List of Agave species explained

, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families and Plants of the World Online recognize about 270 species of Agave plus a number of natural hybrids. This includes species formerly placed in Manfreda and Polianthes.^[1] Other sources may use different circumscriptions.^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7]

A

Agave abisaii A.Vázquez & Nieves – Mexico (Jalisco)
Agave acicularis Trel. - Cuba
Agave acklinicola Trel. - Bahamas
Agave × ajoensis W.C.Hodgs. - Pima County in Arizona = A. deserti var. simplex × A. schottii var. schottii
Agave aktites Gentry - Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora)
Agave albescens Trel. - Cuba
Agave alboaustralis (E.Solano & Ríos-Gómez) Thiede - Oaxaca
Agave albomarginata Gentry - northeastern Mexico
Agave albopilosa I.Cabral - Mexico (Nuevo León)
Agave americana L. - American Agave, American Century Plant, Century Plant, Maguey americano - Arizona, Texas, Mexico; naturalized in parts of Africa, Eurasia, Australia, South America various islands
Agave amica (Medik.) Thiede & Govaerts – Mexico
Agave andreae Sahagún & A.Vázquez – Mexico (Michoacán)
Agave angustiarum Trel. - Mexico
Agave angustifolia Haw. - Mexico, Central America; naturalized in Spain, South Africa, Indian Subcontinent, various islands
Agave anomala Trel. - Bahamas, Cuba
Agave antillarum Descourt. - Cuba, Hispaniola
Agave apedicellata Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Jalisco, San Luis Potosí)
Agave applanata Lem. ex Jacobi - Mexico
Agave arcedianoensis Cházaro - Mexico (Jalisco)
Agave × arizonica Gentry & J.H.Weber = A. chrysantha × A. toumeyana var. bella - Arizona
Agave arubensis Hummelinck - Aruba
Agave asperrima Jacobi - Maguey spero, Rough Century Plant - Texas, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas
Agave atrovirens Karw. ex Salm-Dyck - Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz
Agave attenuata Salm-Dyck - Swan's Neck Agave, Dragon Tree Agave, Foxtail Agave - Mexico; naturalised in southeastern Australia
Agave aurea Brandegee - Baja California Sur
Agave avellanidens Trel. - Baja California
Agave azurea R.H.Webb & G.D.Starr – Mexico (Baja California Sur)

B

Agave bahamana Trel. - Bahamas
Agave beaulueriana Jacobi = Agave americana var. franzosinii
Agave bicolor (E.Solano & García-Mend.) Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Oaxaca)
Agave boldinghiana Trel. - Curaçao, Bonaire

Agave bovicornuta Gentry - Cowhorn Agave - Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora
Agave braceana Trel. - Bahamas (Abaco)
Agave bracteosa S.Watson ex Engelm. - Squid Agave - Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León)
Agave brevipetala Trel. - Hispaniola
Agave brevispina Trel. - Hispaniola
Agave brittoniana Trel. - Cuba
Agave brunnea S.Watson – NE. Mexico
Agave bulbulifera (Castillejos & E.Solano) Thiede – Mexico (Guerrero)
Agave bulliana (Baker) Thiede & Eggli - Mexico

C

Agave cacozela Trel. - Bahamas (Eleuthera)
Agave cajalbanensis A.Álvarez - Cuba
†Agave calodonta A.Berger - extinct
Agave cantala (Haw.) Roxb. ex Salm-Dyck - Cantala, Maguey de la India - Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras
Agave capensis Gentry - Baja California Sur = Agave aurea var. capensis
Agave caribaeicola Trel. - Lesser Antilles
Agave caymanensis Proctor - Cayman Islands
Agave cerulata Trel. - Baja California
Agave chamelensis (E.J.Lott & Verh.-Will.) Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Jalisco)
Agave chazaroi A.Vázquez & O.M.Valencia - Jalisco
Agave chiapensis Jacobi - Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala
Agave chrysantha Peebles - Golden Flowered Agave, Golden Flower Century Plant - Arizona
Agave chrysoglossa I.M.Johnst. - Baja California, Sonora
Agave cocui Trel. - Colombia, Venezuela (incl Isla Margarita), Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao
Agave coetocapnia (M.Roem.) Govaerts & Thiede – Mexico
Agave collina Greenm. - Morelos, Guerrero
Agave colorata Gentry - Mescal ceniza - Sinaloa, Sonora
Agave confertiflora Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Chihuahua)
Agave congesta Gentry - Chiapas
Agave convallis Trel. - Oaxaca
Agave cremnophila - Oaxaca^[8]
Agave cundinamarcensis A.Berger - Colombia
Agave cupreata Trel. & A.Berger - Guerrero, Michoacán

D

Agave dasylirioides Jacobi & C.D.Bouché - Morelos, México State
Agave datylio F.A.C.Weber - Baja California Sur
Agave debilis A.Berger – C. & SW. Mexico (to Hidalgo)
Agave decipiens Baker - False Sisal - Florida; naturalised in parts of Africa
Agave delamateri W.C.Hodgs. & Slauson - Arizona
Agave demeesteriana Jacobi - Sinaloa, Veracruz
Agave deserti Engelm. - Desert Century Plant, Desert Agave, Maguey de Desierto - Baja California, California, Arizona
Agave difformis A.Berger - Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí
Agave doctorensis L.Hern. & Magallán – Mexico (Querétaro)
Agave dolichantha Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Jalisco, Michoacán)
Agave durangensis Gentry - Durango, Zacatecas
Agave dussiana Trel. - Lesser Antilles

E

Agave eggersiana Trel. - Eggers' Century Plant, St. Croix Agave - US Virgin Islands (St. Croix, St. Thomas)
Agave ehrenbergii Jacobi - Cuba = Agave mitis Mart.
Agave ellemeetiana Jacobi – Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca)
Agave ensifera Jacobi
Agave evadens Trel. - Trinidad, Venezuelan Antilles (Isla Margarita)

F

Agave felgeri Gentry - Mescalito - Sonora
Agave filifera Salm-Dyck - Thread-leaf Agave - Querétaro to México State, Aguascalientes, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí
Agave flexispina Trel. - Chihuahua, Durango
Agave fortiflora Gentry - Sonora
Agave fourcroydes Lem. - Henequen, Maguey Henequen, Mexican Sisal - Mexico, Guatemala; naturalized in West Indies, Italy, Canary Islands
Agave funkiana K.Koch & C.D.Bouché - Ixtle de Jaumav - Mexico (Tamaulipas to Chiapas)
Agave fusca (Ravenna) Thiede & Eggli – Guatemala

G

Agave galvaniae (A.Castañeda – Mexico (México State)
Agave garciae-mendozae Galván & L.Hern. - Hidalgo
Agave geminiflora (Tagl.) Ker Gawl. - Nayarit
Agave gentryi B.Ullrich - Nuevo León, Querétaro
Agave ghiesbreghtii Lem. ex Jacobi - Mexico, Guatemala
Agave gigantensis Gentry - Sierra de la Giganta in Baja California Sur
Agave gilbertii A.Berger - Mexico
Agave × glomeruliflora (Engelm.) A.Berger = A. havardiana × A. lechuguilla - Coahuila, western Texas
Agave gomezpompae Cházaro & Jimeno-Sevilla - Veracruz
Agave gracielae Galvan & Zamudio – Mexico (Querétaro)
Agave gracilipes Trel. - Maguey de pastizal, Slimfoot Century Plant - Chihuahua, southern New Mexico, western Texas
Agave gracillima A.Berger – Mexico (Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit)
Agave graminifolia (Rose) Govaerts & Thiede – NE. Mexico (to Jalisco)
Agave grisea Trel. - Cuba
Agave guadalajarana Trel. - Maguey chato - Jalisco, Nayarit
Agave guerrerensis (Matuda) G.D.Rowley – Mexico (Guerrero)
Agave guiengola Gentry - Oaxaca
Agave guttata Jacobi & C.D.Bouché – NE. Mexico (to Jalisco)
Agave gypsophila Gentry - Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco

H

Agave harrisii Trel. - Jamaica
Agave hauniensis J.B.Petersen – C. Mexico (to Guerrero)
Agave havardiana Trel. - Havard's Century Plant, Chisos Agave, Maguey de Havard - Chihuahua, Coahuila, Texas
Agave hiemiflora Gentry - Chiapas, Guatemala
Agave hookeri Jacobi - Jalisco, Michoacán
Agave horrida Lem. ex Jacobi - Morelos, Veracruz, Oaxaca
Agave howardii (Verh.-Will.) Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Jalisco, Colima)
Agave hurteri Trel. - Guatemala

I–J

Agave impressa Gentry - Sinaloa
Agave inaequidens K.Koch - Mexico
Agave inaguensis Trel. - Bahamas (Inagua), Turks & Caicos Islands
Agave indagatorum Trel. - Bahamas (Watling Island)
Agave intermixta Trel. - Hispaniola
Agave involuta (McVaugh) Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (S. Zacatecas, SE. Nayarit, Jalisco)
Agave isthmensis A.García-Mend. & F.Palma - Oaxaca, Chiapas
Agave jaiboli Gentry - Sonora, Chihuahua
Agave jaliscana (Rose) A.Berger – W. Mexico (to Durango)
Agave jarucoensis A.Álvarez - Cuba
Agave jimenoi Cházaro & A.Vázquez – Mexico (Veracruz)
Agave justosierrana (García-Mend.) Thiede – Mexico (Guerrero)

K–L

Agave karatto Mill. - Lesser Antilles, Netherlands Antilles
Agave karwinskii Zucc. - Oaxaca, Puebla
Agave kavandivi García-Mend. & C.Chávez – Mexico (Oaxaca)
Agave kerchovei Lem. - Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla
Agave kewensis Jacobi - Chiapas
Agave kristenii A.Vázquez & Cházaro – Mexico (Michoacán)
Agave lagunae Trel. - Guatemala (Amatitlan)
Agave lechuguilla Torr. - Agave lecheguilla, Lecheguilla, Lechuguilla, Maguey lechuguilla - northern Mexico, New Mexico, Texas
Agave × leopoldii W.Watson – AGM
Agave littoralis (García-Mend. – Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca)
Agave longibracteata (Verh.-Will.) Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Michoacán)
Agave longiflora (Rose) G.D.Rowley – S. Texas to Mexico (Tamaulipas, Nuebo León)
Agave longipes Trel. - Jamaica

M

Agave macroacantha Zucc. - Puebla, Oaxaca
Agave maculata Regel – S. Texas to NE. Mexico
Agave madrensis Villarreal – Mexico (Nuevo León)
Agave manantlanicola Cuevas & Santana-Michel - Jalisco
Agave mapisaga Trel. - Mexico
Agave margaritae Brandegee - Baja California Sur
Agave maria-patriciae Cházaro & Arzaba – Mexico (Veracruz)
Agave marmorata Roezl - Puebla, Oaxaca
Agave maximiliana Baker - Mexico
Agave mckelveyana Gentry - Mckelvey Agave, McKelvey's Century Plant - Arizona (Yavapai + Mohave Cos)
Agave melanacantha Lem. ex Jacobi – C. Cuba
Agave michoacana (M.Cedano – Mexico (Michoacán)
Agave microceps (Kimnach) A.Vázquez & Cházaro - Sinaloa
Agave millspaughii Trel. - Bahamas (Exuma)

Agave minor Proctor - Puerto Rico
Agave missionum Trel. - Corita - Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
Agave mitis Mart. - Hidalgo
Agave montana Villarreal - Nuevo León
Agave montium-sancticaroli García-Mend. - Tamaulipas
Agave moranii Gentry - Baja California
Agave multicolor (E.Solano & Dávila) Thiede – Mexico (Guanajuato)
Agave multifilifera Gentry - Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa
Agave murpheyi Gibson - Maguey Bandeado, Murphey Agave, Murphey's Century Plant, Hohokam Agave - Arizona, Sonora

N

Agave nanchititlensis (Matuda) ined. – Mexico (México State)
Agave nashii Trel. - Bahamas (Inagua)
Agave nayaritensis Gentry - Sinaloa, Nayarit
Agave neglecta Small - wild century plant = Agave weberi
Agave neocernua Thiede - Jalisco
Agave neonelsonii Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Durango)
Agave neopringlei Thiede & Eggli – Mexico
Agave nickelsiae Rol.-Goss. - Coahuila
Agave nizandensis Cutak - Dwarf Octopus Agave - Oaxaca
Agave nuusaviorum García-Mend. - Oaxaca

O

Agave oaxacana (García-Mend. & E.Solano) Thiede – Mexico (Oaxaca)
Agave obscura Schiede ex Schltdl. - Mexico
Agave ocahui Gentry - Sonora
Agave offoyana De Smet ex Jacobi – Cuba (Villa Clara)
Agave ornithobroma Gentry - Maguey pajarito - Nayarit, Sinaloa
Agave oroensis Gentry - Zacatecas
Agave ortgiesiana (Baker) Trel. in L.H.Bailey - Colima, Jalisco
Agave oteroi G.D. Starr & T.J. Davis - Oaxaca
Agave ovatifolia G.D.Starr & Villarreal - Nuevo León

P–Q

Agave pablocarrilloi A.Vázquez – Mexico (Colima)
Agave pachycentra Trel. - Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras
Agave palmeri Engelm. - Maguey de tlalcoyote, Palmer Agave, Palmer Century Plant, Palmer's Century Plant - Sonora, Chihuahua, Arizona, New Mexico
Agave palustris (Rose) Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Durango, Nayarit)
Agave panamana Trel. – Panama

Agave paniculata (L.Hern. – Mexico (Yucatán)
Agave papyrocarpa Trel. - Cuba (Isla de la Juventud)
Agave parrasana A.Berger - Coahuila
Agave parryi Engelm. - Mezcal yapavai, Parry Agave, Parry's Agave - Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
Agave parva (Aarón Rodr.) Thiede – Mexico (Guerrero)
Agave parvidentata Trel. - El Salvador, Honduras
Agave parviflora Torr. in W.H.Emory - Maguey sbari, Smallflower Agave, Smallflower Century Plant, Little Princess Agave - Arizona, Sonora, Chihuahua
Agave pax Gir.-Cañas - Colombia
Agave peacockii Croucher - Puebla, Oaxaca
Agave pelona Gentry - Bald Agave - Sonora
Agave pendula Schnittsp. - Chiapas, Veracruz, Guatemala
Agave petiolata Trel. - Curaçao
Agave petrophila A.García-Mend. & E.Martínez - Puebla, Oaxaca, Guerrero
Agave petskinil (R.A.Orellana – Mexico (Yucatán)
Agave phillipsiana W.C.Hodgs. - Arizona (Coconino Co)
Agave pintilla S.González - Durango
Agave planifolia S.Watson – Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua)
Agave platyphylla (Rose) Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Durango, Zacatecas, Jalisco)
Agave polianthes Thiede & Eggli – C. & S. Mexico
Agave polianthiflora Gentry - Chihuahua, Sonora
Agave polyacantha Haw. - Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Veracruz
Agave potatorum Zucc. - Drunkard Agave - Puebla, Oaxaca
Agave potosina B.L.Rob. & Greenm. – NE. Mexico
Agave potreriana Trel. - Mexico
Agave pratensis A.Berger – Mexico (Jalisco, Nayarit)
Agave pringlei Engelm. ex Baker – Mexico (N. Baja California)
Agave producta Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Guerrero)
Agave promontorii Trel. - Baja California Sur
Agave pubescens Regel & Ortgies – Mexico (Morelos, Oaxaca, Chiapas)
Agave × pumila De Smet ex Baker = A. asperrima × A. nickelsiae - Coahuila
Agave quilae (Art.Castro & Aarón Rodr.) Thiede & Govaerts - Mexico (Jalisco)

R

Agave revoluta Klotzsch – Mexico (México State)
Agave rhodacantha Trel. - Mexico
Agave rosei Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (Nayarit)
Agave rovelliana Tod. - Texas
Agave rutteniae Hummelinck - Aruba
Agave rzedowskiana P.Carrillo - Sinaloa, Jalisco

S

Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm-Dyck - Pulque, Maguey, Maguey de montaña - Mexico; naturalized in South Africa, Canary Islands
Agave scabra Ortega – Mexico to Nicaragua
Agave scaposa Gentry - Oaxaca, Puebla
Agave schidigera Lem. - northern + central Mexico
Agave schneideriana A.Berger - Puebla
Agave schottii Engelm. - Maguey puercoesp n, Schott Agave, Schott's Century Plant, Shindagger, Leather Agave - Sonora, Arizona, New Mexico
Agave sebastiana Greene - Baja California
Agave seemanniana Jacobi - Oaxaca, Chiapas, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras
Agave shaferi Trel. - Cuba
Agave shawii Engelm. - Coastal Agave, Maguey primavera - Baja California, California (San Diego Co)
Agave shrevei Gentry - Chihuahua, Sonora
Agave sileri (Verh.-Will.) Thiede & Eggli – SC. Texas to Mexico (Tamaulipas)
Agave singuliflora (S.Watson) A.Berger – N. Mexico
Agave sisalana Perrine - Maguey de Sisal, Sisal, Sisal Hemp - Chiapas; widely cultivated for fiber; naturalized in Spain, Ecuador, Brazil, Queensland, Central America, parts of Asia + Africa, various islands
Agave sobolifera Houtt. - Cuba, Jamaica
Agave sobria Brandegee - Baja California Sur
Agave spicata Cav. - Hidalgo
Agave stictata Thiede & Eggli – Mexico (México State, Guerrero, Oaxaca)
Agave striata Zucc. - northeastern Mexico
Agave stricta Salm-Dyck - Oaxaca, Puebla
Agave stringens Trel. - Jalisco
Agave subsimplex Trel. - Sonora

T

Agave tecta Trel. - Guatemala
Agave temacapulinensis A.Vázquez & Cházaro – Mexico (Jalisco)
Agave tenuifolia Zamudio & E.Sánchez - Querétaro
Agave tequilana F.A.C.Weber - Mezcal azul tequilero, Tequila Agave, Weber Blue Agave - Mexico
Agave thomasiae Trel. - Guatemala
Agave titanota Gentry - Puebla, Oaxaca
Agave toumeyana Trel. - Toumey Agave, Toumey's Century Plant - Arizona
Agave triangularis Jacobi - Puebla, Oaxaca
Agave tubulata Trel. - Cuba
Agave turneri R.H.Webb & Salazar-Ceseña - Baja California

U–V

Agave umbrophila (García-Mend.) Thiede – Mexico (Guerrero, Oaxaca)
Agave underwoodii Trel. - Cuba
Agave undulata Klotzsch – Mexico (Tamaulipas)
Agave univittata Haw. - Mexico, Texas
Agave utahensis Engelm. in S.Watson - Utah Agave - Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona
Agave valenciana Cházaro & A.Vázquez - Jalisco
Agave variegata Jacobi – S. Texas to Mexico
Agave vazquezgarciae Cházaro & J.A.Lomelí - Jalisco
Agave vera-cruz Mill. - Veracruz, Oaxaca; naturalized in Indian Subcontinent, Thailand, various islands
Agave verdensis W.C.Hodgs. & Salywon – Arizona
Agave verhoekiae (García-Mend.) Thiede – Mexico (Oaxaca)
Agave vicina Trel. - Netherlands Antilles, Venezuelan Antilles
Agave victoriae-reginae T.Moore - Queen Victoria's Agave - Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Durango
Agave vilmoriniana A.Berger - Octopus Agave - Mexico
Agave virginica L. – C. & E. U.S.A. to NE. Mexico
Agave vivipara L. - Netherlands Antilles, Venezuelan Antilles; naturalised in parts of Australia + Africa
Agave vizcainoensis Gentry - Baja California Sur

W–Z

Agave wallisii Jacobi - Colombia
Agave warelliana Baker - Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas
Agave weberi J.F.Cels ex J.Poiss. - Maguey liso, Weber's Century Plant, Weber Agave - San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas; naturalized in southern Texas
Agave wercklei F.A.C.Weber ex Wercklé - Costa Rica; naturalised in parts of Africa
Agave wildingii Tod. - Cuba
Agave wocomahi Gentry - Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Jalisco
Agave xylonacantha Salm-Dyck - Century Plant, Maguey diente de tiburn - Hidalgo, San Luis Potosi
Agave yavapaiensis W.C.Hodgs. & Salywon – Arizona
Agave zapopanensis (E.Solano & Ríos-Gómez) Thiede – Mexico (Jalisco)
Agave zebra Gentry - Sonora

Formerly included

Manfreda and Polianthes species are now included in Agave.

Notes and References

Search for "Agave",
Gentry, H. S. 1982. Agaves of Continental North America i–xiv, 1–670. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Agave Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution maps
Espejo Serena, A. & López-Ferrari, A.R. (1993). Las Monocotiledóneas Mexicanas una Sinopsis Florística 1(1): 1-76. Consejo Nacional de la Flora de México, México D.F.
Davidse, G. & al. (eds.) (1994). Flora Mesoamericana 6: 1-543. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.
Fournet, J. (2002). Flore illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe et de Martinique 2: 1325-2538. Gondwana editions.
Web site: Atlas of Living Australia, genus Agave . 2015-04-10 . 2016-04-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160405014939/http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:apni.taxon:304337#tab_classification . dead .
Starr. Greg. Etter. Julia. Kristen. Martin. Agave cremnophila (Agavaceae) a new species from southeastern Oaxaca, Mexico. Agave Cremnophila (Agavaceae) A New Species from Southeastern Oaxaca, Mexico. 2018. 90. 1. 39-45.