Which agave species produce bulbils (mostly)

[abborean]

Am curious if there is a list of agave species that reproduce mostly via bulbils. I realize the cultivates do, like murpheyi. Also desmettiana. Looking in Gentry it seems to be iffy on some species or perhaps not worth mentioning if they also produce seed. Another interesting list of reproductive habits would be a species list of self fertile agaves. Blooming singly I'm aware that lophantha, funkiana and mitis produce viable seed on their own. If anyone has thoughts on these aspects of agave reproduction or know of existing lists I'd appreciate the information.

[plantguy]

One thing that could be an interesting study is to see if triploids would reproduce by bulbils because they are seed sterile for the most part. Although it may not happen every time, I wonder if it would be more likely for them to be the bulbil producers.

[Gee.S]

I'll start.

A. desmetiana
A. vilmoriniana
A. angustifolia and all derivatives, including A. murpheyi, A, tequilana, A. fourcroydes, A. sisalana, A. aktites, etc.
All or nearly all Caribbean agaves, most notably including A. vivipara, which also appears to be an angustifolia derivative.

I had an A. hurteri bloom, and it produced lots of seed -- and plenty of bulbils.

[Gee.S]

One thing that could be an interesting study is to see if triploids would reproduce by bulbils because they are seed sterile for the most part. Although it may not happen every time, I wonder if it would be more likely for them to be the bulbil producers.

They (at least generally) do not.

[plantguy]

So would you say they are the least likely to produce bulbils?

[plantguy]

Also, I've heard conflicting accounts of ovatifolia producing bulbils. Does it?

[Gafoto]

Also, I've heard conflicting accounts of ovatifolia producing bulbils. Does it?

It does!

I saw a utahensis ssp eborispina with bulbils on it this fall out in Nevada. The stalk wasn’t 100% normal looking and had no seedpods. Makes me wonder if it got hit or broken off by a storm and it changed course at some point.

[Gee.S]

Also, I've heard conflicting accounts of ovatifolia producing bulbils. Does it?

It does!

I saw a utahensis ssp eborispina with bulbils on it this fall out in Nevada. The stalk wasn’t 100% normal looking and had no seedpods. Makes me wonder if it got hit or broken off by a storm and it changed course at some point.

Any agave can produce bulbils when the inflorescence is damaged in a certain way at a certain time, but that is a different subject than agaves that do so routinely.

[plantguy]

Also, I've heard conflicting accounts of ovatifolia producing bulbils. Does it?

It does!

I saw a utahensis ssp eborispina with bulbils on it this fall out in Nevada. The stalk wasn’t 100% normal looking and had no seedpods. Makes me wonder if it got hit or broken off by a storm and it changed course at some point.

Any agave can produce bulbils when the inflorescence is damaged in a certain way at a certain time, but that is a different subject than agaves that do so routinely.

Could you please create a thread talking about this? I am very intrigued.

[Papahuel]

Until recently I was obsessed with bulbiferous agaves, I now see moderately offsetting ones are more convenient for me.

I had started compiling a list of bulbiferous agaves (on undamaged inflorescence) I'll see if I can find it.

As Gee said talking about bulbiferous agaves on damaged inflorescence is kind of pointless as it seems most agaves are capable of bulbil production if the inflorescence is damaged.

I'll add to the list:
A attenuata

Seen plenty of these locally throw bulbils on undamaged inflorescence

[jam]

Agave cocui produces bulbils.

[Gee.S]

Agave cocui produces bulbils.

One of many Caribbean agaves, I had inadequately referenced earlier.

[Papahuel]

Agave cocui produces bulbils.

One of many Caribbean agaves, I had inadequately referenced earlier.

After reading that book you suggested by Trelease on Caribbean agave (very interesting read btw, thanks for the suggestion) I understand why you didn't list all of them

Here are two more:

A decipiens
A macroacantha (according to HSG 'sometimes bulbiferous')

[Gee.S]

^ And they may all be domesticates/cultivates relocated from the mainland.

[Papahuel]

^ And they may all be domesticates/cultivates relocated from the mainland.

Yes he was talking about the potential migration and change of agave species there over almost geologic time frames and I'm thinking I wonder how much the human hand actually played a part in all this.

[Papahuel]

A weberi (HSG 'sometimes bulbiferous')

[Gee.S]

A weberi (HSG 'sometimes bulbiferous')

Another agave of apparent anthropogenic origin. A. weberi stalks do nothing here. No bulbils, no seed, nothing. Pollen melts in our summer heat and that is the end of it.

[Papahuel]

Another agave of apparent anthropogenic origin. A. weberi stalks do nothing here. No bulbils, no seed, nothing. Pollen melts in our summer heat and that is the end of it.

Yes I often thought there might have been some human playing around with weberi given the almost complete lack of marginal spines (or tiny ones). Yes they set seeds since all mine have come from seeds, I'll find out sooner or later if they have bulbils too.

Your garden definitely lies on the edge of what is acceptable weather even for some agaves, quite a few of your specimens like aktites and even your beloved ( ) sobria look like outliers compared to ones I've seen elsewhere and grown myself, they seem to stay small and offset profusely (I'm guessing due to the extreme weather). It seems to be the same for Desert Botanic Gardens.

Another one:
A wercklei (HSG "apparently bulbiferous" whatever that means lol)

[Gee.S]

AFAIK, A. weberi is one of several agaves Gentry described, which are found exclusively in cultivation.

[Geneaz]

I can ususally get 150 to 200 bulbils on the bloom spike of A. vilmorianiana. Almost never an offset, though.

[Gee.S]

Another agave of apparent anthropogenic origin. A. weberi stalks do nothing here. No bulbils, no seed, nothing. Pollen melts in our summer heat and that is the end of it.

Yes I often thought there might have been some human playing around with weberi given the almost complete lack of marginal spines (or tiny ones). Yes they set seeds since all mine have come from seeds, I'll find out sooner or later if they have bulbils too.

Your garden definitely lies on the edge of what is acceptable weather even for some agaves, quite a few of your specimens like aktites and even your beloved ( ) sobria look like outliers compared to ones I've seen elsewhere and grown myself, they seem to stay small and offset profusely (I'm guessing due to the extreme weather). It seems to be the same for Desert Botanic Gardens.

Another one:
A wercklei (HSG "apparently bulbiferous" whatever that means lol)

A lot of agaves go dormant in summer and winter here, tho A. weberi isn't one of them. To tell the truth, I will never plant a non-variegated weberi on my property again. Stupid things bloom at 8-9 y/o @ 4 m across, and I'm left with a dead 500 lb. plant with an 11 m bloom stalk to deal with, melted pollen or no. My weberi striata get just as large, but at least take their sweet time getting there.

[Papahuel]

A lot of agaves go dormant in summer and winter here, tho A. weberi isn't one of them. To tell the truth, I will never plant a non-variegated weberi on my property again. Stupid things bloom at 8-9 y/o @ 4 m across, and I'm left with a dead 500 lb. plant with an 11 m bloom stalk to deal with, melted pollen or no. My weberi striata get just as large, but at least take their sweet time getting there.

Fair enough.

To me 500lbs sounds like a lot of potential delicious liquor and the shorter to bloom the better

My only gripe with them is their profuse offsetting, but they are pretty good in all other respects and take silly amounts of rain, even better than americana, yet still have good dry weather capability.

[mcvansoest]

I have had two bulbils on a weberi stalk which was shaded some from the sun by a giant Palo Verde it had grown into. Since at the time I had 10s if not hundreds of offsets, I did not really care to keep it or document it. I am also not growing plain weberi again. There is a place for them just not in my yard. I have an offset of Gee.S striata which is doing great.

[bigdaddyscondition]

Agave bovicornuta produces bulbils.

[Gafoto]

How successful are bulbils as a reproduction strategy? Do folks see those in the wild often? Those utahensis bulbils I saw did not look like they were likely to survive since it was late fall and the bulbils were already somewhat dehydrated. Utahensis stalks usually stay upright for almost a full year or longer meaning those bulbils would have to survive a full winter hanging out in freezing temps and then hope to drop down in the spring and put down roots. I imagine that’s the reason I don’t usually see utahensis with bulbils in the wild.