Agave shawii - Shaw's Agave

Description

A very sharp succulent native to coastal Los Angeles down into Baja.  Agave shawii var. shawii is California's native variety which occurs mainly at Point Loma Peninsula in San Diego.  Like other Agaves it pups and slowly forms a colony of many clonal rosettes.  Each rosette will put up a tall stalk with a panicle of yellow flowers atop- from inception to flower can take between 10 and 40 years.  Upon flowering the rosette dies but its pups live on.  Flowers are visited by multiple species of bats, but only in their native habitat range and only the Mexican long-tongued bat is able to effectivley pollinate.  Bees, beetles, and hummingbirds also visit the flowers, but the efficacy of pollination is low.