Agave palmeri

Last updated

Agave palmeri
Agave palmeri - Craig Martin 01.jpg
In Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Agave
Species:
A. palmeri
Binomial name
Agave palmeri

Agave palmeri (also known as Palmer's century plant) is an especially large member of the genus Agave , in the family Asparagaceae.

Contents

Description

Agave palmeri is the largest Agave species growing in the United States. It produces a basal leaf rosette of fleshy, upright green leaves of up to 120 centimetres (4 feet) in length, with jagged edges and ending in sharp, thick spines of 3–6 cm (1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 inches) long. The buds are purplish. Blooming from June to August, [2] the flowers are pale yellow and green; they are 4–5 cm (1+1⁄2–2 in) long with six segments and stamens, [2] growing on branches from the upper third of the flower spike, which can be up to 5 metres (16 ft) tall. [3] [4] [5]

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua. [6] [3] [7] It can be found in dry, rocky areas. [2]

Cultivation

The plant is frequently cultivated as an ornamental in other regions. [8] It requires a large pot but is very tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including temperatures of around −10 °C. [9]

Uses

The plant was used by Native Americans for food, drink, fiber, soap, medicine and to make lances. [2]

References

  1. ↑ Salywon, A. (2019). "Agave palmeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T115689468A116354258. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T115689468A116354258.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Spellenberg, Richard (2001) [1979]. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region (rev ed.). Knopf. pp. 325–326. ISBN   978-0-375-40233-3.
  3. 1 2 Gentry, Howard Scott. Agaves of Continental North America. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1992.
  4. ↑ Flora of North America, Agave palmeri, v 26 p 460.
  5. ↑ Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert 2 vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford.
  6. ↑ Engelmann, Georg. Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis 3: 319–320. 1875.
  7. ↑ Conabio (2009). Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. Conabio, Mexico D.F.
  8. ↑ Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.
  9. ↑ Complete Encyclopedia of Succulents by Zdenek Jezek and Libor Kunte
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.