HECHTIA. 139 



Sepals oblong, obtuse, floccose, ^ in. long in the female flowers. 

 Petals whitish, obtuse, |- in. long. Male flowers smaller. Stamens 

 shorter than the petals ; filaments thick and fleshy. 



Hab. Highlands of Central Mexico, Ehrenherq 1001 ! Schoffner 501 ! 

 Parry (& Palmer Qll ! Introduced into cultivation by Karwinski about 1840 and 

 again by Ghiesbreght through Verschaffelt. H. DemouUana Hort., of which I 

 have never seen flowers, has habit and leaves very like those of this species, but 

 less lepidote beneath. A plant grown as H. glomerata at Kew, for many years, 

 has thicker, broader, more arcuate leaves, and is no doubt a distinct species, 

 but this also has not yet flowered. 



2. H. ARGENTEA Baker in Bot. Mag. sub. t. 6554, and in Hemsl. 

 Bot. Cent. Amer. iii. 317 (M.D.). — Leaves up to 100 in a dense 

 rosette, ensiform-acuminate, li~2 ft. long, f-1 in. broad low down, 

 very rigid in texture, tapering gradually to the point, persistently 

 silvery on the face and densely finely lepidote and lineate on the back, 

 not turning red when old, armed with large deltoid ascending pun- 

 gent prickles. Peduncle 2-3 ft. long ; bract-leaves distant, scariose, 

 adpressed. Inflorescence a lax panicle 1^ ft. long, compound of 

 numerous sessile ascending subglobose or oblong strobiliform spikes 

 1-1-| in. long ; flower-bracts ovate, brownish, ^ in. long. Sepals 

 oblong, ^ in. long in the pistillate flowers. Petals whitish, half 

 as long again as the calyx. Ovary ovoid, filling up the whole 

 flower, with 6 rudimentary stamens at its base. 



Hab. Central Mexico. We have had this in cultivation at Kew for many 

 years. It first flowered in April, 1870. It is closely allied to H. glomerata, but 

 the leaves are covered on the upper surface with persistent glittering silvery 

 scales. 



3. H. ScHOTTii Baker in Hemsl. Bot. Cent. Amer. iii. 818. — 

 Leaves ensiform-acuminate, 1-J ft. long, under an inch broad at the 

 base, glabrous on the face, white-lepidote and lineate on the back, 

 armed with large upcurved brown horny prickles i-J in. long. 

 Inflorescence a lax panicle, with many short ascending spicate 

 branches dense upwards and a floccose rachis ; flower-bracts ovate, 

 acute, ^-\ in. long. Sepals oblong, ^ in. long. Petals not seen. 

 Capsule ^ in. long, the septicidal valves slitting down the back. 



Hab. South Mexico; province of Yucatan, Scliott 645 ! (Herb. Mus. Brit.). 



4. H. TEXENSis S. Wats. in. Proc. Amer. Acad. xx. 374. — 

 Leaves ensiform-acuminate, very rigid, 15-18 in. long, 2 in. broad 

 at the dilated base, 1|- in. above it, tapering gradually to the point, 

 green and glabrous on the face, densely white-lepidote and lineate 

 on the back, armed with large hooked spreading deltoid-cuspidate 

 horny brown teeth. Stem 2-4 ft. long. Inflorescence a lax 

 panicle, with ascending spicate branches with a floccose rachis, 

 the lower G-8 in. long including the short peduncle, subtended by 

 small lanceolate branch-bracts ; flower- bracts ovate, ^ in. long. 

 Sepals oblong, ^ in. long. Petals white, Imgulate, less than twice 

 as long as tlie calyx. Capsule-valves horny, brown, ^ in. long, 

 cuspidate with the short styles. 



Hab. Western Texas, on the banks of the Rio Grande. Gathered by 

 Dr. Havardin Aug., 1883. Mexico ; province of Coahuila, Pr ingle 72 ! 



