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Products > Agave dasylirioides   Agave dasylirioides - Dasylirion Agave    [2nd Image] Habit and Cultural Information Category: Succulent Family: Agavaceae (Agaves) Origin: Mexico (North America) Evergreen: Yes Flower Color: Yellow Bloomtime: Infrequent Height: 2-3 feet Width: 1-2 feet Exposure: Sun or Shade Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F May be Poisonous  (More Info): Yes Agave dasylirioides (Dasylirion Agave) - A small, solitary agave in the Striata group (Striatae) that inhabits volcanic rock cliffs in mountainous areas from 5000 to 7000 feet in elevation in the state of Morelos in Mexico. It has narrow, pliant non-succulent light gray-green leaves with pale margins that are finely toothed with a reddish-brown terminal spine. This yucca-looking plant with its soft leaves appears friendly but this is deceiving as the finely serrated leaf edges are quite sharp. The natural habitat of this agave has a mild climate, with temperatures rarely exceeding the high 70's F or dropping below the low 40's F and receives ample summer rainfall. This makes this plant very much at home in cultivated cool coastal gardens in California where it has even proven to be fairly drought tolerant and has survived light freezes. Plant in full sun to light shade in the garden in a well drained soil and irrigate infrequently to regularly. It also makes a nice container specimen plant. Agave dasylirioides is apparently one of the more primitive of the Agave - what Howard Scot Gentry called "closest to what I conceive as the most generalized of the ancestral form". The name Sotol Maguey is a creative common name given to this plant by Yucca Do nursery; Sotol is in reference to specific epithet "dasylirioides", which means like the genus Dasylirion, for which the common name is Sotol, coupled with Maguey, which is the common name used in Mexico for agave. Our plants are from seed received from Mesa Gardens that was collected in Santa Catarina, in the State of Morelos, Mexico.  The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery and in our own and other Santa Barbara gardens. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information or disagrees with what we have written.     [MORE INFO]