Agave parryi

Agave parryi, known as Parry's agave or mescal agave, is a flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is a slow-growing succulent perennial native to Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico.

Parry's agave
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Agave
Species:
A. parryi
Binomial name
Agave parryi
Varieties
  • A. p. var. parryi
    Parry's agave
  • A. p. var. truncata
    Mescal agave
  • A. p. var. huachucensis
    Fort Huachuca agave

The leaves are grey green and have a spine at the tip. One of the distinguishing features is that the point on the tip, which is typically dark tan, brown, or black, is darker than the leaf. Indentations of previous leaves show on the back of each leaf. The Huachuca variety grows in a rosette pattern as large as 2½ feet in diameter.

Because of its compact size, plus its low water use and low maintenance, Huachuca agave is considered a good landscaping plant for desert residential landscaping. It requires full sun. It is hardy to roughly −5 °F (−21 °C), though there are reports of specimens surviving temperatures at −20 °F (−29 °C).

Parry's agave is evergreen. Aged agave produce a twelve-foot stalk with bright yellow blooms. They then die after blooming, as all leaf and root resources are put into the stalk, flowers, and seeds. It can be propagated by either offset or seed.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[1]

Varieties

Subspecies
  • Agave parryi subsp. parryi
  • Agave parryi subsp. neomexicana (Wooton & Standl.) B.Ullrich[2]

References
  1. "Agave parryi (Parry's agave)". Royal Horticultural Society. 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. "The Plant List, World Checklist of Selected Plant Families".


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