Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Agave americana L.

cabuya negra, penco, maguey americano, American agave, American century plant, centuryplant

Stems indistinct. Leaves usually 30--40 or more, in a massive basal rosette, oblanceolate, 1--2 m × 15--20 cm, fleshy, margin spiny, apex recurved and tipped with a dark brown spine 1.5--2.5 cm. Panicle many branched, 6--12 m, usually bearing few bulblets after anthesis. Perianth greenish yellow; tube ca. 1.2 cm; lobes 2.5--3 cm. Stamens ca. 2 × as long as perianth. Capsule oblong, ca. 5 cm. (WFO 2022)

It is used as a poison, a medicine and invertebrate food, has environmental uses and social uses and for food. (POWO, 2022)

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Liliopsida (= Monocotyledoneae)

Order
Liliales

Family
Agavaceae

Genus
Agave

Species
americana

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Agave complicata Trel. ex Ochot.

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1985

Mode of introduction: Intentional

Introduction Pathway: Intentional

Subpathway: Agriculture/Horticulture

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: Potentially Invasive

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Its native range is S. U.S.A. to Mexico. (POWO, 2022)

References

  • Clavijo, P. Valdebenito, H. & Hurtado, F. (1991) Plantas introducidas en las areas urbanas de las islas Galapagos. Typescript reports in files of Botany Dept.
  • Gentry, H.S. (1982) Agaves of continental North America. The University of Arizona Press.
  • Guézou, A. Trueman, M., Buddenhagen, E., Chamorro, S., Guerrero, A.M., Pozo, P., Atkinson, R. (2010) An extensive Alien Plan Inventory from the Inhabited Areas of Galapagos Plos One/ www.plosone.org. Volume 5/ Issue 4/e10276
  • Jaramillo, P. (1998) Distribución Espacial de la Vegetación Vascular y Dispersión de Especies Introducidas dentro del Parque Nacional Galápagos. Tesis de Doctorado en Biología, Universidad Central del Ecuador. Especialización ECOLOGIA DE POBLACIONES.
  • Quintana, C. Girardello, M., Barfod, A. & Balslev, H. (2016) Diversity patterns, environmental drivers and changes in vegetation composition in dry inter-Andean valleys. Journal of Plant Ecology: 1–15
  • Quintana, M.C. (2010) Wild plants in the dry valleys around Quito-Ecuador. Publicaciones del Herbario QCA, PUCE. Quito-Ecuador, 266 pp.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Agave americana", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=851. Accessed 1 November 2026.