The Main Plant entry for Agaves (Agave)

"Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies (see semelparity). Some species are known by the name century plant.

Chiefly Mexican, agaves are also native to the southern and western United States and central and tropical South America. They are succulents with a large rosette of thick, fleshy leaves, each ending generally in a sharp point and with a spiny margin; the stout stem is usually short, the leaves apparently springing from the root. Along with plants from the related genus Yucca, various Agave species are popular ornamental plants.

It is a common misconception that agaves are cacti. They are not related to cacti, nor are they closely related to Aloe whose leaves are similar in appearance.

Agave species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including Batrachedra striolata, which has been recorded on A. shawii.

The juice from many species of agave can cause acute contact dermatitis. It will produce reddening and blistering lasting one to two weeks. Episodes of itching may recur up to a year thereafter, though the rash is no longer visible. Irritation is, in part, caused by calcium oxalate raphides. Dried parts of the plants can be handled with bare hands with little or no effect. If the skin is pierced deeply enough by the needle-like ends of the leaf from a vigorously growing plant, this can also cause blood vessels in the surrounding area to erupt and an area some 2.36 - 2.75 inches across appear to be bruised. This may last up to three weeks."

Taken from wikipedia's page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...

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Century plants require many years to flower, but not a century. They provided southwestern Indians with food, beverages, fiber, soap, medicine, and lances. Today the liquors mescal and tequila are made from the stem of the Mexican species. The alcoholic beverage pulque is made from the juice of this plant.

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These natives of North America (mostly) are well-armed, fibrous rosette succulents which thrive in dry environments. A variety of forms exist with narrow or wide leaves, usually bearing a sharp terminal spine and often bearing sharp marginal teeth. Most are green or blue, often with a powdery glaucous coating. They vary from dwarf (5 inch rosette at maturity) to giant (10-15 feet wide) but tend to be on the large side.

The life cycle of an agave (approx. 3-30 years) is a process of gradually building up the massive amount of energy needed to flower, with the production of an inflorescence several times the height of the rosette. Then most agaves die, though they may produce offspring by way of seed, bulbils, or offsets.

Agaves are popular in commercial and highway landscaping in mild-winter climates because of their extreme drought tolerance. The common agaves (eg. americana, attenuata) tend to be the most proliferous and weedy. Other agaves are solitary, slow growing, and produced from seed. All need bright light and good drainage. Few will tolerate wet feet or really cold temps, none the combination of the two. Many will do well in containers, though their final size will be limited.

The genus Agave recently absorbed a few others (eg. Manfreda, Polianthes) based on genetic evidence placing them together. In turn, 3 new genera were split from Agave in 2024. These include Echinoagave (12 species of hedgehog-like plants), Paraagave (1 species, ellemeetiana), and Paleooagave (1 species, bracteosa, the lowest branch on this part of the family tree).

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