Furcraea blooming

[doranakandawatta]

I noticed Furcraea for the first time in Peradeniya, april 2009:

Loving that plant, I planted it in Doranakanda garden:

Last august , the plant in Peradeniya was at the end of his blooming time (this is the same plant, after 5 years !!!!) and it was a rain of small "keikis"...
I did some rescue job with so many babies!

[The Silent Seed]

Awesome! Is this a F. foetida? I did not know that all of them produce keikis.

[doranakandawatta]

Yes Jude,

F. foetida,

The thee last pictures show the plant in august 2013, with all keikis. I didn't see any flower.

Note it took 5 years from the beginning until "keikis's rain"!

[sgvcns]

They are certainly a wonderful feature plant but I think they have potential to become a pest.

They are planted as street plants in many parts of the world and seem unstoppable certainly around Brisbane.

Steve

[doranakandawatta]

Steve,

... they have potential to become a pest. Do they because of the keikis falling and making roots? or by their roots ?

I saw this species used by Made Wijaya in Bali gardens (through books and photographs, not in real) , or in Singapore city or hotels's gardens.
I would like to use them as ground-cover in Doranakanda garden.

[The Silent Seed]

Has anyone seen the giant one without a name, at Fairchild? If you exit the back door, entering the gardens, it will be almost in front of you - or at least it used to be - It was in full "keiki mode" when I saw it last.

It was bigger than a mature Agave americana!

[sgvcns]

Philippe

They are so tough and so prolific that I think they could spread very easily.

Tropical Garden Design by Made Wijaya is one of my favourite landscape books.

Always a new idea to be found and he writes very well.

Steve

[fastfeat]

Has anyone seen the giant one without a name, at Fairchild? If you exit the back door, entering the gardens, it will be almost in front of you - or at least it used to be - It was in full "keiki mode" when I saw it last.

It was bigger than a mature Agave americana!

Green or variegated? F. foetida is the only species I'm familiar with in FL, tho Fairchild may have others?

F, roezlii is very difficult, if not impossible, to get to size in SoFla moisture. F. macdougalii probably would behave similarly, tho I haven't tried it there.

[The Silent Seed]

It was green - and enormous - bigger than an adult Agave americana - Thought that is what it was, until I got closer.

It was listed as Furcraea sp. I doubt it would have been, if it was foetida.

The leaves were also much longer and "wavy" (like an Agave americana) not a series of rigid spike like leaves, as commonly seen in F. foetida.

[fastfeat]

It was green - and enormous - bigger than an adult Agave americana - Thought that is what it was, until I got closer.

It was listed as Furcraea sp. I doubt it would have been, if it was foetida.

The leaves were also much longer and "wavy" (like an Agave americana) not a series of rigid spike like leaves, as commonly seen in F. foetida.

Not sure which species that is then. FWIW, green F. foetida seems to have fewer marginal teeth than variegated ones, from the few I've seen.

[The Silent Seed]

PS - the plant was totally smooth. No teeth whatsoever.

[Geoff]

Furcraea foetida, either green or variegated have no teeth whatsoever... if you have seen a toothed variegated Furcraea, it was not a foetida... more likely an F selloa (very large, sharp teeth... much larger species, too... and forms a trunk up to 6' tall sometimes before flowering).

[The Silent Seed]

As stated; no teeth at all - however it was as big as a VW bug. The biggest foetida I have seen were the variegated ones similar to the ones seen here, which are a few feet tall, not towering overhead.

[fastfeat]

Furcraea foetida, either green or variegated have no teeth whatsoever... if you have seen a toothed variegated Furcraea, it was not a foetida... more likely an F selloa (very large, sharp teeth... much larger species, too... and forms a trunk up to 6' tall sometimes before flowering).

OK, this patch of green ones at LA Arboretum has some toothed ones, some not. About a 50/50 mix. Not sure which species...

[The Silent Seed]

Is there a Furcraea ID key somewhere ? Or a list of them with their characteristics ?

[doranakandawatta]

Is there a Furcraea ID key somewhere ? Or a list of them with their characteristics ?

Rarepalmseeds has a list and some information like: http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/pix/FurQui.shtml.. and probably seeds.

[palmaddict]

I have had several furcraea send up stalks in the last year. It is their terminal event as like Agaves it signals the end of their life. I have found the stalk contains both bulbils (keakis) which are clones of the mother plant in that they are genetically identical. However, on that same stalk there seemed to be flowers that also appear. This would provide the best of both worlds, bulbils for fast clonal reproduction, but flowers to create diversity in the genetic pool of the species.

By the way the plant pictured is quite common here in San Diego as it can be purchased at the big box stores.

patrick

[JD in the OC]

We plant these on almost all of our landscapes. Here in FL, they're called Variegated False Agave and used extensively on the East Coast (not as much on our Gulf Coast yet, most landscapers are a few years behind the trend here)

This one is now about 7ft tall by 8ft wide at a customer's house

Another one is bloomed at a younger age at another customer's house on the beach

The inflorescence can produce up to 2,000 little pups!!