I believe this plant is actually geminiflora and not stricta, because the leaves are flexible (and on stricta they are pretty stiff). There are versions of geminiflora without marginal hairs (I have one) and this looks like it falls in that category. I would like to propose moving this image to the listing for geminiflora. Please speak up if you disagree or have any opinions.

Baja_Costero said: I believe this plant is actually geminiflora and not stricta, because the leaves are flexible (and on stricta they are pretty stiff). There are versions of geminiflora without marginal hairs (I have one) and this looks like it falls in that category. I would like to propose moving this image to the listing for geminiflora. Please speak up if you disagree or have any opinions.

The hairs arent as disputable as the red color, since I cannot find a source for there being a red geminiflora cultivar..
Leaf stiffness....can also vary with growing conditions

My geminiflora has red leaves, it's a stress color.

Baja_Costero said: My geminiflora has red leaves, it's a stress color.

• Twin-Flowered Agave (Agave geminiflora)
• Uploaded by Baja_Costero

Its the only one on the web Baja. Idk . Id double check, because all the geminiflora im seeing, either have hair, or thicker leaves with stretch marks on them(like victoria-reggiae) .
Well you and the botanical garden in spain, still in the minority.

It is geminiflora. Greg Starr's book has a reddish purple plant as its main illustration. I have moved the image.

Baja_Costero said: It is geminiflora. Greg Starr's book has a reddish purple plant as its main illustration. I have moved the image.

Occams razor baja. Unless it has double flowers or twin flowers or whatever it means...

Stefan, I'm sorry but the leaves are longer and much less stiff than stricta. The plant is a very characteristic hairless geminiflora. I will invite @mcvansoest to render an opinion here if he has one. And for what it's worth, I'm not sure that Agave stricta 'Rubra' is even a legitimate cultivar, given the wild type stricta tends to turn red on its own.

Baja_Costero said: Stefan, I'm sorry but the leaves are longer and much less stiff than stricta. The plant is a very characteristic hairless geminiflora. I will invite @mcvansoest to render an opinion here if he has one. And for what it's worth, I'm not sure that Agave stricta 'Rubra' is even a legitimate cultivar, given the wild type stricta tends to turn red on its own.

Arent all cultivars based on a random mutation/feature taken to the extreme via breeding?

Yes, in theory. I suspect that one is not a clone or even particularly different from other representative members of the species, though I don't know the origin of the name.

To put it another way, my stricta is about as red as the geminiflora, and it is not any special cultivar.



My guess (again, not knowing the details) is that 'Rubra' is a made up name somebody used to sell more stricta plants and not a distinct cultivar in the sense that you described. Or maybe it simply serves to exclude the green plants that don't turn red (of which there is some fraction of the total).

FWIW I agree with Baja.

I accept your judgement but still consider the evidence unsubstantial