Agave macroacantha

Not to be confused with Agave macrantha, a synonym of Agave mitis

Agave macroacantha
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Agavoideae
Genus:	Agave
Species:	A. macroacantha
Binomial name
Agave macroacantha Zucc.
Synonyms [2] [3]
List of synonyms Agave flavescens var. macroacantha(Zuccarini) Jacobi 1864 Agave flavescens var. macroacantha(Herbert) Jacobi 1865 Agave pugioniformisZucc. 1832 Agave flavescensSalm-Dyck 1834 Agave macracanthaHerbert 1837 (nom. inval.) Agave besserianaVan Houtte 1868 Agave subfalcataJacobi 1869 Agave macranthaJacobi 1869 (nom. inval) Agave besseriana candidaJacobi 1870 (nom. inval) Agave besseriana longifolia glaucaJacobi 1870 (nom. inval) Agave besseriana longifolia viridisJacobi 1870 (nom. inval) Agave besseriana hystixhort ex Hooker 1871 Agave linearisJacobi 1871 Agave oligophyllaBacker 1877 Agave sudburyensisBacker 1877 Agave paucifoliaBacker 1878 (Nom. illeg.) Agave integrifoliaBacker 1888 Agave macracantha var. integrifoliaTrelease 1907 Agave macracantha var. planifoliaA. Berger 1915 Agave pugioniformisZucc. 1833

Agave macroacantha, the black-spined agave or large-thorned agave, is a species of succulent flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae naturally occurring in Oaxaca and also near the town of Tehuacan in the State of Puebla, Mexico. ^[4]

Description

Agave macroacantha produces a medium-sized leaf rosette that can be basal or can grow on a very short stem. Leaves are succulent, greyish green and up to 1.8 feet long at a maximum, ending in sharp black spines that are up to 1.2 inches long at the tips. Flowers are small, grey and red, growing in bunches on sturdy stems of up to 3 m (10 feet) in height. ^[5]

Cultivation

The plant prefers a dry, sunny and hot location for summer and from early autumn onwards a cooler, well-lit space. It likes regular watering in summer and only minimum watering in winter, and will fare well in a large pot with sparse, gravelly soil. ^{[6] [2] [7]}

In the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. ^[8]

References

1. García-Mendoza, A.J.; Torres-García, I.; Casas, A.; Sandoval-Gutiérrez, D. (2019). "Agave macroacantha". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019 e.T115645621A116354068. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T115645621A116354068.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Cactus Art Nursery, Agave macroacantha viridis
3. The Plant List, Agave macroacantha
4. Zuccarini, Joseph Gerhard. Nova Acta Physico-medica Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum Exhibentia Ephemerides sive Observationes Historias et Experimenta 16(2): 676. 1833.
5. Gentry, Howard Scott. Agaves of Continental North America. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1992.
6. San Marcos Growers, Agave macroacantha
7. Jurassic Garden.com: Agave macroacantha Archived 2015-09-28 at the Wayback Machine , image.
8. "RHS Plantfinder - Agave macroacantha". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2018.

• The Complete Encyclopedia of Succulents by Zdenek Jezek and Libor Kunte