Agaves at the Desert Botanical Garden (M—Z)

Click here to go to part one of this post: agave species A—L.

AGAVE MACROACANTHA

Native to: Central Mexico (Oaxaca, Puebla)

Hardy to: 25°F

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AGAVE MAPISAGA

Native to: Central Mexico (Querétaro)

Hardy to: 20°F

Note: Agave mapisaga var. lisa is thought to be largest agave in existence.

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AGAVE MCKELVEYANA

Native to: West-central Arizona

Hardy to: -10°F

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AGAVE MITIS

Native to: Eastern Mexico (subtropical and tropical)

Hardy to: 20°F

Note: In the 2nd photo you can see how offsets emerge from the crown through axillary branching. This is very unusual in agaves; most suckering types produce offsets from the base.

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AGAVE MITIS ‘MULTICOLOR’

Native to: Eastern Mexico (subtropical and tropical)

Hardy to: 20°F

Note: Creamy border. First spotted by Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery at a nursery in Holland and later in Thailand.

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AGAVE MORANII

Native to: Western Mexico (Baja California Norte)

Hardy to: 20°F

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AGAVE MURPHEYI

Native to: Southern Arizona

Hardy to: 10°F

Note: Found in the wild only at a few archaeological sites of the ancient Hohokam Indians.

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AGAVE MURPHEYI ‘ENGARD’

Native to: Southern Arizona

Hardy to: 10°F

Note: This variegated cultivar is named after Rodney Engard, a former director of the Desert Botanical Garden, who first collected it in 1974.

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AGAVE NICKELSIAE

Native to: NE Mexico (SE Coahuila)

Hardy to: 10°F

Note: Previously known as Agave fernandi-regis; some taxonomists consider it a subspecies of Agave victoria-reginae.

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AGAVE OCAHUI

Native to: NW Mexico (Sonora)

Hardy to: 15°F

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AGAVE OVATIFOLIA

Native to: NE Mexico (Nuevo León)

Hardy to: 5°F

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AGAVE PARRYI VAR. COUESII

Native to: Central Arizona

Hardy to: 0°F

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AGAVE PARRYI VAR. PARRYI

Native to: Arizona, New Mexico, NW Mexico

Hardy to: 10°F or lower, depending on clone

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AGAVE PELONA

Native to: Sonora, Mexico (four localities only)

Hardy to: 15°F

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AGAVE PHILLIPSIANA

Native to: Arizona (Grand Canyon National Park only; four known localities)

Hardy to: -10°F

Note: Thought by some to be a hybrid between Agave palmeri and Agave americana var.expansa.

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AGAVE PROMONTORII

Native to: Western Mexico (Baja California Sur)

Hardy to: 30°F

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AGAVE SCHIDIGERA

Native to: West-central Mexico

Hardy to: 20°F

Note: The plant below is a cultivar called ‘Durango Delight’ selected for its symmetrical rosette.

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AGAVE SCHOTTI

Native to: Southern Arizona, northern Mexico

Hardy to: -5°F

Note: In the photo below, Agave schotti is the one on the left. On the right is Agave lophantha.

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AGAVE SEBASTIANA

Native to: Western Mexico (islands off west coast of Baja California)

Hardy to: 25°F

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AGAVE SHAWII

Native to: Western Mexico (Baja California)

Hardy to: 20°F

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AGAVE SISALANA

Native to: Southern Mexico

Hardy to: 25°F

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AGAVE SISALANA ‘VARIEGATA’ 

Native to: Southern Mexico

Hardy to: 25°F

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AGAVE SOBRIA

Native to: Western Mexico (Baja California Sur)

Hardy to: 20°F

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AGAVE STRIATA

Native to: Eastern and central Mexico

Hardy to: 0°F

Note: The plant in the photo below is subspecies falcata.

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AGAVE STRICTA

Native to: Central Mexico (Puebla)

Hardy to: 25°F

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AGAVE SUBSIMPLEX

Native to: NW Mexico (Sonora)

Hardy to: 20°F

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AGAVE TITANOTA

Native to: Central Mexico (Oaxaca)

Hardy to: 25°F

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AGAVE TOUMEYANA

Native to: Southern Arizona

Hardy to: 15°F

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AGAVE UTAHENSIS

Native to: U.S. (southern Utah, northern Arizona, southern Nevada, southeastern California)

Hardy to: -10°F

Note: The plant in the photos below is var. utahensis.

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AGAVE VERDENSIS

Native to: Central Arizona (Verde Valley)

Hardy to: 10°F or less

Note: This is a recently discovered central Arizona species. See here for more info.

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AGAVE VICTORIA-REGINAE

Native to: Northern Mexico (Chihuahuan Desert)

Hardy to: 10°F

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AGAVE VICTORIA-REGINAE × LECHUGUILLA

Note: New-to-me hybrid, possibly originating at the DBG.

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AGAVE VIVIPARA ‘MARGINATA’ 

Native to: Central America (southern Mexico to Costa Rica) 

Hardy to: 28°F

Note: Often listed as Agave angustifolia.

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AGAVE WEBERI

Native to: only found as cultivated plants in north-central and northeastern Mexico and southern Texas 

Hardy to: 10°F

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AGAVE WOCOMAHI

Native to: Northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua)

Hardy to: 20°F

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AGAVE XYLONACANTHA

Native to: Central Mexico (Hidalgo)

Hardy to: 25°F

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AGAVE ZEBRA

Native to: NW Mexico (Sonora)

Hardy to: 15°F

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Comments

  1. This part of the alphabet seems to have most of the gems! Thanks for the survey. I've no doubt it was a lot of work to get all those into a post and get the names straight. I think in Phoenix they most all need some protective shade, don't they?

    Good reminder to that a Genus can have some eye-catching thrillers, and some rather...meh.

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    Replies
    1. So true! Usually I wouldn't take photos of the likes of A. schottii, felgeri, lechuguilla etc. because they don't appeal to me visually. However, this time I wanted to create a more complete listing so I did.

      Quite a few agaves at the DBG get at least some shade during the day. Others are exposed to the full sun most of the day; those are typically the species from harsher climates, often with gray or blue leaves.

      Delete
  2. I agree with Gail, most of the prettiest ones are on this batch! Handy reference too to get an idea of their eventual size...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. I can't think of a better venue than the DBG to see so many agaves in one place.

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  3. I've been so busy the last few days I saved this until I knew I'd have time to really take it all in. Seeing that big clump of A. macroacantha at the top took me back to my last visit when I fell in love with it. Thank you for doing this series!

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    Replies
    1. That clump of Agave macrocacantha is something else, isn't it! If you need a baby or two, I have several that are ready to be separated from their mom.

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  4. Wow! I truly lust in my heart for some of those gems. I've never heard of the Subsimplex before but its a stunner. As are a bunch of others. Thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete

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