Amaryllidaces, [293 (5)] 
distinguished by a naked scape and an involucral spathe. The numerous horizontally- 
tened black seeds, mentioned already by Salisbury as being common to Yucca and Agave, are not 
found in the true Amaryllis family; nor do these possess the filiform embryo which diagonally trav- 
erses the whole length of the albumen. Other interesting differences are found in the valvate esti- 
vation of the Agavez and in their commissural‘ stigmas, while the true Amaryllidacee have an 
imbricate xstivation and carinal stigmas. and so have Yucca and perhaps all Liliacez. 
TRUNK. 
The majority of the Agaves are acaulescent and monocarpic ; the short subterranean trunk con- 
tinues to grow for years® until vigorous enough to evolve the flowering stem, —a continuation of its 
axis, — and dies after bearing fruit. During its growth a wreath of numerous thick, fleshy, white root- 
fibres is developed every spring from its lower part, while the lowest, oldest part of the trunk dies 
and rots away. This is the case at least in Agave Virginica. A few Agaves have persistent trunks, 
sometimes of considerable dimensions ; these produce flowers repeatedly, just as the caulescent Yue- 
cas do, from axillary branches, after the terminal bud of the main axis has fulfilled its destiny and 
died. These secondary branches are initiated by a pair of short and clumsy, strongly carinate leaves, 
which may be considered as representing bud-scales (Niederblaetter), as I noticed in vigorous speci- 
mens of A. Boucheana, Jacobi, and A. chlorocantha, Salm, in the Berlin botanic garden, 1869, 
In the acaulescent Agaves the subterranean trunk dies entirely, or for the greater part; but in 
A. Americana, and probably in the majority of the species, it first emits from the axils of decaying 
leaves numerous offshoots, which grow into separate young plants and thus propagate the individual. 
n A, Virginica it produces sessile lateral buds, which grow up, still adhering to the 
sistent part of the old trunk, a sort of corm, giving to the plant eventually a cespitose ap- [294 ( 6)] 
pearance. Polyanthes behaves just in this manner. 
The subterranean trunk of most (or all?) Agaves contains, like that of Yuccas and many other 
plants of these families, a great deal of mucilage,® which, mixed -with water, has detergent qualities 
to a considerable degree: these “ roots” and the whole plants thus used are known to the Mexicans 
by the name of Amole. Another use is made of the trunk, when before flowering it has developed 
a large quantity of saccharine matter, — for nourishment ; and not only the trunk of Mexican Agaves, 
1 Genera of Plants, ed. 1866, p- 77. carpel itself or its carina, therefore opposed or rather super- 
2 Endlicher, gen., p. 181; Kunth, Enum. 5, p. 818. —— to the carpel, 
3 In Agave the ovary is truly and entirely inferior, but the 5 In A. Americana, in its home, eight to fifteen or more 
nity allied Polyanthes shows a partly (about 4) superior years ; under more unfavorable circumstances, in cultivation 
ary. in colder countries, on longer, even, it is said, fifty ora 
* Stigmas formed by the commissures: of the aaa there- ae years, whence the name century-plant. 
fore alternating with these, rare The 6 The suggestion ‘eke (p. 21) that the rootstock may con- 
common form is the carinal diate formed by nde ip ‘at the tain saponine, has not been verified by chemical analysis. 
