Native Agave, False-Sisal

Agave decipiens Baker

ah-GAHV-ee deh-SIP-ee-ens

Liliaceae

Explanation of name: Agave comes from Greek for noble. Decipiens is Latin for deceiving.

Natural range: Florida endemic

Natural habitat: Coastal hammocks, shell middens (WU1)

Recognition: Large agave, forming a short trunk, with straight narrowly lanceolate leaves having marginal prickles. Similar to the invasive exotic A. sisalana but the native species forms a trunk that becomes bare at the base and has the leaf blades concave at the top, the margins with regularly spaced, recurved teeth (vs. teeth absent, or few, minute, and irregularly spaced in A. sisalana) (WU1).

            Our other native Agave is A. neglecta Small. This differs from the various species mentioned here by having leaves 8” and wider (vs. up to 5” wide in A. decipiens and A. sisalana). (WU1)

Landscape uses: A native alternative to the invasive exotic sisal. The native species develops a trunk. Agave sap tends to irritate the skin, and the plants flower only once.

Useful reference: Susan Verhoek & William J. Hess, Fl .North America 26: 443, 444, 452. 2003 (online date).