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Black-spined agave facts for kids

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Black-spined agave
Agave macroacantha 1.jpg
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Synonyms

Agave macroacantha, the black-spined agave or large-thorned agave, is a species of succulent flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae naturally occurring in Oaxaca and also near the town of Tehuacan in the State of Puebla, Mexico.

Description

Agave macroacantha produces a medium-sized leaf rosette that can be basal or can grow on a very short stem. Leaves are succulent, greyish green and up to 1.8 feet long at a maximum, ending in sharp black spines that are up to 1.2 inches long at the tips. Flowers are small, grey and red, growing in bunches on sturdy stems of up to 3 m (10 feet) in height.

Cultivation

The plant prefers a dry, sunny and hot location for summer and from early autumn onwards a cooler, well-lit space. It likes regular watering in summer and only minimum watering in winter, and will fare well in a large pot with sparse, gravelly soil.

In the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Agave macroacantha para niños

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