Order Clxii
BROMELIACEÆ.
Of these the eatable pine-apple is the representative, from which the other genera differ more in the want of a fleshy fruit than in general appearance. Their habit is acid, their leaves rigid and toothed with spines, and covered with minute scales, their bracteæ often colored with scarlet, and their flowers either white or blue. NATURAL ARRANGEMENT.
They are all natives of tropical countries, with the exception of Tillandsia, which, in the humid woods of Carolina, forms dense festoons among the branches of the trees; this, like many others of the order, is an epiphyte, vegetating among the black mould that collects upon the bark of trees in hot damp countries; others are inhabitants of deep and gloomy forests; and others form, with their spiny leaves, an impenetrable herbage in the extensive pampas of Buenos Ayres and Brazil. From the Agáve mexicana a fermented, beverage, is prepared, from which a strong colorless spirit, resembling the best Scotch whiskey, is distilled. 726 Bromélia W. 728 Pitcaírnia W. 727 Guzmánnia Fl. per. 729 Tillandsia W. 723 Bonapártea F. P. 724 Agáve H. K.
ORDER CLXIII.
LILIACEE. 725 Furcræ'a V.
It is doubted whether several of the preceding orders are not rather sections of this; until, however, the combination of these shall be effected by some hand yet more masterly than those by which they have been divided, it is best to let them remain as they are. The beauty of the plants composing the Liliaceæ, strictly so called, is universally acknowledged; the rich colors of the branching lilies, the vivid hues of the painted tulip, the modest graces of the humble Erythróniums, and the portly forms of the Yúccas are all attractions of which no good garden should be destitute. The species are all inhabitants of either cold or temperate latitudes. 782 Erythrónium W. 771 Lílium W. 772 Túlipa W. 773 Fritillária W. 781 Yúcca W.