General Plant Information (Edit)
| Plant Habit: |
Cactus/Succulent
|
| Life cycle: |
Perennial
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| Sun Requirements: |
Full Sun
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| Minimum cold hardiness: |
Zone 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F)
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| Plant Spread: |
3-5 feet |
| Leaves: |
Evergreen
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| Fruit: |
Dehiscent
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| Flowers: |
Showy
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| Suitable Locations: |
Xeriscapic
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| Uses: |
Will Naturalize
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| Resistances: |
Deer Resistant
Drought tolerant
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| Toxicity: |
Other: The juice from many species of agave can cause acute contact dermatitis that produces reddening and blistering lasting approximately one to two weeks. Itching may recur up to a year later without a visible rash. Dried parts of the plants can be handled sa
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| Propagation: Seeds: |
Can handle transplanting
Other info: Sow in shallow pots with a well draining, sterile mix; 50/50 organic/inorganic of coarse perlite, pumice; sphagnum peat or good compost. Avoid manures. Irrigate from below by submerging in water to 1/2 height of pot. Provide bright, indirect light and a
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| Propagation: Other methods: |
Other: Bulbils
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| Containers: |
Suitable in 3 gallon or larger
Needs excellent drainage in pots
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| Miscellaneous: |
Tolerates poor soil
With thorns/spines/prickles/teeth
Monocarpic
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- Maguey Papalote
- Dwarf Cowhorn
- Agave
- Century Plant
- Maguey
Posted by
Baja_Costero (Baja California - Zone 11b) on May 9, 2023 9:52 PM concerning plant:
Solitary, shiny green agave from higher elevations in southwestern Mexico. Grows to about 3-5 feet wide, producing an inflorescence to 13-23 feet tall after several years. Leaf margins have prominent teats and teeth (though not every tooth has a teat). Wide leaves bear prominent bud imprints and have sharp terminal spines.
From altitudes of 4000-6000 feet in Guerrero and Michoacán, a frost-free tropical area with dry winters and considerable summer rainfall.
This plant is known by the common name maguey papalote (kite agave) in Mexico, where it is used (including wild plants) to produce mezcal. The same common name may also be applied to Agave potatorum from Puebla and Oaxaca, also used for mezcal. More commonly the latter species is referred to as papalometl, which is the Nahuatl word for "butterfly agave", though the same word may sometimes be applied to cupreata.
Note the Mexican Spanish word for kite (papalote, as in the common name for Agave cupreata) is derived from the Nahuatl word for butterfly (papalotl). That same Nahuatl root forms the basis for potatorum's common name (papalometl) but there it retains the butterfly meaning. These names are obviously connected, and neither one is unique to one species.
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