Agave vivipara

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Agave vivipara L., Sp. Pl.: 323 (1753) (syn: Agave bulbifera Salm-Dyck; Agave candelabrum Tod.; Agave cantala (Haw.) Roxb. ex Salm-Dyck; Agave cantula Roxb.; Agave rumphii Hassk.; Agave stenophylla Jacobi; Furcraea cantala Haw.; Aloe vivipara L.);
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Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao; Introduced into: Bangladesh, Canary Is., India, Nepal, Pakistan as per POWO;
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Stem very reduced or absent. Leaves forming a lax rosette, curving outwards from the base, greyish-green glaucous, shallowly channelled, more or less only in the mid area, more than 100 x 10-12 cm, widest about the middle, neck not sharply constricted. Two third of older leaves usually drooping, apical spine 1-1.5 cm, dark reddish brown. Marginal spines patent or hooked upwards. Scape 4.5-6 mm thick, terete, leafy bulbils usually in pairs, subtended by bracts. Bracts 15-20x 11-13 mm, ovate, tinged red, with narrow scarious margins.
An introduced perennial, succulent, xerophyte, naturalised in India
(Attributions- Compiled from secondary sources listed in references by Poornima Viswanathan for the Assam Biodiversity Portal project as per India Biodiversity Portal)
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Wild Plants for ID : Nasik : 02JUL19 : AK-6 : 13 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (2)

Wild plants seen on a mountain slope in Nasik.

Agave Species?
Agavaceae ??
Agave sisalana and A. americana.
Thanks for the suggested id. Which one of the two suggested Species? I believe all plants are the same.
Yes, sir, I thought too same, both are one sp. only.
Pl. check comparative images with keys at

Closest I can go with these images is Agave americana after perusing keys and details at species page, as suggested by …

Thanks … Is Agave sisalana be a Syn?

I meant would Agave sisalana be a Syn of Agave americana?
No. Both are different. Pl. see

Agave americana

I maybe wrong but it looks too tender a plant to be Agave americana. Can you please upload high resolution picture of its leaves?


Here is the high resolution image.


I am truly indebted to you, Madam ji, for this upload (and many other as well).

Last night while I was placing my wise (!!!) comments in several Agave threads I kept thinking that “nothing is getting cleared.” I kept asking myself, “which Agave has/have been naturalized in our country?”
I am still reading and studying trying to get a hold on Agave riddle. For gathering information I visited “lucidcentral, KEW, Flora of China, Pakistan and North America sites”. I couldn’t find any other resources. What I could gather I surmise below :-
  1. A. angustifolia (A. wightii) = naturalized in SUb Himalayan Tract and Outer Himalaya (FoP)
  2. A. sisalana = nowhere naturalized
  3. A. americana = naturalized in India and Pakistan, with some uncertainty, because it immediately below notes otherwise (FoP); in south China (FoC)). Lucidcentral site mentioned South China, but not India
  4. A. vera-cruz = nowhere, except in the book “Botany of Bihar & Orissa”, I could find that it is naturalized
  5. A. cantula = naturalized in Indo-Pakistan (FoP), region of Australia (Lucidcentral)
So, this species is either no.3 or no.5 (and maybe no.4 to some extent).
In the attached pictures, cropped from your original plate, you will notice that the prickles are = some straight and some pointing upwards = if you apply FoP KEY, this species would be A. cantula Roxb.
I thank you once again for your generous help.
5 attachments
Thanks for showing interest in my earlier post.
Frankly, I will never have the patience to go so deeply and try to find the id.
Great observations from you.
When I revisit the place, I will take more close ups for sure.
Recently, there was mass blooming of Lilies after the first rains near this spot on the mountain slopes which I missed being out of town.

A request, Madam ji, when you revisit the place please take macro photographs of marginal prickles and some apical spines. I think the prickles (some) are falcate too, and even some of the apical spines are acicular!

Yes I will.


Although this post has had a lot of discussion and has been already identified by … as Agave americana, adding more pictures taken at Borgad Conservation Reserve.

These were growing at a number of places on the mountain slope.

This mountain is in the same area where the earlier pictures were taken.

This was identified as Agave vivipara as per details herein by …

Later … had identified this as Agave americana.

I had promised to take more pictures.

Find these in a number of places on mountain slopes.

It would be very helpful to know where did I go wrong with the identification, I* suggested.

On one hand it is A. cantula (A. cantala, syn. A.vivipara) or”Bombay Aloe” to me and on the other hand it is A. americana to Anil ji and others!

Well, I just followed the Flora of Pakistan KEY,as we often do this and the other, FoC,for our identification.

If there is some other way to identify an Agave I would much appreciate it to be informed of the same.

I will go with …

You are right. I had not seen your identification before my comment.

Taking it as Agave vivipara.

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plant for ID : 8 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (2)
this plant is photographed in hamirpur H.P. , growing wild, agave or yucca, not sure, Which Species? Any Idea pls

Pl. check comparative images and keys at Agave

spines along the edges  are visible (in a small section of the picture only) so its Agave. yucca is spineless. so next time pay attention to leaf thickness, end pint, and edges
Is it Agave americana?

Leaf thickness and width rules it out I think, …

I would like to go with Agave americana L. as per comparative images at Agave‎ and keys herein.

the leaf is not robust enough. look at these
the following url shows pictures with cross sections of the leaves. I call that ROBUST … thick… leaves
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the presented plant is agave thin leaved. thin enough to flop over. not Agave Americana. sorry to bring a negative opinion

Thanks, …, There are lot of mis-identification in these species. We have to follow keys at Agave

Please make sure Agave americana can grow wild in our country, because as per Botany of Bihar and Orissa, only Agave vera-cruz was more or less naturalized (in Singbhum). And I agree with …, americana is a robust plant.

I still do not know if  Agave americana has been naturalized in our country or not. Even if it is naturalized, there must have been some mother or grandmother or great grandmother plant nearby.
However, as per lucidcentral, (1), the leaves of A. americana are not flexuous, that is why they bend at the tip region only, but leaves are flexuous in A. cantula. (2) the colour of the leaves of A. americana are quite different than any other Agave species, how can I describe it …. like kind of stonewashed or stony textured.
I think, in the 2nd picture, some of the apical spine, though not clearly visible, can be called acicular.

So, I would suggest A. cantula Roxb. for this specimen. Of-course, in that case too, there must have been some mother plants somewhere nearby.

Please, also note, leaf base in this specimen are not significantly fleshy (thick).

I forgot to tell you that I found KEY to three Agave – https://keybase.rbg.vic.gov.au/keys/show/7710 and saved a screenshot following the steps thereon.

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Asparagaceae: Agave vivipara L.: 2 images- 1 high res.
synonym: Agave wightii J.R.Drumm. & Prain
location/date (both): Tarubanda village, Melghat Wildlife Sancuary, Amravati Distr., Maharashtra, November 1994

 

 

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References:
POWO  Catalogue of Life  The Plant List Ver.1.1  WCSP  GBIF (High resolution specimens)  Flora of Pakistan  FOP illustration  Annotated checklist of Flowering plants of Nepal  Flora of Eastern Ghats  India Biodiversity Portal  britannica Useful Tropical Plants  worldofsucculents  PROSEA  succulentsnetwork

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