Aloe. Nineteen species. Chiefly stove plants. Suckers. Rich loam. "The name is altered from ayttvtc, admirable, which this genus may well be said to be, considering its appearance, its size, and the beauty of its flowers. In mythology, Agave is the name of one of the Nereids. A. america-na is a popular succulent throughout Europe. It grows wild or is acclimated in Sicily, the south of Spain, and Italy, and is much used in the latter country, planted in vases as an ornament to piers, parapets, and about houses. About Milan and other towns in Lombardy, where it will not endure the winter, they use imitations of copper so well formed and painted, as to be readily mistaken for the original. In France and Germany it is still very common; and. in this country formerly used to be the regular companion of the orange, myrtle, and pomegranate, then our principal greenhouse plants. An idea used to prevail that the American Aloe only flowered once in a hundred years; but, inde-pendently of this unnatural application of time to the inflorescence, it has long been known to flower sooner or later according to the culture bestowed on it." - Encyc. Plants.