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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Agavaceae (Agaves) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Synonyms: [A. fernandi-regis, A.victoriae-reginae, Pinguino] |
| Height: 1-2 feet |
| Width: 1-2 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Drought Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 10-15° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Agave ferdinandi-regis (King of the Agaves) - A stunning small slow growing agave to 18 inches tall by as wide with an open rosette of stout triangular blue green leaves having narrow longitudinal white bud imprints that usually form a triangle shape. The margins of the leaves are dark reddish brown and spineless terminating at the blunt leaf tip in a stout spine of the same color. Plant in full sun in a well drained soil. Very little to no irrigation required. Hardy to around 10° F. This plant is considered to be a form or synonym of Agave victoriae-reginae but in comparison with typical Agave victoriae-reginae it has a more open rosette with fewer and larger leaves, less bud imprinting and instead of silver colored margins has dark reddish brown edges. It also often has multiple small spines subtending the large terminal spine, a feature we have never seen on A. victoriae-reginae. The Agave victoriae-reginae race comes from the Mexican States of Coahila, Durango and Nuevo León though the plants usually associated with the A. ferdinandi-regis form come from the Saltillo area in Coahuila. The image used in Howard Scott Gentry's “Agave of North America” for Agave victoriae-reginae, taken at Saltillo with Agave scabra, is of this form and Gentry notes that the neotype of Agave victoriae-reginae is from this area (Neotype Gentry, Barclay & Arguella 20043 DES, MEXU, US. 12-16 miles NE of Saltillo, Coahuilla, along the road to Monterey, June 10-July 5, 1963; elevation 4,000-5,000 feet, shrub and succulent desert on limestone). From a nearby site just northeast of Ramos Arizpe at 5100 feet in elevation, at a location sometimes referred to as “the chicken ranch”, collections were made of at least two naturally occurring hybrids with this “ferdinandi-regis” plant as one parent and Agave scabra and Agave lechugilla as the other. The popular Agave 'Sharkskin' is one such hybrid with Agave scabra – likely collected multiple times from this location. To further confuse the issue the species name of this plant is often spelled as “fernandi-regis” as this was how Gentry listed it (as a synonym with Agave victoriae-reginae) but Alwin Berger originally described the plant as Agave ferdinandi-regis in 1915 monograph “Die Agaven”. We will let botanists continue to argue the validity of this plant being a species but we feel we should at least have the original name spelled correctly. This plant is also marketed under the name Pinguino.
The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery, in our own garden and in other gardens in the Santa Barbara area. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information about this plant, even if they disagree with what we have written.
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