56 FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 
true that these plants attain an age of one hundred years before pro- 
ducing flowers, but the development is slow, and after the plant has 
actually blossomed and fruited it dies outright. Figure 46 shows a 
species of Agare that grows wild on the keys of South Florida (A. 
Sisalana). Its tall, candelabra-like masses of flowers are easily dis- 
cernible some distance away. The fresh leaves are used by many of 
the residents of the Keys in lieu of razor strops, and are con- 
sidered superior to the manufactured article. Figure 47 illustrates 
the proliferous flower-stalks of the same species. In Mexico the 
: ais WN 
Fic. 48.—Southern Spider Lily (Hymenocallis Caribaea), After photograph by Mr. G.N. 
Collins, Upper Matecumbe Key, Florida. 
agave is one of the most important economic plants. Its fermented 
juice, yields the native driuk pulque, while the same product distilled 
yields mescal. A most valuable fiber is extracted from the leaves, and 
the fresh juice is employed in the manufacture of soap. 
Mention should be made of the peculiar appendage to the perianth, 
known as the crown, which is found in the flowers of Varciéssus and 
related genera. This may be seen in the accompanying illustration 
(Fig. 48) of the Southern Spider Lily, a species of Hymenocallis. 
growing wild on the Florida Keys. 
