Aloe & Agave

Both Aloe and Agave are succulents. They both have a rosette of fleshly leaves with spines. All agaves and some aloes are stemless (or nearly stemless). Both have varieties having small rosette and large rosette. Have a look of the picture below, can you tell which is which?


Well, the left one is aloe bloomii, and the right one is agave americana. Although they look similar,  the aloe and agave are only distantly related, with their last common ancestor thought to exist around 93 million years ago, when dinosaurs still walked the Earth.
Aloes are native to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula; agaves are native to America continental --- across the Atlantic Ocean. Some aloes can grow into a tree up to 30' tall. Agaves will stay on the ground, with rosette size varying from 6" to 15'.
Another important difference is their flowers. Agaves only bloom before they die. It takes 5 to 40 years for agaves to be mature. Then the growing point (center) develops into a tall flower spike of many long-lasting, bell-shaped blooms. After producing small dry berries, the rosette dies, leaving several younger offsets to grow on. Agave has more than 450 species, from coasts to mountains.

Agave Americana (Century Plant)
Agave Attenuata (Fox Tail)
Below are some common species.

Agave Americana ‘Marginata’

Agave Parryi

Agave Parviflora

Agave Stricta

Agave Victoria-Reginae (Queen)
Unlike agaves, aloes flowers annually in winter and spring. The flowers are not formed from center. Long stems grow out from leaves, bearing clusters of small tubular blooms. Aloe has more than 300 species.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Succotrina
Aloe Variegata
Aloe Aristata (Lace Aloe)
Aloe Polyphylla
Aloe Spectabilis

Aloe Karasbergensis (Coral Aloe)

Aloe Marlothii

Aloe Pillansii (Giant Quiver Tree)
Aloe Dichotoma

Note: all the pictures are from internet.





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