Agave rhodacantha
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Agave rhodacantha is a species ofthe agave ( agave ) genus . An English common name is "Century Plant".
description
Agave rhodacantha forms a short trunk. It grows singly or forms large rosettes with several heads. They reach heights of growth of 200 to 300 cm and a diameter of 300 to 500 cm. The variable, hard-fibred, smooth, linear, green to bluish leaves are 140 to 250 cm long and 8 to 15 cm wide. The wavy leaf margins are serrated. The dark brown end thorn is 1 to 2.5 cm long.
The panicley, wide inflorescence becomes 7 to 9 m high. The green to yellow flowers are 55 to 65 mm long and appear in the upper area of the inflorescence and reach the tip, on irregular, loose, arranged, large branches. The cup-shaped flower tube is 8 to 10 mm long.
The elongated three-chamber capsule fruits are 70 to 80 mm long and 25 to 30 mm wide. The black seeds are up to 10 mm long and 8 mm wide.
Systematics and distribution
Agave rhodacantha grows in Mexico in the states of Sonora , Sinaloa , Nayarit , Jalisco , Puebla and Oaxaca on humid mountain slopes up to 1000 m in height. It is associated with cacti and succulent species.
The first description by William Trelease was published in 1920.
Agave rhodacantha is a member of the Rigidae group . The long, stiff leaves, the huge inflorescences with the large, long-stalked fruits are typical. It is closely related to Agave vivipara , but differences in shape, size and leaf structure can be seen.
literature
- Howard Scott Gentry: Agaves of Continental North America . University of Arizona Press, 1982, pp. 580-582.
- J. Thiede: Agave rhodacantha . In: Urs Eggli (Hrsg.): Succulent lexicon. Monocotyledons . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3662-7 , p. 59.