1219.000 Agave L.

Fayaz, F. (2011) Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants Firefly Books, New Zealand

Geerinck, D.J.L. (2016) Asparagaceae Flore d'Afrique Centrale Nouvelle Serie Jardin Botanique Meise, Belgique

Description of the genus

Perennial or monocarpic herbs; stems very short or indistinct. Leaves in a basal rosette; lamina large, stout, fleshy or somewhat woody, containing many fibres; margins spiny, rarely entire, apex tipped with a spine. Inflorescence a terminal spike or panicle, usually very large. Flowers with a short perianth tube; lobes 6, narrow, subequal. Ovary inferior. Fruit a capsule, oblong, trivalved. Seeds numerous, black, thin and flattened.

Derivation of name: From a Greek word meaning admirable.

Worldwide: At least 100 species in Southern USA to South America

Burundi: 2 cultivated taxa.

No image yet

Links to cultivated taxa    View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
americana L.Image
sisalana Perrine

Other sources of information about Agave:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Agave
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Agave
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Agave
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Agave
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Agave
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Agave
JSTOR Plant Science: Agave
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Agave
Plants of the World Online: Agave
Tropicos: Agave
Wikipedia: Agave

Copyright: The Burundi flora team, 2024-26

The Burundi flora team (2026). Flora of Burundi: Cultivated plants: Genus page: Agave.
https://www.burundiflora.com/cult/genus.php?genus_id=1614, retrieved 4 May 2026

Site software last modified: 9 April 2026 6:47pm (GMT +2)
Terms of use