Agave
Agave americana var. americana & Agave americana var. expansa
family
Agavaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
NIL
For information only
Common names
Centaury Plant, Agave cactus, Aloe, American agave, American aloe, Century plant, Century-plant, Maguey, Spreading century plant.
A long-lived plant forming massive clusters of leaves 1-2 m high and 2-4 m across. Its very large leaves (1-2 m long and 15-25 cm wide) are somewhat fleshy and are rarely bent backwards these leaves are bluish-grey to greyish-green in colour. The leaf margins have numerous prickly teeth and the leaves end in a dark-brown spine (2-3 cm long) when fully mature this plant develops a massive much-branched flower cluster on a robust flowering stem 5-12 m tall. Its upright flowers (7-10.5 cm long) are yellow or greenish-yellow in colour and have six very prominent stamens. Its large capsules (4.5-6 cm long) eventually split open to release their seeds.
Impact
Impact
Resource Management region and is thought to pose a significant threat to rangeland biodiversity in Australia. Though this species grows and spreads slowly, and is largely seen as an invader of roadsides and disturbed sites, it is also found growing in natural vegetation and eventually forms dense almost impenetrable thickets. Century plant (Agave americana) is certainly taken seriously in New South Wales, where it appears on numerous local and regional environmental wed lists (e.g. in Warringah Shire, Randwick City, Blue Mountains City, the Sydney North region, the wider Sydney and Blue Mountains region and the NSW North Coast region). It is regarded as a threat to coastal environs in New South Wales and is present in national parks and conservation areas in the Far South Coast Region of this state (e.g. in several areas within the Southern Foreshore Reserve at Narrawallee Beach and subject to a control program in Ben Boyd National Park and Bellbird Creek Nature Reserve). In Queensland, century plant (Agave americana) appears on the list of the top 200 most invasive plants in south-eastern Queensland and is listed as a high priority environmental weed in the Noosa Shire. This species is also listed as an invasive garden plant in the Greater Adelaide region and is known to be a serious coastal weed in South Australia. It has also been recorded in conservation areas in this state (e.g. Anstey Hill Recreation Park, Agery Reserve and Clinton Conservation Park) and the infestation in Clinton Conservation Park, on the Yorke Peninsula, is noted to be spreading through coastal shrubland where it is displacing native saltbushes, grasses and samphires. Century plant (Agave americana) has also been recorded in conservation areas in Victoria and appears on several environmental weed lists in this state (e.g. in Banyule City, Moyne Shire, Nillumbik Shire and the Goulburn Broken Catchment). It is also seen as a potential weed threat in the Katherine region in the Northern Territory. While century plant (Agave americana) is not seen as a significant threat in Western Australia, it occupies valleys between sand dunes and limestone ridges and grows in disturbed natural vegetation in this state. It has also been actively controlled in Francois Peron National Park and other conservation areas in the Shark Bay region, where it is not yet widely established.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Resource Management region and is thought to pose a significant threat to rangeland biodiversity in Australia. Though this species grows and spreads slowly, and is largely seen as an invader of roadsides and disturbed sites, it is also found growing in natural vegetation and eventually forms dense almost impenetrable thickets. Century plant (Agave americana) is certainly taken seriously in New South Wales, where it appears on numerous local and regional environmental wed lists (e.g. in Warringah Shire, Randwick City, Blue Mountains City, the Sydney North region, the wider Sydney and Blue Mountains region and the NSW North Coast region). It is regarded as a threat to coastal environs in New South Wales and is present in national parks and conservation areas in the Far South Coast Region of this state (e.g. in several areas within the Southern Foreshore Reserve at Narrawallee Beach and subject to a control program in Ben Boyd National Park and Bellbird Creek Nature Reserve). In Queensland, century plant (Agave americana) appears on the list of the top 200 most invasive plants in south-eastern Queensland and is listed as a high priority environmental weed in the Noosa Shire. This species is also listed as an invasive garden plant in the Greater Adelaide region and is known to be a serious coastal weed in South Australia. It has also been recorded in conservation areas in this state (e.g. Anstey Hill Recreation Park, Agery Reserve and Clinton Conservation Park) and the infestation in Clinton Conservation Park, on the Yorke Peninsula, is noted to be spreading through coastal shrubland where it is displacing native saltbushes, grasses and samphires. Century plant (Agave americana) has also been recorded in conservation areas in Victoria and appears on several environmental weed lists in this state (e.g. in Banyule City, Moyne Shire, Nillumbik Shire and the Goulburn Broken Catchment). It is also seen as a potential weed threat in the Katherine region in the Northern Territory. While century plant (Agave americana) is not seen as a significant threat in Western Australia, it occupies valleys between sand dunes and limestone ridges and grows in disturbed natural vegetation in this state. It has also been actively controlled in Francois Peron National Park and other conservation areas in the Shark Bay region, where it is not yet widely established.
