AGAVE AMERICANA. — -AMERICAN ALOE. 
Class VI. HEXANDRIA.— Order I. MONOGYNIA. 
Natural Order, BROMELIACEaE.— THE PINE-APPLE TRIBE. 
Pig. a, Represents a portion of the flowering stem. b, Flower of the natural size. c, The character of the plant in its flowering state. 
The different species of Agave, (ayuvos admirable) especially the A. Americana, or American aloe, have 
long been favourite greenhouse plants in England, and have even been acclimated to the southern parts of 
Europe. Indeed, so essential an ornament is the American agave considered in Italy, that near Milan, and 
in other parts of Lombardy, where it will not endure the winter, imitations of it are made, and so well con- 
structed and painted, that they are usually mistaken for real plants. The old and absurd notion that the 
Agave flowers only once in a century, is scarcely worth contradicting. Several have blossomed in the neigh- 
bourhood of London within the last few years, and been made the subjects of public exhibition. The slow- 
ness of the general growth of the foliage, and the rapidity with which these plants send up their flowering 
stem, (fifteen or twenty feet in height, within the space of a few weeks,) is a circumstance worthy observation. 
In the West Indies, and even in Spain, Portugal, and Sicily, hedges of Agave are common. 
The Agave Americana abounds with sap, which flows freely from wounds made either in the roots or 
the leaves, even for months together. This sap contains much sugar, which is converted into syrup, or 
obtained in a solid form, by evaporation. When allowed to ferment, this juice becomes changed into a sort 
of wine called pulque ; but large quantities are consumed in an unfermented state, the plants being tapped, 
and bucketsful carried to the markets daily. 
Agave Americana is not an aloe, though it goes by the name. The true aloes belong to another natural 
order, the Asphodeleee, which are named after asphodel, or king’s spear, of which there are several varieties, 
natives of the south of Europe. That family all contain active principles, some of which are merely pungent, 
as in the onion tribe ; others mild, by being blanched underground, as in common asparagus; and others, 
again, are strongly medicinal, and used as drugs; as the aloes of Zocotora and Barbadoes. Some of that 
family grow to be very large trees, as, for instance, the dragon tree (Dracaena Draco.) The Agave belongs 
to the pine apple tribe (Bromeliaceee.) The whole are natives of America, though many of them have been 
transplanted to other parts of the world. The pine apple is well known as the most exquisitely flavoured 
fruit that is produced in our hot houses ; and all that branch of the order are very fragrant, so that in their 
native countries, where they grow, though not rooted in the earth, they are much used for ornamenting the 
balconies of houses. The agave bears some resemblance to the pine-apple in its leaves, only they are thicker, 
stiffer, and less numerous ; but it produces no edible fruit. The outside leaves stand round in a star, or 
crown, and the middle consists of a thick spire of leaves, so firmly twisted together, that the edges of the 
one impress the others with a seal. The points are armed with very strong spines ; so that the plant is 
truly formidable, and answers well for hedges, only it occupies considerable breadth. With us it is cultivated 
only as an ornamental plant, and is generally set in large pots or tubs, though it bears in the open air in 
the milder districts, all the year round. Indeed, it is apt to suffer more from the constant soaking of the 
rain, which gets into the central spire and rots the plant. The varieties with striped leaves are most hand- 
some ; but they do not flower so readily. Indeed, none can be made to flower in this country without 
artificial heat. The scape, or flowering stem, rises from the centre of the tuft of leaves ; it is smooth and 
green, and the branches that bear the individual clusters of flowers come off very gracefully in double curves, 
which have the bend downward near the stalk, and upward near the flowers. The appearance is not unlike 
that of a majestic candlestick, with successive branches, for a great portion of its height, and tall as the stem 
is, the form of the leaves gives it the appearance of great stability. Tropical America is the native habitat 
of the plant, but it abounds in the dry and warm places of the south of Europe, along the sandy shores of 
the Mediterranean, and especially in the south of Portugal, and in the dry districts on the confines of Por- 
