agave americana l. - issg · agave americana l. agave americana, commonly known as american agave...

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Agave americana L. Agave americana, commonly known as American agave is a large, rhizomatous succulent that grows in a wide range of conditions including cliffs, urban areas, woodlands, grasslands, riparian zones, beaches and sandy areas, and rocky slopes. It is tolerant of wind, salt, high temperatures, and extreme drought. It can grow in shallow, very dry, low fertility soil and can colonize bare sand. Native to Mexico and the southern United States, American agave has been introduced widely as an ornamental, for medicinal and agricultural purposes. In South Australia American agave mainly invades disturbed sites, road sides and coastal vegetation. It may also harbor introduced animal species, such as rabbits, making feral animal control more difficult. On the island of Malta, Cape fig (Carpobrotus edulis), prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) and American agave compete with and replace the ‘Critically Endangered (CR)’ National Plant of Malta, the Maltese Rock-centaury (Cheirolophus crassifolius) and the CR Maltase Cliff- orache (Cremnophyton lanfrancoi). Agave spp. on the Canary Islands are a threat to the CR Crambe wildpretii, the Endangered (EN), Crambe pritzelii and the Vulnerable (VU) Asparagus arborescens. Control of the American agave is mainly achieved by using a combination of physical and chemical management techniques. Small plants are usually removed manually, while larger plants can be treated manually and/or with herbicide. Effective chemical treatments include cutting References: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. [ link ] ISSG 2012. Global Invasive Species Database [ link ] Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (user: Alvesgaspar ) down leaves close to the ground and painting the stump immediately with herbicide and injection of herbicide. Follow up treatment may be necessary, especially for larger plants. Click here to view archives of previous weeks’ species

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Agave americana L.Agave americana, commonly known as American agave is a large, rhizomatous succulent that grows in a wide range of conditions including cliffs, urban areas, woodlands, grasslands, riparian zones, beaches and sandy areas, and rocky slopes. It is tolerant of wind, salt, high temperatures, and extreme drought. It can grow in shallow, very dry, low fertility soil and can colonize bare sand. Native to Mexico and the southern United States, American agave has been introduced widely as an ornamental, for medicinal and agricultural purposes. In South Australia American agave mainly invades disturbed sites, road sides and coastal vegetation. It may also harbor introduced animal species, such as rabbits, making feral animal control more difficult.On the island of Malta, Cape fig (Carpobrotus edulis), prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) and American agave compete with and replace the ‘Critically Endangered (CR)’ National Plant of Malta, the Maltese Rock-centaury (Cheirolophus crassifolius) and the CR Maltase Cliff-orache (Cremnophyton lanfrancoi). Agave spp. on the Canary Islands are a threat to the CR Crambe wildpretii, the Endangered (EN), Crambe pritzelii and the Vulnerable (VU) Asparagus arborescens. Control of the American agave is mainly achieved by using a combination of physical and chemical management techniques. Small plants are usually removed manually, while larger plants can be treated manually and/or with herbicide. Effective chemical treatments include cutting

R e f e r e n c e s :

I U C N 2 0 1 1 . I U C N R e d L i s t o f T h r e a t e n e d S p e c i e s . Ve r s i o n 2 0 1 1 . 2 . [ l i n k ]

I S S G 2 0 1 2 . G l o b a l I n v a s i v e S p e c i e s D a t a b a s e [ l i n k ]

P h o t o c r e d i t : W i k i m e d i a C o m m o n s ( u s e r : A l v e sgaspa r )down leaves close to the ground and painting the stump immediately with herbicide and injection of herbicide. Follow up treatment may be necessary, especially for larger plants.

Cl ick he re to v iew arch ives o f p rev ious weeks ’ spec ies