Spider agave

Description

Agave bracteosa is a species of agave sometimes known as spider agave or squid agave. It is native to the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico, in the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León. It is found on cliffs and rocky slopes from 900 to 1,700 meters. Although it occupies a small range, it is not considered to be threatened. Small among the agaves, its green succulent leaves are long and lanceolate, 50–70 cm long and 3–5 cm at the base, where they are the widest. They have minute serrations (teeth) along the margins, but no teeth nor spine at the end. The leaves have a tendency to curl somewhat, in a fashion reminiscent of the octopus agave A. vilmoriniana. The inflorescence spike is also short at 1.2–1.7 meters, and its upper third is densely covered with white or pale yellow flowers. The flowers are distinctive in that tepals arise from a disk-shaped receptacle rather than the usual tube. The stamens are quite long. Gentry defines a group "Choritepalae" that includes A. bracteosa along with Agave ellemeetiana and Agave guiengola, and states that the discoid receptacle and unarmed leaves are different enough from other agaves to justify placing A. bracteosa and A. ellemeetiana into a separate genus, but that characteristics of A. guiengola link the group to the rest of Agave. Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of South America. The genus Agave (from the Ancient Greek αγαυή, agauê) is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes. Many plants in this genus may be considered perennial, because they require several to many years to mature and flower. However, most Agave species are more accurately described as monocarpic rosettes or multiannuals, since each individual rosette flowers only once and then dies; a small number of Agave species are polycarpic. Maguey flowers are considered edible in many indigenous culinary traditions of Mesoamerica. Along with plants from the closely related genera Yucca, Hesperoyucca, and Hesperaloe, various Agave species are popular ornamental plants in hot, dry climates, as they require very little supplemental water to survive. Most Agave species grow very slowly.