Curtis Botanical – Plate 6641 – Bracted Beschorneria / Mexican Lily

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 6641.

A dramatic Mexican succulent in the agave family with long arching leaves and a tall, branched flower spike bearing large, colourful bracts (bracteata) in red and green — like a giant, tropical asparagus gone ornamental. Named for Friedrich Beschorner, a German botanist.

Southern CA, Pacific NW coastal gardens (OR, WA) — beschornerias are increasingly grown as statement plants.

Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.