Agave potatorum Zucc.

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Asparagaceae > Agave

Characteristics

An agave. A small succulent plant. It has a short stem and can occur singly or in a clump. The leaves are succulent and in a ring. There are 30-80 leaves. They become narrow towards the base. They are curved towards the tip and are blue-green. There are spines long the edge. There is a spine at the tip. The flowering shoots are 3-6 m tall and the flowers are light green tinged with red. They have red bracts around them.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Mature height (meter) 2.75 - 4.75
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway cam

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It grows in semi-arid regions between 1,200-2,250 m above sea level. It grows in areas with an areas with an annual mean temperature of 18°C. The average annual rainfall is 655 mm.
More
Volcanic and limestone soils within tropical dry forest and shrublands, as well as temperate oak forests at higher elevations; at elevations from 1,300-2,400 metres.
Light 6-9
Soil humidity 1-5
Soil texture 3-6
Soil acidity 2-4
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-11

Usage

The bud is used to make a drink. The stems are baked and eaten. The flower buds are boiled or roasted and cooked with egg or hot chilli sauce. The leaf bases are baked and eaten as candy.
Uses environmental use food fuel material medicinal
Edible flowers leaves roots stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds or suckers.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 12
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -7
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Agave potatorum leaf picture by Florian Bemmerlein-Lux (cc-by-sa)
Agave potatorum leaf picture by Hernández Ramírez (cc-by-sa)

Conservation status

Agave potatorum threat status: Vulnerable

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:62198-1
WFO ID wfo-0000754697
COL ID 662N2
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Agave auricantha Agave pulchra Agave scolymus Agave verschaffeltii Agave amoena Agave quadrata Agave saundersii Agave schnittspahnii Agave elegans Agave verschaffeltii Agave latifolia Agave scolymus var. polymorpha Agave potatorum var. verschaffeltii Agave potatorum