Agave I.D. help

Use this forum to discuss matters relating to Agave, Beschorneria, Furcraea, Hesperaloe, Hesperoyucca, Manfreda, Polianthes, Yucca and related species. This is where one posts unknown plant photos for ID help.
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reality_velo
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Agave I.D. help

#1

Post by reality_velo »

Looked through the agave photo gallery and didn't really see anything that I could identify as a match, i'm certainly no expert so i'm sure i passed right by it. The plant pictured is in the final stages of its life and is raining seed. I collected seed and plan on sowing it so i'd like to see if i can come up with a name.
Crappy phone pics BTW :eek:
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#2

Post by Bananaguy »

Agave Lophantha... have seen another similar but don’t remember what it was.
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#3

Post by Agavemonger »

Yeah; I agree, Agave lophantha 'Splendida'.

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reality_velo
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#4

Post by reality_velo »

Thanks so much for the help!
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#5

Post by abborean »

have never had a splendida bloom here despite having them for almost 20 years. You're lucky! Where are all the pups? This doesn't look like the splendens/splendida pic in the gallery.
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#6

Post by abborean »

splendida in NC
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lophantha splendens.jpg
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#7

Post by Melt in the Sun »

The shine that is so conspicuous on 'Splendida' is missing from the plant in the OP...
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#8

Post by Spination »

That's true, but judging from the size of that stalk, and comment about "final stages of it's life"... I'd say the usual vibrant colors of the rosette could be so affected. Just speculating... It does look like 'Splendida' to me.
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#9

Post by Agave Down Under »

Yes yes where are the pups???
To me it kinda looks too big for splendida, im leaning towards Agave Ghiesbreghtii thoughts?
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#10

Post by reality_velo »

I believe the coloration of the leaves is due to the fact that the plant is dying. Zero pups to be found around the main plant. This agave is large, just under 4' in diameter. We have a few Agave lophantha 'quadricolor' in the yard as well and they are all much smaller and have pups coming out everywhere. If it is a Agave lophantha species, its much larger then any I've seen before.
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#11

Post by mcvansoest »

The regular narrow leafed versions of A. lophantha easily get to 4' across. So the plant's size is not an issue. I am also confused by the absence of pups, but I am more bothered by the thickness of the inflorescence, which seems a lot thicker than those I have seen on narrow-leafed A. lophantha at Boyce Thompson Arboretum:
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#12

Post by DesertDweller »

Agave Down Under wrote:Yes yes where are the pups???
To me it kinda looks too big for splendida, im leaning towards Agave Ghiesbreghtii thoughts?
Likewise on the offsets, very odd. Stalk reminds me of more of ghiesbreghtii pics I've seen too.

Here's a couple I found:
Agave ghiesbreghtii stalk.jpg
Agave ghiesbreghtii stalk.jpg (129.96 KiB) Viewed 967 times
Agave ghiesbreghtii stalk 3.jpg
Agave ghiesbreghtii stalk 3.jpg (70.05 KiB) Viewed 965 times
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#13

Post by Agavemonger »

Maturing Agave lophantha 'Splendida' can get quite large when finally giving up the ghost. They also generally quit offsetting once they enter the flowering stage, especially if they were originally planted as a large, single plant. My 'Splendida' clones generally get fairly large, thick stalks. Spination is right in that the plants generally tend to loose their sheen when going into flower.

I am certainly not "guaranteeing" that Reality Velo's plant is 'Splendida', but it sure looks like it to me. Perhaps, Reality Velo, could you expand a little on the plants history?

Desert Dweller & Agave Down Under: You are right in that some Agave ghiesbreghtii can show central leaf "variegation". There is a picture of one in the Gallery here that does look an awful lot like Reality Velo's plant. These two species can definitely vary erratically in appearance, with "Mutt" clones of both showing dramatically differing habit.

It might, actually, make more sense that Reality Velo's plant is likely to be one of these "abberant" Agave ghiesbreghtii clones, based on large size and lack of puppage. :huh:

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Re: Agave I.D. help

#14

Post by abborean »

The agave lophantha splendens that we grow is a small plant with numerous pups. Mine came from a South Carolina grower that popularized the cultivar about 20 or so years ago. It never gets large. 9 or 10 inches at the most. It is sometimes mistaken for the "regular" flat leaved lophantha which comes in the same coloration but gets about twice that width. The pic attached of a "regular" lophantha is pallid because it is close to bloom. It has its offsets removed. The long leaved, 4 foot wide variety is closer to Gentry's description of funkiana. Instead of flattened teeth it has spines along the leaf margin. Am sure that everyone is tired of this mess :))
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Re: Agave I.D. help

#15

Post by Agavemonger »

The sheething bracts visible on the stalk of Reality Velo's plant (see first photo in this thread) look nearly identical to the bracts on Desert Dweller's photo # 129-96 above. That and very thick stalk make me now think, upon reflection and further comparisons, that the O.P. plant is more likely to be an abberant Agave ghiesbrehtii plant mascarading as an Agave lophantha 'Splendida'.

It just fits the scenario better. My Agave ghiesbrehtii plants are much thicker overall, with wider leaves and a more "faded" center stripe that is wider. But that is just the clone I am growing, so that is what I am used to looking at. The O.P. photo just "tricked" me when I first saw it. Agave ghiesbrechtii plants in the shade in Balboa Park are much "brighter" and "looser" than my full sun grown clone, and look much more like the O.P. plant. Down in Mexico, these plants vary so dramatically that they basically form a perfect continuum bleeding from one species into the next, among as many as ten different, "related" "species". Just goes to show you that "snap" I.D. judgments can be totally deceiving, especially after further review. :eek: :red:

Just look again at the photos posted here by Greg and Daniel of what they saw down in Oaxaca. Hell of a varying, complex mess of interbreeding going on down there! ::roll::

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