Scientific Family
Agavaceae
Synonyms
Agave palmeri var. chrysantha
Other common names
golden-flowered agave
golden flowered agave
Plant type
Agaves
Plant Description
Origin
Native
Plants without stems, occasionally suckering; rosettes solitary or infrequently in clumps, rather open to somewhat dense.
Panicle an inflorescence, only occasional suckering, lanceolate to linear leaves 16 - 32 inches long, a slender spine at the end of a leaf, 3/4 - 2 inches long, flowers congested on ascending branches distinguish this from other Agave sp.
Height
1-1/2 to 3-1/2 feet
Width
2-1/2 to 3 feet
Habitat
Open rocky slopes in high desert scrub, chaparral, and juniper grasslands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
2300
High elevation
7000
Flowers
Flower color
Golden yellow
Flower shape
Bell-shaped
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
August
Flower clusters
Elongated
Flowers 12-21 per cluster, erect on much elongated stems, inflorescences are narrowly to broadly panicle-like and open. Stamens protrude and have filaments inserted at 2 levels; yellow anthers.
Leaves
Leaf color
Bluish-gray, yellowish-green
Leaf type
Other
Leaf shape
Other
Leaf margin
Toothed
Leaf hairs
None
Leaf Drop
Evergreen
Highly variable, numerous, 16-32 inches long, broadest at middle, lance-like, sharpen to a point, spreading-ascending, rigid, deeply concave towards apex, thick and convex towards base. Teeth on margin variable, brown to gray, firmly attached.
Spines
Yes
Terminal spine on leaves, 1 to 1-1/2 inches long, slender, openly grooved above, brown to gray.
Fruit
Fruit color
Green turning brown
Fruit type
Capsule
Congested, 1-1/2 to 2 inches long, 1/2 inch broad, linear oblong to somewhat oval, ending in a point. Seeds are black with a marginal wing.