''Agave phillipsiana'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the
asparagus family known by the common names Grand Canyon century plant and Phillips agave. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
in the United States, where it lives only in
Grand Canyon National Park.
[''Agave phillipsiana''.]
Flora of North America. It is a perennial herb or shrub.
This plant forms one or more rosettes of large lance-shaped green to gray-green leaves with teeth along the edges and spines at the tips. The leaf blades grow up to 78 centimeters long by 11 wide. The flowering stalk grows up to 5.5 meters tall. The branching
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...
has clusters of many flowers each 7 or 8 centimeters wide or more which are greenish and cream-colored with hints of maroon. Long
stamens protrude from the flower corollas.
[
There are four occurrences of this plant, all within Grand Canyon National Park, where they grow on terraces next to rivers. Some occurrences are in locations inhabited by ]indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
long ago, who may have farmed the plant and selected it for its ease of propagation and harvest.[
The plant's numbers are low but it grows in rugged terrain in a national park, which may protect it somewhat from human threats.][Hodgson, W.C. (2001)]
Taxonomic novelties in American ''Agave'' (Agavaceae).
''Novon'' 11(4) 410. It grows in sandy, gravelly, rocky soils in desert scrub, slopes, and hillsides.
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile
The Nature Conservancy
{{Taxonbar, from=Q391855
phillipsiana
Flora of Arizona
Endemic flora of the United States
Natural history of the Grand Canyon
Natural history of Coconino County, Arizona
Plants described in 2001