F 
and inch longer than the filaments, apparently already c 
siderably lengthened when the stamens % begin to unfold. Cap¬ 
sules cuspidate but not stipitate, 2J-2I inches long, not quitejlB 
inch in diameter, forming a densely packed radiating cluster, § 
inches in diameter ; seeds 4 lines wide. 
% (Schott) 
t reports, 
11 Tubus lobis vise brevior vel cequalis. 
14. Agave rigida, Mill. Diet, ed, 8, 1768: caulescens ; foliis 
lanceolato-linearibus glaucescentibus, margine aculeis distantibigs 1 
rectis parvis fuscis dentato, spina terminali valida terete saepe 
torta basi ipsa solum paulo excavata in marginem corneum de- 
currente ; scapo elato foliaceo-bracteato, paniculas ovatae capsuli- 
gerae viviparaeque ramis horizontalibus ramulosis fascicules 
florum laxiores bracteis triangularibus brevibus stipatos gerenti- 
bus; ovario perigonio paulo breviore, staminibus medio tubo 
infundibuliformi lobis paulo breviori vel supra medium insertis 
longe exsertis stylo demum aequilongis .—Fourcroya rigida y 
Haw. Syn. 74, Kunth en. 5, 843 ; A. angustifolia , Haw. Saxif. 
35 I A • Ixtli, Karw. ap. Salm, Hort. Dyck. 304; Jacobi Ag. 95. 
Var. eongifolia : foliis multo longioribus glaucis, aculeatq- 
dentatis, spina terminali non decurrente. 
Var. ? Sisalana : foliis multo longioribus viridioribus margine y 
integris seu pauci-dentatis, spina terminali non decurrente.-#-' 
Agave Sisalana , Perrine, vide infra. 
The original plant was, according to Miller, brought from Vera 
Cruz ; my specimens, on which the above diagnosis is based, 
were collected in Yucatan by Dr. Schott.. Dr. Perrine forty, and 
Dr. Schott ten years ago, studied in Yucatan this interesting plant, 
its different forms and economical uses, and left us account^ 
of it, the former in Senate Doc. 300, Washington, Mar. 12, 1838 ; ‘ 
the latter in the Report of the Agricultural Department at Wash¬ 
ington for 1869. Both'agree that there is a common native spe¬ 
cies in Yucatan, called Chelem by the aboriginal inhabitants ; but 
from time immemorial a number of varieties, all characterizeel 
by much longer leaves, and one also by the absence of marginal 
spines, and differing among themselves in the quantity and qual¬ 
ity of their fibre, have been cultivated by the natives of YucatanJ 
and are a staple product of that country to this day, furnishing 
the well-known Sisal hemp. The people know them as Jene- 
Jjthe Sacci (Sac 
mm, larger than 
ft fibre but in sn 
Land poor fib 
Rperrine mentic 
■'Karwinski, as fu 
■eld a return of le 
|or 60 years und 
jit off as soon as 
itinue the grow 
|ve by being pre^ 
I The trunk of th 
»doubt to Mi 
2 feet long an 
rbase and > 
| inch apart, most 
r unequal, w 
anal spine 1 inc 
what twisted 
kred-brown, 2 
Ktdge for several i 
|H5feet high *, 
Iperigon 16 , tub< 
About the middle 
llan the perigon 
0 1 2 3 4 5 . 6 7 8 9 10 Missouri 
BOTANICAL 
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