108 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
very stiff concave leaves, such as var. plicata. In the var. robusta 
some of the older leaves bend over after the manner of those of Y. 
recurvifolia. There is a narrow -leaved form known as Y. Ellacombei, 
which Trelease considers to be the same as Y. g. nobilis Carriere. It 
has large and handsome flowers, but does not grow so tall as the others. 
There is a good figure of it in Saunders' " Refugium Botanicum." 
One of the most striking forms has a broad golden margin to the 
leaves, and when seen in good health is one of the best of variegated 
plants. It grows well in Mr. Fletcher's fine garden near Bognor, 
and is there one of the most floriferous of all Yuccas. One single- 
stemmed plant, topped with several crowns, showed seven old flower- 
stems. There was for many years a fine specimen of this variety 
growing in front of the library window at Bit ton Vicarage, but after 
flowering it became diseased, lost its crown, and had to be propagated 
from the stem, which, laid down on good soil, rooted and produced 
young shoots throughout its entire length. 
Y. recurvifolia is easily recognized by the glaucous tint of its flat 
leaves, and their habit of bending over and drooping for two-thirds of 
their length. It will form a stem of 5 or 6 feet, and is almost as hardy 
as Y . flaccida. It has been suggested that it may be a natural hybrid 
of that species and gloriosa. In 1917, both at Waltham Cross and at 
Kew, several fine old specimens were ruined through the severe frosts. 
Those with tall, bare stems suffered most, the frost rendering them 
flaccid, so that they bent over and finally decayed. In some seasons 
it flowers freely and lasts in beauty for a long time. There are two 
variegated forms in cultivation. The better one has bright yellow 
stripes on the margins of the leaves, but is not very hardy here. The 
second has a faint median stripe of dull yellowish green and appears 
as hardy as the type, but the variegation is not sufficiently defined to 
make the plant more than a curiosity. 
In sheltered gardens in the south, or where a specially favourable 
site could be found, such as an angle between two walls, or at the end 
of a verandah, where overhead protection is provided, it might be 
worth while trying some of the following species : 
Y. Treculeana. — A fine arborescent species. It has survived 
several winters in my garden at the foot of a south wall, but makes 
little progress. * 
Y. aloifolia forms a stem rapidly when grown under glass ; but 
here it has been cut to the ground repeatedly in severe winters. 
Y. baccata. — A short-stemmed species with rigid blue-green leaves 
and very large flowers. It flowered at St. John's, Ryde, but only 
exists in a state of summer convalescence here. 
Carl Sprenger raised a great number of hybrid Yuccas at Naples 
in the early years of this century, and advertised about fifty named 
forms. Some of them have succeeded well at Ludgvan Rectory in 
Cornwall, but only one has so far proved valuable here. It was sent 
out as Y. vomerensis, and described as a cross between aloifolia and 
recurvifolia. It is a strikingly handsome plant and now stands 8 feet 
