Agave schottii – Schott's Century Plant

Agave schottii - Schott's Century Plant, Schott's Agave, Shindagger

Agave schottii - Schott's Century Plant, Schott's Agave, Shindagger

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Agave schottii

Common Names: Schott's Century Plant, Schott's Agave, Shindagger

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Evergreen

Growth Habit: Shrub, Subshrub, Herb/Forb, Unusual Shrub

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Upland

Flower Color: Light yellow

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer

Height: Leaves to 16 inches (41 cm) tall, flower spike to 9 feet (2.7 m) tall

Description: The 6-segmented, tubular flowers are 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) long, and on tall, narrow, unbranched flower spikes. The plants die after flowering and setting seed. The leaves are in a basal rosette and are narrowly linear, green to yellow-green in color, tipped with a sharp spine, and have slender, curling fibers at the margins. These plants are clumping and may form large colonies. Even though it is an Agave, its narrow leaves, fibrous leaf margins, and lack of marginal spines give this plant a Yucca-like appearance.

Because the leaves are at shin level and are tipped with a sharp spine that can easily pierce your leg, be very cautious in grassy, upland areas (where these plants grow) because they may be hidden in the grass.

Special Characteristics

Legal StatusProtected Native Plant (Salvage Restricted). Agave schottii var. treleasei is also Highly Safeguarded.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass: Liliidae
Order: Liliales
Family: Agavaceae – Century-plant family
Genus: Agave L. – agave
Species: Agave schottii Engelm. – Schott's century plant

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map