Agave Encyclopedia

Widely distributed from Mexico to Central America. Narrow leaves with many variegated cultivars available. Believed to be ancestral to Agave tequilana. Hardy and fast-growing.

A relatively compact agave with soft leaves. Thin blue-green leaves create elegant atmosphere.

Native to Arizona. Named 'golden flower' for its yellow blooms. Bright green leaves with small teeth. Cold-hardy and easy to grow.

A small spineless agave. Dense rosette type producing many offsets for clustering. Safe to manage.

A medium agave from Coahuila to Nuevo León, Mexico. Forms an elegant rosette of long, narrow green leaves. Rich in fibers traditionally used for brushes and other products.

An agave from the Sierra Madre of Mexico. Forms wide green rosettes with finely serrated leaf margins. Relatively large species; monocarpic, dying after flowering.

Medium agave from Texas to New Mexico. Characterized by slim, elegant leaves. Related to Palmeri but more slender. Very cold-hardy, suited for ground planting.

A popular agave long cultivated in Japan. Hardy, easy for beginners, and easily available.

A small agave widely native to the Chihuahuan Desert. Called the 'indicator plant of the Chihuahuan Desert'. Sharp leaf tips and clumping habit. Strong fibers traditionally used for rope and baskets.

An agave with narrow leaves and abundant white thread-like fibers, similar to Filifera. Sometimes considered a hybrid.

An agave with vivid central green and lime green edges. Cold-hardy enough for ground planting.

Small agave native to Arizona. Narrow gray-green leaves form compact rosettes. Characterized by filaments along leaf margins. Extremely cold-hardy.

Native to Arizona. Historically cultivated by indigenous peoples for food. Produces bulbils on flower stalks for vegetative reproduction. Characterized by hard gray-green leaves.

An agave from New Mexico to west Texas with excellent cold hardiness. Also called 'New Mexico Agave', it grows at high elevations. Compact and neat rosette form is beautiful.

A medium-sized agave from southern Arizona to northwestern Mexico. Beautiful gray-green rosette. An important nectar source for bats. Produces many flowers on a tall, straight flower stalk.

Native to northern Mexico. Slender leaves form sharp rosettes. Gray-green leaves with small spines. Excellent cold hardiness and relatively easy cultivation.

A cultivar of the small Cuban agave. Wavy margins and distinctive blue-green leaves resembling 'dragon toes' give it its name. Very compact and suitable for indoor cultivation. A popular garden cultivar.

Native to Texas and northern Mexico. Named for its rough leaf surface. Thick blue-gray leaves with black teeth. Similar to Americana but more compact.

Beautiful agave producing numerous white filaments along leaf margins. Similar to Filifera but with harder leaves and more prominent teeth. Cold-hardy enough for ground planting.

One of the world's largest natural fiber crops. Strong 'sisal' fibers from its leaves are widely used for rope, sacks, and carpets. From Mexico, now cultivated widely in Africa and Southeast Asia.