Agave palmeri

Common Name: Palmer's Century Plant
Oˊodham Name: Aˊuḍ (Aˊudt) Audio
Group: Succulents － Desert (upper), Chaparral, Madrean Woodland

Description

Agave palmeri grows on rocky slopes from the upper limits of the Sonoran Desert through the chaparral and woodland zones between 3,000 and 6,500 feet. Typically, the species reaches a height and width of around 2 feet but may reach 3 feet in favorable habitat. Leaves are rigid, medium green, and have marginal teeth that are typically 1/4 inch long. Offsets are often produced by older plants. Like all agaves, it flowers once at the end of its life by erupting a massive flower stalk that reaches a height of 10 feet. Plants on Kitt Peak intergrade with the more coarsely-toothed Agave chrysantha, the latter of which may instead be a subspecies of Agave palmeri. The photos shown here were taken on Kitt Peak. The specimen shown with the more open rosette is typical of Agave palmeri. The one with a more compact rosette shows some affinities to Agave chrysantha.

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 palmeri Engelm. － Palmer's century plant

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map