The Agave Plant

Published on 15 December 2024 at 08:52

There are around 200 species of Agave, but only about 30 have been cultivated for commercial use. Most of these are from Mexico, although they occur in the southern United States and into South America. Plants are characterized by forming rosettes of fleshy (succulent) leaves which have a sharp point or spine terminally. The leaf margins may be smooth or spiny.

I have spent a lot of time photographing agave plants. And, as you can see, they don't have to be alive to be your subject. Their leaves make great patterns and lines. I couldn't even begin to tell you the names of the plants you will see here in this post. Enjoy the images anyway and may they inspire you to look at Agave differently.

Agave plants have been given the common name "Century Plant" because of their blooming habit. The idea is that the plants live for 100 years, bloom and die. While it is true that Agave are monocarpic, meaning they bloom once and then die, few species, if any, take a full 100 years to do this. When an Agave does bloom, it sends up a large flower stalk out of the center of the plant that grows very quickly. The height of the bloom stalk is often many times higher than the plant. This often catches people by surprise when the Agave they were growing in their garden for years, suddenly and rapidly goes through this transformation. This is often when they try to identify and learn more about their plant.

Photographing these plants from the top creates beautiful lines. The one to the upper right is still sleeping so, shhhhh. ;) They look to me to be four completely different species, all beautiful in their own right. My favorite is the one above with the dark highlights.

Because of the fleshy green succulent leaves and the sharp points, many people try to look up cactus or cacti when in fact it is an Agave they are searching for.

This is my favorite set in this post. I love the diffused lighting (it must have been a cloudy day), the soft curves, and the layers of the plants. Photographing these in soft light as opposed to harsh, direct sun will give you your best results.