Agave Encyclopedia

A selection of Agave isthmensis with broad, thick leaves like a horseshoe crab's shell and adjacent teeth fused into continuous bands. Unvariegated silver-green leaves give a small but weighty look.

A small variegated isthmensis: short, thick blue-green leaves edged in cream, with reddish-brown teeth running along the margins. Palm-sized, with leaves shaped like a horseshoe crab's shell.

A variegated isthmensis with radiating stripes in white, cream, yellow or lime, sometimes several colours on one leaf. Its leaves are thinner and slimmer than usual for the species, with modest teeth.

A selection with broad, very short grey-green leaves fringed with countless long, narrow, wavy teeth like eyelashes. Selected by a US nursery from an FO-076 seedling and released in 2010, it is formally a cultivar of Agave oteroi.

A dwarf 'raijin'-type agave whose short, thick leaves pack into a rosette only about 15 cm tall and 20 cm across. Teeth are modest, and offsets arise from the leaf bases to form small clumps.

The collective name for variegated Ouhi Raijin. Plants are sold by pattern and colour, such as white centre-stripe, yellow centre-stripe or cream edge, on the same small, tight rosette.

A sport of white-edged Kissho Kan that arose at Soda Nursery in Aichi, Japan. Glossy leaves carry a vivid cream edge, showier than Kissho Kan Nishiki but a little less tolerant of heat and cold.

A Taiwan-raised titanota selection with short, pale blue-white leaves and large white teeth. Its giveaway is the downward-pointing secondary teeth, larger than the main ones, a trait shared with 'Tarantula' and 'Demon Dragon'.

A titanota selection with large leaves bearing long, white, writhing teeth, sometimes called the finest of the named selections. 'Akuma-kun', 'Bakemono' and 'Super Titanota' are names for the same plant.

A titanota selection with broad leaves, moderately narrow tooth bands and a long, sharp tip spine: leaf width close to Juggernaut, with a more aggressive silhouette.

A Taiwan-raised titanota selection with short, thick leaves in a rounded rosette. Often mistaken for Hakugei with wet, darkened spines, but its form marks it as a separate line, closer to 'Azarashi' or 'Black and Blue'.

A titanota selection with broad, short, bright blue-grey leaves packed into a ball and many long, pure-white teeth that twist wildly. The waviness shows even on two-leaf pups.

One of the named titanota selections, sold as 'Godzilla'. Its traits and history are unclear, and plants under the name can differ, so judge teeth and leaf shape on the actual plant.

A Taiwan-born titanota selection with an exceptionally long, glossy black, wavering tip spine and brown teeth that give it a sinister look. Also sold under the Chinese name 黒帝斯.

A classic titanota selection: grown hard in strong light, short, rounded blue-grey leaves form a ball, edged with a thin white margin and small wavy teeth. Old Japanese stock and Taiwanese/Chinese imports both exist.

The name suggests a dwarf form of 'Ganryu', but in practice it is a loose trade name for small titanota types in general. Also called 'titanota dwarf', and plants vary widely.

One of the representative titanota selections, whose thick leaves grow rounder with age. To tell it from hybrids with FO-076, it is sometimes labelled 'pure-blood Juggernaut'.

A titanota selection whose pale blue-white leaves broaden with age and develop deeply cut, wild teeth. Its spreading, slightly drooping habit is likened to a lion's mane.

A titanota selection that forms a round, compact ball set with large, devilishly wavy teeth. The contrast between the small, dense plant and its bold teeth makes it easy to spot among named selections.

A Taiwan-raised titanota selection with broad, blue-grey leaves. Its teeth are modest, so it reads as cool and composed rather than fierce. Also sold as 'Panda'.

A very compact titanota selection with broad white teeth, said to stay around 15 cm across even when mature, with a finely crafted look. Read 'Seiou'; also written with a simplified character.

A titanota selection nicknamed 'SAD', with huge white teeth that broaden in the middle. Said to have come from South Africa, though its history is unclear, and plants sold under the name vary.

A titanota selection with somewhat long leaves lined with large, fierce teeth, said to be among the most formidable of all named titanota. Also sold as 'Werewolf'; a variegated form exists.

A titanota selection that combines the bold shape of the green 'Sierra' type with whitish blue-grey leaves like the 'Rancho' type. Next to Hakugei its paler body is obvious.