Agave decipiens explained

Agave decipiens, common names false Sisal or Florida agave, is a plant species endemic to coastal Florida in the United States.

Description

Agave decipiens is an arborescent (tree-like) species with a trunk up to 4 m tall, frequently producing suckers (vegetative offshoots). Leaves are frequently 100 cm long, though some of twice that length have been recorded. Leaves have wavy margins with teeth. Flowering stalks are up to 5 m tall, with a large panicle of greenish-yellow flowers. Fruit is a dry capsule up to 5 cm long.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Taxonomy

Some authors have suggested that material from Central America and from the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico might be of the same species as A. decipiens.^[4] Gentry^[1] and Zona,^[5] however, discounted this possibility, regarding this non-Floridian material as A. vivipara (= A. angustifolia)

Distribution and habitat

Agave decipiens is endemic to Florida. It grows on hummocks in the Everglades and other marshy areas very close to sea level. It is cultivated as an ornamental in other regions.^{[6] [7] [8]} The species is reported naturalized in Spain, India, Pakistan, and South Africa.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Gentry, H. S. 1982. Agaves of Continental North America. Tucson.
2. Baker, John Gilbert. 1892. False sisal of Florida. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information Kew 1892(68):184.
3. Wunderlin, R. P. 1998. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida i–x, 1–806. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
4. Sousa Sánchez, M. & E. F. Cabrera Cano. 1983. Flora de Quintana Roo. Listados Florísticos de México 2: 1–100.
5. http://www.agavaceae.com/botanik/pflanzen/botanzeige_scan_en.asp?gnr=110&scan=1250-2&cat=2&name=Agave Zona, Scott. 2001. Agave decipiens, endemic to Florida. Haseltonia
6. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101303 Flora of North America v 26 p 452, Agave decipiens
7. http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Agave%20decipiens.png BONAP (Biota of North America Project) floristic synthesis, Agave decipiens
8. Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.
9. Smith, G.G., & E.M.A. Steyn. 1999. First report of Agave decipiens naturalised in Southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 65:249-252.