''Agave macroacantha'', the black-spined agave or large-thorned agave, is a species of succulent
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the family
Asparagaceae naturally occurring in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
and also near the town of
Tehuacan in the State of
Puebla, Mexico.
Description
''Agave macroacantha'' produces a medium-sized leaf
rosette that can be basal or can grow on a very short stem. Leaves are
succulent, greyish green and up to 1.8 feet long at a maximum, ending in sharp black spines that are up to 1.2 inches long at the tips. Flowers are small, grey and red, growing in bunches on sturdy stems of up to 3 m (10 feet) in height.
Cultivation
The plant prefers a dry, sunny and hot location for summer and from early autumn onwards a cooler, well-lit space. It likes regular watering in summer and only minimum watering in winter, and will fare well in a large pot with sparse, gravelly soil.
[Cactus Art Nursery, Agave macroacantha viridis](_blank)
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In the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
’s Award of Garden Merit.
References
*The Complete Encyclopedia of Succulents by Zdenek Jezek and Libor Kunte
{{Taxonbar, from=Q391797
macroacantha
Endemic flora of Mexico
Flora of Oaxaca
Flora of Puebla
Garden plants of North America
Drought-tolerant plants