Agave potatorum

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Agave potatorum
Agave Potatorum, San Tan Valley, AZ.jpg
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. potatorum
Binomial name
Agave potatorum
Synonyms [3]
  • Agave amoena Lem. ex Jacobi
  • Agave auricantha Baker
  • Agave elegans Salm-Dyck
  • Agave latifolia Karw. ex Salm-Dyck
  • Agave pulchra Salm-Dyck
  • Agave quadrata Lem.
  • Agave saundersii Hook.f.
  • Agave schnittspahnii Jacobi
  • Agave scolymus Karw. ex Salm-Dyck
  • Agave verschaffeltii Lem. ex Jacobi
  • Agave verschaffeltii Lem.

Agave potatorum, the Verschaffelt agave, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. A smallish and attractive succulent perennial, it is native to partial desert areas of Mexico from Puebla south to Oaxaca.

The Latin specific epithet potatorum refers to drinking and brewing. [4] In its range, it is used extensively to make mezcal, and for this reason, it is considered to be a threatened species. [1]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [5]

Description

Agave potatorum grows as a basal rosette of between 30 and 80 flat spatulate leaves of up to 1 foot in length and edge fringe of short, sharp, dark spines and ending in a needle of up to 1.6 inches long. The leaves are pale, silvery white, with the flesh coloured green fading lilac to pink at the tips. The flower spike can be 10–20 feet long when fully developed and bears pale green and yellow flowers.

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<i>Agave shawii</i> Species of succulent plant from North America

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<i>Frithia pulchra</i> Species of succulent

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<i>Agave utahensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave utahensis is a species of agave known by the common name Utah agave.

<i>Agave salmiana</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Agave parviflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave parviflora is a species of succulent perennial flowering plant in the asparagus family, known by the common names Santa Cruz striped agave, smallflower century plant, and small-flower agave. It is native to Arizona in the United States and Sonora in Mexico.

<i>Echeveria agavoides</i> Species of succulent

Echeveria agavoides, or lipstick echeveria, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to rocky areas of Mexico, notably the states of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Guanajuato and Durango.

<i>Agave guiengola</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave guiengola, common name "Creme Brulee Agave", is an evergreen plant belonging to the family Asparagaceae. This species is endemic to the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. It grows on limestone slopes, at an elevation of about 100–1,000 metres (330–3,280 ft) above sea level. It is associated with cacti and succulents. The species name guiengola refers to the Cerro Guiengola, the mountain where the species was first discovered.

<i>Agave filifera</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave filifera, the thread agave, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Central Mexico from Querétaro to Mexico State. It is a small or medium-sized succulent plant that forms stemless rosette up to 3 feet (91 cm) across and up to 2 feet (61 cm) tall. The leaves are dark green to a bronzish-green in color and have very ornamental white bud imprints. The flower stalk is up to 11.5 feet (3.5 m) tall and is densely loaded with yellowish-green to dark purple flowers up to 2 inches (5.1 cm) long. Flowers appear in autumn and winter.

<i>Agave stricta</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave stricta, the hedgehog agave, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Puebla and Oaxaca in Southern Mexico. Growing to 50 cm (20 in) tall, it is an evergreen succulent with rosettes of narrow spiny leaves producing erect racemes, 2 m (7 ft) long, of reddish purple flowers in summer. The foliage may develop a red tinge in the summer. The plant is also known to produce pincushion-like offsets as it grows.

<i>Agave macroacantha</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Agave palmeri</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave palmeri is an especially large member of the genus Agave, in the family Asparagaceae.

Agave univittata, the thorn-crested century plant or thorn-crested agave, is a plant species native to coastal areas of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico, at elevations less than 100 m. It has been widely named Agave lophantha by botanists including Howard Scott Gentry, but the name A. univittata is older and therefore more in accord with nomenclatural rules of botany.

<i>Agave parrasana</i> Species of plant in the family Asparagaceae

Agave parrasana, the cabbage head agave or cabbage head century plant, is a flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. A slow-growing evergreen succulent from North East Mexico, it produces a compact rosette of fleshy thorn-tipped grey-green leaves, 60 cm tall and wide. The leaves are blue green and the thorns are red. The whole plant may reach 100 centimeters tall and wide. Occasionally, mature plants produce a spectacular flower head up to 6m tall, opening red and turning yellow. This signals the death of the flowering rosette. However, offsets may form and continue growing.

<i>Agave titanota</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave titanota, the chalk agave, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is a medium-sized evergreen succulent perennial native to Oaxaca, Mexico. It often reaches 1-2 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide.

<i>Lobivia ancistrophora</i> Species of cactus

Lobivia ancistrophora is a species of cactus. It has a globular shape, few spines, with large, white flowers attached to long, green tubes. It occurs in Bolivia, at altitudes of 600–1800 metres. Under its synonym Echinopsis ancistrophora it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

References

  1. 1 2 García-Mendoza, A.J.; Sandoval-Gutiérrez, D.; Torres-García, I.; Casas, A. (2019). "Agave potatorum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T115690109A116354368. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T115690109A116354368.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. "Agave potatorum Zucc". International Plant Names Index . 22 October 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  3. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
  4. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN   978-1845337315.
  5. "Agave potatorum (Verschaffelt agave)". Royal Horticultural Society. 1994. Retrieved 5 January 2018.