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Octopus Plant

Agave vilmoriniana

Also called Octopus Agave

Octopus Plant
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0

Agave vilmoriniana, the octopus agave, is a Mexican succulent with long, untoothed leaves that arch and twist like tentacles. It needs sharp drainage and plenty of sun, and is grown as an ornamental for arid gardens and containers.

Family
Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Grows as
Succulent
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water deeply then let the soil dry out fully between waterings; reduce sharply in winter.
Soil
Fast-draining cactus or succulent mix, with grit or perlite added.
Temperature
15–35 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Easy
Native range
N. & W. Mexico
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Agave vilmoriniana, sometimes misspelled vilmoriana, and popularly known as octopus agave, is a species of agave endemic to Mexico. It is known for its untoothed arching and twisting leaves.

Where it grows

In nature, the octopus agave prefers the cliffs of barrancas of southern Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Durango, Nayarit and Aguascalientes, typically between elevations of 600 to 1,700 meters (2,000 to 5,600 ft).

Uses

Agave vilmoriniana has one of the highest concentrations of the sapogenin smilagenin; in parts of México, the leaves are cut and dried, and the fibers are beaten to make them into a brush with built-in soap.

Other Agave plants

American century plant · Century plant · Fox Tail Agave · Cow's Horn Agave · Agave colorata · Thread Agave · Henequen · Agave guadalajarana · Black Spined Agave · Agave maculata · Murphey's century plant · Palmer's century plant

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Agave vilmoriniana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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