Agave americana var. expansa

Common Name: Century Plant, Maguey
Oˊodham Name: Aˊuḍ (Aˊudt) Audio
Group: Succulents － Desert

Description

Agave americana var. expansa is the largest agave found in the Sonoran Desert, sometimes reaching 8 feet wide and tall. A native of the deserts of north central Mexico, this species was originally planted in the Sonoran Desert as an ornamental and has since become naturalized in the desert. Leaves vary from pale green to glaucous (bluish green), according to the season and their degree of heat and water stress. Leaves are semi rigid and have marginal teeth typically 1/2 inch long. The outside of each leaf has a strong bud print, an imprint of the inside of the next outer leaf created while the leaf forms at the center of the rosette. Agave expansa usually produces offsets after reaching a height of 2 to 3 feet. Like all agaves, it flowers once at the end of its life by erupting a massive flower stalk that reaches a height of 15 feet. Found on ranches, in towns, and in open desert below 4000 ft.

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Liliopsida － Monocotyledons

Subclass Liliidae

Order Liliales

Family Agavaceae － Century-plant family

Genus Agave L. － agave

Species Agave americana L. － American century plant

Subspecies Agave americana L. ssp. americana － American century plant

Variety Agave americana L. ssp. americana var. expansa (Jacobi) Gentry － American century plant

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map