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U vindt dit artikel in de Nederlandse taal in Succulenta No.5 van oktober 2007
Agave xylonacantha Salm Dyck and heteracantha Berger
This article is from an copy out of the Dutch society Succulenta oktober 2007 translate by Jan Kolendo England.
Wim Alsemgeest Jos van Roosbroeck and Theo van ‘t Walderveen
Scan from Agave xylonacantha out of Curt.Bot.Mag. (Collection Roy Mottram England))
The historie.
Agave xylonacantha is like so much other agaves described long time ago, in this part by the fames vorst Salm-Dyck in 1853 on his castle by Düsseldorf Germany. In that time was every plant coming from an far exotic country an jewel . Many plants, so we no later from the same sort, coming from nature arrived in different botanical gardens but also by the riches and fames people. That people ware are so happy and proud with the plants, so there are try to gif the plant an much higher status.
So Pampanini, Jacobi, Regel and Berger for example, described so many plants that we later no that these plants are now till the one and the same sort. The communication was in that time not so quick as now the very rapid internet systems. In that time was at unbelievable to no, so fast we now communications make. The agreement is that by descriptions from plants, the oldest one have the priority Al the other ones from the same sort expired.
In this time are many botanici but also many amateurs working out what was happens in the past and try to make order in that chaos. By the latest opinion are described 20 synonyms for this specie! So that see something!
Old names still you can find in many Books and issues. On the other hand is it not to bed because there is an possibility that you can find out that this old name by an old plant an descendant is from an original plant out of that time. Plants with old original names you can find in the old botanical Gardens, these gardens are better to reserve the old plant than the private gardens
Our Plant
Why we speak by Agave xylonacantha about “our plant “ ??
Our plant, not Agave xylonacantha but agave heteracantha
Plant in our collections under the name of A. xylonacantha you se always as grey/green plants, with an light green midst ripe on the leaves. An the underside of the leaves you see many small stripes and the leaves are on the underside raw and some humming. Except the end spike you see on the site of the leaves also many spikes most named teeth’s standing on an broad basis, sometimes double spikes or so you can see double teeth’s sometimes also hooky.
The flower spike is an ear form so it is an small column of flowers so you can find this plant in the Littaea group. This are the most typical characteristics of the plant
The sides on the lives are first braun and later grye, tugetter with the chancing from the colour of the leaves is the plant than an beauty, special if the plant has coming more leaves. The plant start then with an not symmetric rosette so you can recognized the plant immediately. We talking here about an form , because we coming still an till the conclusion that OUR A. xylonacantha, the plant we have in our collections not the typical A. xylonacantha is, but later more about this name. From now we call our “A. xylonacantha” Our plant!
Two young plants, left the green A.heteracantha and richt the an gry/green seedling of A. xylonacantha
The not symmetric rosette of “our plant “
Also are there from “our plant” small forms in the collections, most of the time under the names A. xylonacantha var. minor, A. univittata and A. univittata var. minor.
An good picture you can find in the first print of the book of Thomas Heller “Agaven” on page 128
An other typical growing system of “our plant” is that the new central leaves of the plant not standing straight. If the plant is growing the loose the new leave one by one horizontal behind is !
We think that is the reason that the plant not an typical symmetric Centrum has.
This typical growing system you can also find by the plants under the name of A. xylonacantha ,,minor”, A. univittata en A. univittata var. minor.
The "real" agave xylonacantha in cultur collection Jos van Roosbroeck Belgium
Is “our plant” now A. xylonacantha or A. lophantha ?
Our plant look's very much on A. lophantha (sometimes also under the name of A. univittata but the name of A. univittata is in the meantime decay ).
Many times you see “our plant” under the name of A. lophantha but also you find hybrids from A. xylonacantha and A. lecheguilla, A. ghiesbreghtii, A. filifera and A. attenuata .
Naturally it is not easy to find out what the good name is by “our plants “ in our collections It is long time ago that these plant are coming from nature to Europe and describe here.
Curios is the story you can reed in the book of Berger's “Die Agaven” from 1915: Luitenant-generaal Jacobi shah by Baron Kerchove, A. univittata (now A. lophantha) and A. xylonacantha together in flower . Many seeds are collect later and also many young plants arise from these two different plants!
Maybe are this the grandfather and mother from “ Our Plant ”
Agave lophantha is different from A. xylonacantha because of the many smaller teats but the have like by A. xylonacantha also double teats. The teats by “our Plant” are much bigger and colouring chancing from yellow till grey. The calling “wooden teats”
An other important characteristic from A. lophantha is the flat leaves. Most of the other Agaves are an the upside of the leaves concave, like also “ our plant ”.
An green and an grey/green form of Agave xylonacantha between Zimapan and Rio Moctezuma
In the nature
We still going on with the doubt of “our plant” most of the time with the name of Agave xylonacantha in our collections.
Wie living now in the time that many amateurs like us the possibility have to searching the plants in nature. So we hope that we find out the puzzles with the good and the wrong name’s of the plants Its gif us an lot of fun and maybe this is the best of it.
Agave xylonacantha you can find in Mexico on an altitud of 900 meter on the east mountains the Sierra Madre Oriental. This are the mountains from North to South Mexico.
A. xylonacantha you can found on different places sometimes more than 100km from each other so you understand that there are different forms arise. So we find an fantastic colony on the boundary of the states of Hidalgo en Quararetero between Zimapan and Bella Vista del Rio.
On that side are the most of the plants grey-green, only a few plants are green of the leaves. Except the “Normal” form, were there also most beautiful small compact forms like jewels!
In November of 2005 was one plant in flower with an very short flower stalk so you can see on the picture standing behind my. The flower-stalk was only 2,5 meter tall. Normally is the flower stalk till 6 meters tall like in the description of the plant.
Agave xylonacantha with an broken flowerstalk on the same site
Two years later we are again on this side and we find in now way A. xylonacantha with an short flower stalk. First we thinking we have find an very special agave form with an short flower stalk, but the conclusion later is that the flower stalk is has broken. So you can see that an confuse can start easy!
Also we are on the site by San Luis Potosi, in the neighbour of the well know site given by the “Globe Trotters” of A. xylonacantha. . The plants growing there are much bigger with more green-yellow colour of the leaves but also the double “teats” and the row backside of the leaves see the picture.
The third site of A. xylonacantha we are is in the fames Baranca de Los Venados by Meztitlan, there were the even fames old man cactus the Cephalocactus senilis is growing.
On this site you see the many A. xylonacantha hanging on the wall. There are only the grey- green plants, not green plants. This are really wall growers on vertical cliffs, that’s the reason the leaves are chancing in form and rotate on the wall. Also have the plant only a few leaves much more less. The leave are long and the plant are more les beauty not to by recommend for the window char!
The plant you can find down flat on the ground, have more less the spiral growing system but also in culture you can see that spiral growing co still going on. These are very ugly plants. Later we find also an vertical cliffs by Bella Vista Del Rio A. xylonacantha and again the plants de there growing making also the spiral way of growing.
Now you most not make an confusion with this spiral growing leaves of the plant with the not symetric growing form, from “our plant”.
If you take of the very old descriptions you find out that the A. xylonacantha plants growing on vertical cliffs and more less leaves much more looking like the old descriptions.
Separate you find in this context the old descriptions.Click here.
Inn Our opinion is that the realer ” A. xylonacantha the ugly form is growing on vertical cliffs in the Baranca Meztitlan, but also by Bella Vista Del Rio. In the “bible” from the agaves, the fames book of Howard S. Gentry, you can reed that the specie “is abundant on the limestone slopes in the Barranca de Meztitlan, not far from the great mines of Real del Monte”.
Real del Monte is the city not far from the city of Pachuca, also in the state Hidalgo.
In the mean time we have young plants from seeds with coming from the original site so we find out that these young plant are much more grazer from colour than the young cut’s from “our plant “, the much more green of colour is.
What is our plant?
What is now the Agave still for an long time in our collection with the name A. xylonacantha, and now with only the name of “our plant” ?
Is “our plant” A. heteracantha?
Alwin Berger
Berger discreibt almost all his agaves from out of La Mortola, in Italie also namend “The Hanbury Gardens” in Bordighera on the Italien Riviera.
Not long ago we arrive in our collectien one kopie from the magazine t “Die Gartenwelt” from september 1898. There is an discrbtien from the hand of Alwin Berger also with one picture in black and white..
The picture belongst to the discribtien on page “Seite 553”, but that is wrong, at most by page 593.
This picture and the description brings us to “our plant”.
Berger hase trired the “real “ A. heteracantha from Zuccarini in the yaer 1833, to recover this paper but at is not bring him to an success.
A. heteracantha was in the collectien of Jacobi and Salm-Dyck and Salm-Dyck taking abouth stripes on the leaves, comt Berger till the conclusion that this is an good plant and discriebt the plant as A. heteracantha A. Berger.
The confusion is compliet with the knowledge that there ate three different discreibtiens from A. heteracantha, always from an other plant!
1. A. heteracantha Baker, Gardeners'Chronicle, 1877: 369, fig. 59.
This name is synonym under A. ensifera by H. S. Gentry (Gentry, 1982)
2. A. heteracantha Hort. This name is under by A. lecheguilla by Gentry in 1982.
3. A. heteracantha Zucc., Acad. Caes. Leop. Carol. 1833 (?), 16(2):675.
This name now under A. lophantha by Gentry also in 1982.
Only you don’t can reed why !
The first two species of A. heteracantha is not don after n study of the literature.
Because that the picture of Alwin Berger's A. heteracantha, make in “ La Mortola “ and publics in “Die Gartenwelt” from 1898, looks exactly on “ our plant “ and the description also precise is, have we make the conclusions that “our plant” now is the real Agave heteracantha A. Berger.
August J. J. Breitung
The publication of Breitung (1968) from A. univittata var. carchariodonta, picture 22.
This plant is an look a like of the A. xylonacantha find by San Luis Potosi.
In the book of Gentry (1982) we find out that this plant is synonym with A. xylonacantha.
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine
The beautiful colouring painting in the fames Curtis’s Botanical Magazine in (1876), “see the copy by this article with thanks to Roy Mottram”, is the type plant of A. xylonacantha.
This painting is make from an plant coming van origin by Real del Monte North of Pachuca Hidalgo Mex. not far from the Barranca de Meztitlan.
Also on the painting you see the flower-stalk. If you look to the centre of the plant you most thinking that this plant looks very good on “our plant”.
But you most realist that if an Agave start to by in flower, that there also start an chancing in the leaves, the leaves started to by smaller and thinner.
The painting is make from the plant that was flowering in the fames gardens of Kew in 1876.
If you looks special to the underside of the leaves from the plant on the painting you see the typical leaves from A. xylonacantha. Also the leaves are turning , that means the plants is coming from an rock wall in nature. So this make this painting as an very good lectotype for A. xylonacantha.
The plants growing by San Luis Potosi are different from form. These plant are much bigger and more yellow-green of colour of the leaves but also the typical double teats , so this plants belongs also till the A. xylonacantha forms, only not to the type from A. xylonacantha, these growing in the Barranca de Meztitlan.
John G. Baker
Finely we find also A. xylonacantha in the book of Baker from 1888.
Baker was working in the Kew Gardens.
But Baker has also make an other book in 1879, that means nine years earlier.
than 1888. This book is translate from the English in Italians language by V. Ricasoli.
In this book you can different paintings also from Ä.xilinacantha, This name is missing one “ o “ and one “ n “. This name is synonym with A. xylonacantha. Also at most by an missing because the name “A.xilacantha” you find also in : “Salm-Dyck - Bot. Mag. t. 5660 - Gard. Chron. fig. 81, vol. VII, p. 527“, precisely as by A. xylonacantha.
The painting is an copy from “Gardeners’ Chronicle”; its is the typical cliff-grower plant.
Only this typical plant has very small leaves, or this painting is has make smaller. Also you find the teats double. (look to the painting).
Conclusion
A. xylonacantha is an variable plant, so it is not surprising that also we have make for an long time the misunderstood that ” Our Plant “ an form is from A. xylonacantha.
In the mean time is coming young seedlings in culture with precisely origins.
We seen than that the by the “real ” A. xylonacantha, also seedlings have the typical green-grey colour of the leaves.
The most typical A. xylonacantha is growing in the Barraca De Meztitlan as an cliff grower with an curved rosette and only an view leaves. The curved growing is different as the not symmetric growing of A. heteracantha.
On flat terrain growing also plants with normal rosettes with more leaves.
The plants are typical grey-green of colour..
By Bella Vista Del Rio on the border from Hidalgo and Quaretaro growing the same forms as in the Barranca Metztitlan, but also beautiful miniature forms.
Between San Luis Potosi and Rio Verde growing more yellow-green forms.
We reed by Alwin Berger book on page 114, that C. A. Purpus has plant collected under the name of A.xylonacantha in San Luis Potosi.
Because “oure plant” so much different is as the real “A. xylonacantha” we making the conclusion that “our plant” belongs to an different taxon.
The conclusion is that “our plant” we seen as the original A. heteracantha Zucc.
“Our plant” now A. heteracantha is an beautiful plant.
There are also smaller forms of this A. heteracantha, we advise to gif the name of this smaller forms A. heteracantha “minor”
The Cultur of A. heteracantha.
.
The forms of A. heteracantha are very strong and winter hardy
We know the story that in Holland was an plant complied forgotten in the wintertime because the plant was hanging on the roof of the home. Later was the plant by his discovery complete frosted in the pot, but the plant has no damage from this experience.
We thinking that because the plant is some winter hardy in Europe you see him many times in collections, he is growing very well with no problems.
Synonyms from A. xylonacantha:
Agave amurensis Jacobi (small form)
Agave carchariodonta Pampanini (1907)
Agave cornuta Hort. Belg. ex Besaucele
Agave heteracantha var. splendens (Jacobi) Terracciano
Agave kochii Jacobi (1866)
Agave hybrida Hort. ex Baker (an hybrid)
Agave maximilliana Hort. ex Besaucele ( small form)
Agave noli-tangere A. Berger (1915)
Agave perbella Hort ex Baker
Agave splendens Jacobi (1870)
Agave univittata var. carchariodonta (Pampanini) Breitung
Agave vanderdonckii Hort. ex Baker
Agave vittata Regel (1858)
Agave xylacantha Hort
Agave xylonacantha var. horizontalis Hort. ex Berger
Agave xylonacantha var. latifolia Jacobi
Agave xylonacantha var. macracantha Jacobi
Agave xylonacantha var. mediopicta Trelease
Agave xlyonacantha var. torta Jacobi
Agave xylonacantha var. vittata Jacobi
Literatuur:
Alsemgeest, W. (2002) : Ervaringen met agaven in cultuur(2). Succulenta, 81 (3): 106.
Baker, Dottore J. G. (1879). Succinto della Monografia delle Agave (vertaald uit het Engels door V. Ricasoli). Bull. Soc. Toscana Orticultura, IV, Firenze.
Baker, J. G. (1877). The Genus Agave. The Gardeners’ Chronicle, N.S. 2, vol. ......., p. 527, fig.81.
Baker, J. G. (1888). Handbook of the Amaryllideae: including the Alstroemerieae and Agaveae, p.168. Bell, London.
Berger, A. (1915) : Die Agaven – Beiträge zu einer Monographie. Fischer, Jena (Idem, ergänzter Nachdruck der 1. Auflage, 1988, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, New York).
Berger, A. (1898) : Agaven - von Alwin Berger Kurator des Akklimatisationsgartens zu La Mortola. Die Gartenwelt, Jg. 2, September 1898, no.49 und 51.
Breitung, A. J. J. (1968) . The Agaves. The Cactus and Succulent Journal Yearbook. Abbey Garden Press.
Curtis’s Botanical Magazin, 18 ........, vol. ........., t. ......(with text): Agave xylonacantha.
Etter, J. & Kristen, M. (2004): A Roundtrip Through San Luis Potosi. Cactus&Co, 8 (2): 69-86.
Garcia-Mendoza, A. (2002). Distribution of Agave (Agavaceae) in Mexico. C.&S.J.(US), 74 (4): 178.
Gentry, H. S. (1982). Agaves of the continental North America. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzeitung (Verlag Robert Kittler, Hamburg), 1864, Jg. 20, S. 550-551.
Heller, Th. (2003). Agaven. Natur und Tier Verlag GmbH, Münster
Irish, M. & G. Irish (2000). Agaves and related Plants – A Gardeners' Guide. Timber Press, Portland Oregon.
Jacobi, Generalleutnant G. A. von (1864). Versuch zu einer systematischen Ordnung der Agaven. Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzeitung (Verlag Robert Kittler, Hamburg), S. 455-466, 498-515, 539-562.
Jacobi, Generalleutnant G. A. von (1866). Herzug zu einer systematisichen Ordnung der Agaven. Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzeitung (Verlag Robert Kittler, Hamburg), S. 114-123, 167-178, 209-222, 261-273, 320-331, 353-361, 404-413.
Jacobi, G.A. von (1867). Agave xylonacantha. Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzeitung (Verlag Robert Kittler, Hamburg), S. 555-556.
Jacobi, G. A. von (1869). Nachtrag zu dem Versuch einer systematischen Ordnung der Agaven. Abhandlungen der Schlesischen Gesellschaft fur vaterländische Cultur. Abtheilung fur Naturwissenschaften und Medicin (Breslau), S. 138-176.
Jacobi, G. A. von (1872). Zweiter Nachtrag zu dem Versuch einer systematischen Ordnung der Agaven. Abhandlungen der Schlesischen Gesellschaft fur vaterländische Cultur. Abtheilung fur Naturwissenschaften und Medicin, Breslau, S. 147-175.
Jacobsen, H. (1955) : Handbuch der sukkulenten Pflanzen. Fischer, Jena.
Korevaar, L.C. et al. (1983) Wat betekent die naam. Botanisch Latijn toegankelijk gemaakt.Kon.Van Poll, Roosendaal.
Thiede, J. (2001). Agavaceae. In Eggli, U. (Hrsg.), Sukkulenten-Lexikon, Bd. 1, Einkeimblättrige Pflanzen (Monocotyledonen). Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Ullrich, B. (1991). Agavensystematik für das I.O.S.- Lexicon (1. Vorschlag) 3/1991.
Websites:
www.agaves.nl
www.agavacea.com
The International Plant Names Index (IPNI): http://www.ipni.org
Thanks to Sjef Theunissen the help us with the translation from the original describing from Latin in to Dutch.
An thanks also to Jan Kolendo for the help from the translation from the hole article from Dutch to Englisch.
Many thanks for the help by the translation from Dutch to the Englisch language from Jan Kolendo
Literature:
Breitung, A.J. J. (1968). The Agaves. The Cactus and Succulent Journal Yearbook. Abbey Garden Press, .............
Heller, Th. (2003). Agaven. Natur und Tier Verlag GmbH, Münster.
Irish, M. & Irish, G. (2000). Agaves and related Plants - A Gardeners' Guide. Timber Press, Portland Oregon.
Janse, J. A. (1942). Agaven. Cactussen en Vetplanten, 8: 51-56.
Thiede, J. (2001). Agavaceae. In Eggli, U. (Hrsg.), Sukkulenten-Lexicon, Bd 1, Einkeimblättrige Pflanzen (Monocotyledonen). Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Ullrich.B.Zum Verbreitungsgebiet von Agave victoriae-reginae T.Moore. K.u.a.s. 42(11) 1991 pag.262-263
Ullrich.B. Agave victoriae-reginae T. Moore K.u.a.s kartei heft 7/1991.
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