YUCCA, 



285 



when developed entire or occasionally with a 

 few slender fibres. Inflorescence mostly nar- 

 rowly paniculate, the base often not exserted, 

 glabrous or exceptionally puberulent. Flowers 

 creamy white, often tinged with red or violet : 

 ovary often with a slight suggestion of basal 

 stipe ; style oblong, white, frequently three- 

 divided. Fruit obovoid-oblong, mostly pen- 

 dent, with six prominent ridges, the thin exo- 

 carp soon drying about the core ; seeds glossy, 

 slightly grooved as if the albumen were rumi- 

 nated. Coast and "sea islands," from South 

 Carolina to north-eastern Florida, on the sand 

 dunes. Generally planted and in places escap- 

 ing, in the eastern Gulf region. The typical 

 form and a variety plicata are the only known 

 spontaneous forms of this species. It has been 

 in cultivation since 1596, and to-day is repre- 

 sented by a number of garden forms, several of 

 them hardy further north than any other spe- 

 cies except Ys.flaccida,filamentosa, and glauca. 

 Some of these approach the following two spe- 

 cies while others are but tentatively placed any- 

 where ; a number of imperfectly described gar- 

 den hybrids add to the difficulty of properly 

 understanding T. gloriosa. 



Varieties : minor, a garden form smaller in 

 every way ; obliqua, a form with glaucous leaves 

 somewhat twisted to one side ; medio-striata, a 

 garden sport with a median whitish stripe on 

 the leaves ; robusta, intermediate between Ts. 

 gloriosa and recurvifolia, with the outermost of 

 the slightly plicate leaves somewhat stiffly re- 

 curved ; nobi/is, leaves scarcely plicate, glaucous, 

 the outer recurved, sometimes twisted to one 

 side — it is an intermediate form differing from 

 the preceding in its more persistently glaucous 

 leaves ; long folia, scarcely differs from var. no- 

 bilis except in its young leaves being narrower, 

 though in age they are said to reach a width of 

 3 inches ; plicata differs from the type in having 

 the more permanently glaucous, shorter and 

 hence relatively broader concave leaves evi- 

 dently plicate towards the apex — found in the 

 "Sea islands" of Georgia and South Carolina; 

 superba,a. cultivated form of the above, becom- 

 ing 8 or 1 2 feet high, with greener leaves ; 

 maculata, a low garden form, with the plicate 

 dark green leaves persistently roughened on 

 the margin, the varietal name referring to a 

 mottled variation of the usual red tinging of 

 the flowers. 



T. recurvifolia (Salisbury). — Shortly cau- 

 lescent, branching. Leaves at first somewhat 

 glaucous, nearly plane, long, flexible, recurved, 

 about 2 inches wide,often slightly plicate above, 

 narrowly yellow or brown margined, often with 

 a very few microscopic teeth, at length entire 

 or slightly filiferous. Panicle narrow, the scape 

 often included. Styles shouldered. Fruit erect, 

 oblong, with six winged ribs mostly infolded 

 over the nectarial grooves ; seeds rather dull, 

 the surface less grooved. " Sea islands " and ad- 

 jacent coast of Georgia. This species has been 

 in cultivation since 1794, and is represented by 

 many garden varieties : — rufocincta, a low form 

 with rather pronounced accentuation of the 

 reddish-brown margin ; marginata, leaves bor- 

 dered with yellow, and often with a rose tint. 

 Gardens : — variegata, a. garden sport with me- 

 dian yellow stripe ; elegans differs in having the 

 median stripe reddish. 



T.Jlexilis (Carriere). — Shortly caulescent. 

 Leaves most transiently glaucous, nearly plane, 

 long, narrow, little if at all plicate, occasionally a 

 little persistently denticulate or filiferous, flexi- 

 ble, at least the outer recurved. Panicle loose, 

 exserted on a long scape. Style somewhat 

 shouldered. Fruit unknown. A many-formed 

 plant, apparently known only in gardens where 

 it often passes for T. gloriosa. 



Varieties : Peacockii, scarcely appears to 

 differ except in the leaves being stricter ; ensi- 

 folia is taller, 3 to \\ feet, with less recurving, 

 soon pale green, somewhat concave entire 

 leaves ; Hildrethi differs from ensifolia chiefly 

 in having its somewhat falcate leaves usually 

 finely filiferous in age ; St. Augustine, Florida, 

 where it is said to bloom throughout the win- 

 ter : tortulata differs from ensifolia chiefly in 

 being shorter-stemmed andwith its green leaves 

 flatter and somewhat falcate, and from T. glo- 

 riosa minor in its longer outer leaves being re- 

 flexed : semi-cylindrica differs from ensifolia in 

 its firm and deeply concave narrower leaves, 

 less than three-quarters of an inch wide : Boer- 

 haavii is distinct from the preceding in its 

 flat scarcely pungent leaves : patens, a garden 

 form, said to have come from China, with 

 less arched glaucous slightly rough-margined 

 leaves, approaching some of the forms of T. 

 gloriosa. 



T. De Smetiana (Baker). — Caulescent, at 

 length with a trunk 6 or 8 feet high. Leaves 



