Agave decipiens

Agave decipiens, common names false Sisal or Florida agave, is a plant species endemic to coastal Florida in the United States.

Agave decipiens
Agave decipiens at the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Genova
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Agavoideae
Genus:	Agave
Species:	A. decipiens
Binomial name
Agave decipiens J.G.Baker
Synonyms[2]
Agave laxifolia J.G.Baker

Description

Agave decipiens is an arborescent (tree-like) species with a trunk up to 4 m tall,^{[disputed – discuss][citation needed]} frequently producing suckers (vegetative offshoots). Leaves are frequently 100 cm long, though some of twice that length have been recorded. Leaves have wavy margins with teeth. Flowering stalks are up to 5 m tall, with a large panicle of greenish-yellow flowers. Fruit is a dry capsule up to 5 cm long.^{[3][4][page needed][5][6][page needed]}

Taxonomy

Some authors have suggested that material from Central America and from the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico might be of the same species as A. decipiens.^[7] Gentry^[4] and Zona,^[8] however, discounted this possibility, regarding this non-Floridian material as A. vivipara (= A. angustifolia)

Distribution and habitat

Agave decipiens is endemic to Florida. It grows on hummocks in the Everglades and other marshy areas very close to sea level. It is cultivated as an ornamental in other regions.^[3][9][10] The species is reported naturalized in Spain, India, Pakistan, and South Africa.^[11]