Agave vilmoriniana

Agave vilmoriniana
(Octopus agave)
Grown as an ornamental plant.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Agave
Species: A. vilmoriniana
Binomial name
Agave vilmoriniana
Berger
Synonyms[1]
  • Agave eduardi Trel.
  • Agave houghii Trel.
  • Agave mayoensis Gentry

Agave vilmoriniana, sometimes misspelled vilmoriana, and popularly known as Octopus agave, is a species of agave endemic to Mexico. It is known for its untoothed arching and twisting leaves.[2]

Taxonomy

Wild plants had been found in 1899 by Joseph Nelson Rose near Guadalajara, Jalisco. The species was named by Alwin Berger in 1913 in honor of Maurice de Vilmorin, based on specimens collected by Leon Diguet and grown at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.[3]

Distribution

In nature, the octopus agave prefers the cliffs of barrancas of southern Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Durango, Nayarit and Aguascalientes, typically between elevations of 600 to 1,700 meters.[4]

Agave vilmoriniana - Bulbils on the flowering stem

Uses

Agave vilmoriniana has one of the highest concentrations of the sapogenin smilagenen, and in parts of Mexico the leaves are cut, dried, and the fibers are beaten to make them into a brush with built-in soap.

The "octopus agave" is cultivated as an ornamental plant for planting in gardens and containers.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Agave vilmoriniana.

References

  1. ↑ The Plant List
  2. ↑ Howard Scott Gentry, Agaves of Continental North America (University of Arizona Press, 1982) pp. 82-85
  3. ↑ Alwin Berger, Die Agaven, Jena, 1915.
  4. ↑ CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City.
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