Plants

century plant

Agave americana L.

Family: Asparagaceae · Genus: Agave

American agave

Placenta I Ground cover Mulch biomass

century plant — Kolforn (Kolforn) I'd appreciate if you could mail me ([email protected]) if you want to use this picture out of the Wikimedia project scope. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions: attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0CC BY-SA 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 truetrue · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons

Pivotal species of the accumulation phase on exhausted soils. Rebello describes its use in Chapada dos Veadeiros: planted at 20 cm spacing on near-dead farmland — a mature plant covers a circle up to 3 m. Tolerates extreme drought; successive prunings and thinning transform leaves into mulch and humus, preparing soil for trees. Stiff, succulent, fibrous leaves.

Götsch succession

Götsch stage: Placenta I
Ecological role: Pioneer
Primary stratum: Ground cover
Strata: Ground cover, Low
Biomass class: Mulch biomass

Environment

Light requirement: Full sun
Water requirement: Low
Drought tolerance: High
Waterlogging tolerance: None
Soil pH range: 6.1–7.8
Preferred soil texture: Sandy, Loamy
Hardiness zones: 8–11
Frost tolerance: -12.0 °C

Morphology

Mature height: 1–2 m
Root depth: Shallow
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: 10–30 years

Biomes & climate

Caatinga Naturalized
Cerrado Naturalized

Köppen classes

Hot semi-arid (BSh) Suitable
Hot desert (BWh) Suitable
Tropical savanna with dry winter (Aw) Suitable

Where it fits in a guild

Century plant takes the Ground cover stratum in the Placenta I phase of succession — in a guild it shares the line with species from the other strata, each harvesting light at its own height, in its own time.

Design my guild

Free account — and the catalog stays open, no sign-up needed.