Agave americana
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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
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'Agave americana' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Leathery grey-green leaves 3 ft or more long, curving outward towards the apex; terminal spine brown, about 1 in. long; margins set with recurved teeth about 1⁄5 in. long and 1⁄2 to 2 in. apart. Flowers in a compound inflorescence to 25 ft high.
Probably a native of Mexico, but, if so, it is rare there and reports about its importance in that country refer to other species; introduced to Europe in 1561 and to Britain before 1800. It is now naturalised throughout most of the Mediterranean region and a familiar part of the landscape; further inland, it is established around some of the Italian Lakes. It has proved hardy on the south coast from Torquay westward, and in the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly. It flowered at Glendurgan, Cornwall, in 1964 and gardening literature of the past 150 years records many other instances. In a warm climate a young sucker should flower after ten to fifteen years of growth. Commonly known as the “American Aloe”, but misleadingly so, for the aloes are members of the lily family and natives of Africa. Variegated forms of this species are also cultivated. A much larger species than A. parryi.