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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Agavaceae (now Asparagaceae) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Yellow |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Synonyms: [Agave dealbata] |
| 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 |
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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 Scott 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. In the March issue of Phytotaxa (163:5) in an article titled "Agave dealbata E.Morren ex K.Koch (Asparagaceae), the correct name for Agave dasylirioides Jacobi & C.D.Bouché (Nomenclature of Agave L. I) " the author Joachim Thiede notes that the valid description of this plant as Agave dealbata in 1862 predates by three years the description of the same plant as Agave dasylirioides and therefore is the valid name for this species. We continue to list this plant under the name we received it until such time as the name Agave dealbata becomes more widely accepted.
This information about Agave dasylirioides displayed is based on research conducted in our library and from reliable online resources. We will also note observations that we have made about it as it grows in the gardens in our nursery and those elsewhere, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others, and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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