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Agave lophantha 'Splendida' (Center Stripe Agave) - A clustering plant with rosettes that are nearly 1 foot tall by 18 inches wide with 2 inch wide by 7 inches long leaves that are dark green with a striking greenish-yellow central band visible on both the upper and lower leaf surfaces, and with prominent white teeth along the margins. When mature this plant can produce a 12 foot tall flower stalk bearing flowers with long stamens typical of the species.
Plant in full sun to moderate shade in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to very little. Reported to be hardy down to or even below 0°F.
The species Agave lophantha is native to southwest Texas along the Rio Grande Plains and gulf coastal areas south into northern Central Mexico where it is often found on rocky, limestone areas. The name for the genus is one given by Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus. It comes from the Greek word 'agaue' (agauos or agavos) meaning "noble" or "splendid" and originates from Greek mythology. Agaue was the daughter of Cadmus, the king and founder of the city of Thebes, and of the goddess Harmonia. The name was first used by Linnaeus in 1753 when he described Agave americana. The specific epithet is derived from the Greek words 'lofh' meaning 'crest' and "anthos" meaning 'flower' suggesting a plant whose flower has a crest-like or peak-like appearance.
This exceptionally nice form of the Agave lophantha originated at Nurseries Caroliniana in North Augusta, South Carolina. Our plants came to us from Shady Oaks Nursery with the image courtesy of Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery. For agave nomenclature we use the treatment of the genus done by Joachim Thiede (University of Hamburg) in the Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Monocotyledons (edited by Urs Eggli) and Agave lophantha is listed as current in this treatment and is also the name John Pilbeam used in his A Gallery of Agaves, published by the British Cactus and Succulent Society in 2013 but the Flora of North America that notes that Agave univittata Haworth is the correct name noting that "The name Agave lophantha was mentioned by C. J. W. Schiede (Linnaea 4: 582. 1829) without a description. C. S. Kunth (Enum. Pl. 5: 838. 1850) validated the name, but not before A. univittata was proposed. Neither name is typified nor is any authentic material known. H. S. Gentry (1982) incorrectly retained A. lophantha and it is now widely used. A. J. Breitung (1959) was the first to adopt A. univittata, and that name is taken up here.". However. the Kew database, which is considered most currently correct, considers Agave lophantha to be the correct name for the species and lists Agave univittata as a synonym. We continued to use the name Agave lophantha for this plant when we grew and sold it from 2010 through 2015.
The information about Agave lophantha 'Splendida' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
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