''Agave maculata'' (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

''Manfreda maculosa''), commonly known as the Texas tuberose or spice lily, is a species of ''

Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known ...

'' that is endemic to southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and northeastern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

Description

The Texas tuberose is acaulescent, meaning the

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushr ...

is extremely short. The fleshy silvery-green leaves are covered with purple spots and in low light situations may lay flat on the ground. In a drought, the leaves may wither, leaving little or nothing visible above ground. Sufficient precipitation yields an inflorescence tall in the period April–September. The new flower stalks (inflorescences) are fed on by small mammals,

javelina A peccary (also javelina or skunk pig) is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of Nort ...

, deer, and feral pigs, which can end the flowering effort for that season. The leaves are fed on by these as well, especially during droughts, weakening and killing the plants. The flowers open and change colors over 3–4 days of life, from white to pink to dark red. The inferior ovaries turn from green to purple to black as they mature as seedpods.

Taxonomy

''Agave maculata'' was first described by

Eduard von Regel Eduard August von Regel (sometimes Edward von Regel or Edward de Regel or Édouard von Regel), Russian: Эдуард Август Фон Регель; (born 13 August 1815 in Gotha; died 15 April 1892 in St. Petersburg) was a German horticultural ...

in 1856. Later, in 1859, William Hooker described the same species as ''Agave maculosa''. It was under this

that it was transferred to the genus ''Manfreda'' and then the genus ''Polianthes'' (both now included in ''Agave''), but Regel's

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

is the oldest and so has priority.

Ecology

Texas tuberose is the primary host plant for the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...

s of the rare manfreda giant-skipper or aloe skipper (''

Stallingsia ''Stallingsia'' is a genus of butterflies in the skipper family, Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously p ...

maculosus'' (= ''Stallingsia smithi'')). A reduction in the ''A. maculata'' population could threaten the existence of the butterflies. Manfreda inflorescence, flowers with petals intact

Manfreda inflorescence, flowers with petals intact

References

* Lehman, R.L., O'Brien, R., and T. White. 2005. Plants of the Texas coastal bend. Texas A&M Univ. Press. 352 pp. * Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford Univ. Press. 583 pp.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q60433588, from2=Q391794, from3=Q6748556 maculata Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Tamaulipas Flora of Texas Flora of the Rio Grande valleys Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert Garden plants of North America Butterfly food plants Drought-tolerant plants Plants described in 1856