Furcraea foetida

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Giant rosette plant from South America with leaves up to 8 feet long, the stem elongating only when the tall (15-30 feet) flowering stalk is produced . Widely cultivated for fiber.

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Genus Furcraea

Plants massive multiannuals, scapose ; trunks usually absent, to 6 m when present. Stems aboveground. Leaves up to 50, broad or narrowly lanceolate, to 3.3 m, rigid or flexible , very fibrous , margins with small or large corneous teeth, mature apex a firm, blunt point . Inflorescences paniculate , to 13 m, frequently producing bulblets. Flowers in clusters of 2-5, drooping ; tepals spreading , distinct except at base , greenish or white, ovate to oblong , longer than stamens and styles; filaments abruptly expanded below middle ; ovary inferior; style dilated and 3-lobed proximal to middle; stigma 3-lobed. Fruits capsular , globose to cylindrical, to 8 cm, infrequently produced . Seeds many, black, flat, 2 rows per locule. x = 30.

Species ca. 22: introduced ; Mexico, Central America, West Indies, South America.

A number of Furcraea species are cultivated in warm climates worldwide as ornamentals and for cordage from leaf fibers. Reproduction by bulblets from the inflorescence is common.

Furcraea was divided by J. R. Drummond (1907) into three variable groups based on leaf margins. Plants of two of these groups are reported to persist or reproduce locally in southern Florida. Specimens are scarce. Within Furcraea there is a large synonymy , including names that are difficult to apply with certainty because they are based on incomplete specimens or European cultivated material .[1]

Physical Description

Habitat

Old homesteads in disturbed areas; 0 m ; introduced [2].

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 36-48" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Agave foetida L. • Agave foetida Linnaeus • Furcraea gigantea Ventenat

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 06-Jan-2005

Similar Species

Members of the genus Furcraea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 10 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

F. foetida (Furcraea) · F. foetida var. mediopicta (Mauritius Hemp) · F. foetida 'Mediopicta' (Furcraea) · F. hexapetala (Cuban Hemp) · F. macdougallii (Furcraea) · F. macrophylla (Big-Leaf Sisal) · F. parmentieri (Furcraea) · F. roezlii (Furcraea) · F. selloa (Wild Sisal) · F. tuberosa (Female Karata)

More Info

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• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• Bulletin / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Washington: G.P.O., 1901-1913. url p. 42.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 392.
• Bulletin of the New York Botanical Garden. Lancaster, Pa.: Published for the Garden by the New Era Printing Co., url p. 23.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 45 2003 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 37, p. 461, p. 532.
• Flora Vitiensis nova: a new Flora of Fiji (spermatophytes only) / Albert C. Smith. Lawaii, Hawaii: Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, 1979- url p. 155.
• Flora of the islands of Margarita and Coche, Venezuela / by John Robert Johnston. Boston: Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, 1909. url p. 197.
• Guide to the Economic Museum of the New York Botanical Garden. New York, 1921. url p. 23.
• IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas IUCN, UNEP url p. 401.
• IUCN Directory of Protected Areas in Oceania IUCN url p. 440.
• Journal of the New York Botanical Garden. 3 1906 Lancaster, Pa.: Published for the Garden by the New Era Printing Co., 1900- url p. 63.
• Report: . .. Washington, Blair & Rives, printers, 1838 url p. 133, p. 141.
• Yearbook of agriculture. WashingtonU.S. Govt. Print. Off. url p. 197.
• Drummond, J. R. 1907. The literature of Furcraea with a synopsis of the known species. Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 18: 25-75.
• Trelease, W. 1910. Observations on Furcraea. Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, Suppl. 3: 905-915.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 11, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 24, 2007:

• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
• , Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2667184
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-307055
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13759876
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:75499-3
• GRIN Nomen Number: 70919
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 502691
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 64429-1
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PMAGA05050
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: FUFO
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 39987

Footnotes

1. Susan Verhoek "Furcraea". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 413, 414, 461. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Furcraea foetida". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 461, 462. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.