On a new species of Furcraea Vent, 

 from Nicaragua. 



By 



Johs. Boye Petersen. 



(With Plate IV.) 



In the year 1848 an Agave-like plant was introduced into, 

 the Botanical Garden of Copenhagen by A. S. Ørsted, who had 

 collected it in Nicaragua. During the time the plant was culti- 

 vated in the hot-house as Agave sp., it did not flower until 1921 

 and therefore a determination was impossible. Prof. W. Trelease, 

 paying a visit to Copenhagen in 1912, critically revised the collec- 

 tion of Agave in the Botanical Garden and also saw the specimen 

 mentioned. He was, however, unable to name the sterile plant, 

 but supposed that it belonged to an undescribed species. 



In the year 1921 it was observed that the specimen was 

 about to flower and the development of the inflorescence was,: 

 of course, followed with interest. In December a scape with 

 a panicle in all about 3 m high shot up. When trying to determine 

 the flowering specimen I quickly found that it did not belong 

 to the genus Agave but to Furcraea Vent., and moreover I discov- 

 ered that it could not rightly be referred to any described species 

 af Furcraea judging from the material, to which I have had 

 access, viz. literature, living specimens in our hot-houses, dried 

 specimens and specimens in alcohol in the museum. 



Unfortunately most descriptions of the species of Furcraea 

 are more or less incomplete, and some species are not figured. 

 It must be regretted that Drummond, who in 1907 wrote on 

 the genus, has not given new descriptions of all species adopted 

 by him, as he certainly has had an unusually good material at his 

 disposal, although, as he says himself, it was deficient as to 

 certain points. 



Botanisk Tidsskrift. 37. Bind. 20 



