Agave americana
Agave decipiens
American agave, American century plant, centuryplant, maguey americano
false sisal, Florida agave
erect, spreading to ascending, occasionally reflexed, 80–200 × 15–25 cm;
blade light green to green or glaucous-gray, sometimes variegated or cross-zoned, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, smooth, rigid;
margins nearly straight or undulate to crenate, armed, teeth single, 5–10 mm, 1–4 cm apart;
apical spine dark brown to grayish, conical or subulate, 2–6 cm.
spreading to recurved, 70–100(–200) × 7–10 cm;
blade green, without bud-prints, linear-lanceolate, rigid, adaxially concave toward apex, abaxially convex toward base;
margins slightly wavy, armed, teeth single, 2–3 mm, 1–2 cm apart, often with some interstitial smaller teeth;
apical spine dark brown, conical, 1–2 cm.
5–9 m.
3–5 m.
paniculate, not bulbiferous;
bracts persistent, triangular, 5–15 cm;
lateral branches 15–35, horizontal to slightly ascending, comprising distal 1/3–1/2 of inflorescence, longer than 10 cm.
paniculate, often bulbiferous;
bracts caducous;
lateral branches 10–18, ascending, comprising distal 1/2 of inflorescence, longer than 4 cm.
erect, 7–10.5 cm;
perianth yellow, tube funnelform to cylindric, 8–20 × 12–20 mm, limb lobes erect, subequal, 20–35 mm;
stamens long-exserted;
filaments inserted above mid perianth tube, erect, yellow, 6–9 cm;
anthers yellow, 25–35 mm;
ovary 3–4.5 cm, neck constricted, 3–6(–8) mm.
15 or more per cluster, erect, 6–8 cm;
perianth greenish yellow, tube funnelform, 11–13 × 4–6 mm, limb lobes incurved, drying reflexed on tube, subequal, 18–22 mm;
stamens long-exserted;
filaments inserted on 2 levels at or slightly above mid perianth tube, erect, yellow, 4–5 cm;
anthers yellow, 22–25 mm;
ovary 4–5 cm, neck absent.
short-pedicellate, oblong, 3.5–8 cm, apex beaked.
short-pedicellate, ellipsoid to oblong, 3.5–5 cm, apex beaked.
6–8 mm.
not seen.
= 120, 150, 160, 180, 190.
Agave americana
Agave decipiens
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Various chromosome numbers have been reported for Agave americana under a variety of names, typically without regard to the plant’s origin or its precise taxonomic disposition. Nonetheless, the species is most certainly a polyploid complex based on x = 30, with reports of n = 30 and 2n = 60, 120, and 180 documented by S. D. McKelvey and K. Sax (1933), H. Matsuura and T. Sutô (1935), E. B. Granick (1944), A. K. Sharma and U. C. Bhattacharyya (1962), M. S. Cave (1964), S. Banerjee and A. K. Sharma (1987), Huang S. F. et al. (1989) and B. Vijayavalli and P. M. Mathew (1990). Various dysploids have also been reported (A. F. Dyer et al. 1970; J. L. Strother and G. L. Nesom 1997). See H. S. Gentry (1982) for details.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Agave decipiens might have been introduced from Latin America by Native Americans; it is not otherwise known from the wild. The proliferation of chromosome numbers suggests prolonged human propagation and a probable hybrid origin. Until demonstrated otherwise, the species is considered a rare and localized native species known only from a few sites in southern Florida. H. S. Gentry (1982) discounted the suggestion that A. decipiens was found on the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico. He considered such plants to be A. angustifolia.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaves 80–135 cm, 4–6 times longer than wide; capsules 3.5–4 cm. | subsp. protamericana |
1. Leaves 100–200 cm, 6–10 times longer than wide; capsules 4–8 cm. | subsp. americana |
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