Scientific Name
Agave angustifolia Haw.
Synonyms
Agave vivipara L. (misapplied)Agave vivipara L. var. vivipara (misapplied)
Common Names
Caribbean agave, century plant, maguey, narrow-leaved century plant
Family
Agavaceae
Origin
Native to Mexico and Central America (i.e. Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras).
Naturalised Distribution
Naturalised in the coastal districts of eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, though populations in Australia are currently known by the name Agave vivipara.
Notes
Caribbean agave (Agave angustifolia) has escaped from cultivation as a garden ornamental and become an environmental weed in Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. A cultivar with variegated leaves, known as variegated Caribbean agave (Agave angustifolia 'Marginata'), is also very common in cultivation in Australia. It may occasionally also be present in naturalised populations.
Caribbean agave (Agave angustifolia) was recently ranked among the 200 most invasive plant species in south-eastern Quuensland. However, it is not restricted to this part of the state, with the first naturalised specimen being collected at Rockhampton in 1956. It has commonly been recorded as a weed of coastal sand dunes, sea cliffs and offshore islands. During a recent survey, Caribbean agave (Agave angustifolia) was listed among the 35 most troublesome weed species occurring on Queensland's east coast sandy beaches and dunes. It is also a weed of urban bushland, riparian vegetation, hillsides and open woodlands.
In north-eastern New South Wales it is only known from the Yamba area, where it was recently reported to be growing on sandy soil in a coastal banksia woodland.
