Agave schottii

2012-06-28T16:02:12Z

Erinkunz: Erinkunz moved page User:Erinkunz/sandbox to Agave schottii

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{{taxobox
|name = ''[[Agave schottii]]''
|regnum = [[Plant]]ae
|unranked_divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
|unranked_classis = [[Monocot]]
|ordo = [[Liliales]]
|familia = [[Agavaceae]]
|genus = ''[[Agave]]''
|species = '''''schottii'''''
| binomial = ''[[Agave schottii]]''
| binomial_authority = ''[[Agave schottii Engelm.]]''
|}}

Also known by the common name Schott's Century Plant, the ''Agave schottii'' is a shrub species within the ''[[Agave]]'' genus. It is a member of the subgenera [[Littaea]]. <ref name="felger">{{cite journal|last=Felger|first=Richard|coauthors=Moser, Mary B.|title=Seri use of the Agave (Century Plant)|journal=Kiva|year=1970|month=April|volume=35|issue=4|pages=159-167|url=http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30247584?uid=3739256&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=47699080687647}}</ref> There are two varieties of this species: ''Agave schotti'' var. ''schottii'' and ''Agave schottii'' var. ''treleasei''.

==Distribution==
''Agave schottii'' is native to North America. It is found in the United States of America, in the states of [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]]. In Arizona, it is confined to the southern part of the state, in the counties of Pima, Santa Cruz, Graham, and Cochise. <ref name="The PLANTS Database">{{cite web|last=USDA, NRCS|title=Plants Profile: Agave schottii Engelm. Schott's century plant|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AGSC3&mapType=nativity&photoID=|publisher=National Plant Data Team|accessdate=27 June 2012}}</ref> ''Agave schottii'' is found only in the southwestern tip of New Mexico, in Hidalgo County. <ref name="The PLANTS Database" /> It is also found in [[Mexico]], in Chihuahua, Sonora and Baja California. <ref name="The PLANTS Database" /> The ''Agave schottii'' var. ''treleasei'' has the status of [[Conservation status|Highly Safeguarded]] Native Plant and Salvage restricted, and is only found in Arizona's Pima County. <ref name="The PLANTS Database 2">{{cite web|last=USDA, NRCS|title=Plants Profile: Agave schottii Engelm. var. treleasei (Toumey) Kearney & Peebles Trelease's century plant|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AGSCT}}</ref>

==Habitat and Ecology==
This species grows in [[arid]] regions at elevations from 1100-2000 meters on sunny, open, gentle rocky slopes or in small drainages in high desert scrub, grassland and juniper and oak woodlands on gneiss substrate. <ref name=CPC>{{cite web|last=Center for Plant Conservation|title=Agave schottii var. treleasei|url=http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/collection/cpc_viewprofile.asp?CPCNum=50|work=CPC National Collection Plant Profile|accessdate=28 June 2012}}</ref> It grows on northern and eastern facing slopes where temperatures do not get very high. <ref name="felger" />

==Morphology==
Individuals of this species are flowering shrubs. The ''Agave schottii'', like other ''Agave'' species, are [[succulents]] with a rosette of thick, blue/green, finger like leaves with sharp spines on their tips. The ''Agave schottii'' is different from other ''Agave'' in that the leaves do not have spines on its margins, making it a member of the ''Agave'' subgenus Littaea. <ref name="felger" /> The leaves typically grow to about a length of 0.3 meters. Due to its height of about that of a human's shin, and the presence of its sharp, spiny leaves, this species has been given the common name "Shindagger." <ref name="PlantCenter">{{cite web|last=Plant Sciences Center of Sierra Vista, Arizona|title=Agave schottii|url=http://ag.arizona.edu/cochise/psc/agave_schottii.htm|accessdate=28 June 2012}}</ref>

The leaf rosettes are [[monocarpic]]. <ref name=Faucon>{{cite web|last=Faucon|first=Phillipe|title=Schott's Century Plant, Shindagger|url=http://www.gardeninginarizona.com/Plants/Agavaceae/Agave_schottii.html|accessdate=28 June 2012|year=2004}}</ref> Its pale to bright yellow flowers are held on branches onto the stem. <ref name="Schaffer" /> The flowers are spicate [[Inflorescence|inflorescences]], tubular in shape, and about 8 mm by 4 mm in size. <ref name="Schaffer">{{cite journal|last=Schaffer|first=William M.|coauthors=Schaffer, M. Valentine|title=The reproductive biology of Agavaceae: I. Pollen and nectar production in four Arizona Agaves|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|date=3|year=1977|month=June|volume=22|issue=2|pages=157-168|url=http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3669806?uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21100872756221|accessdate=25 June 2012}}</ref> Some members of this species, like the var. ''treleasei'', have peniculate infloresences. <ref name="FNA">{{cite journal|title=Agave schottii Engelmann|journal=Flora of North America|year=1875|volume=26|pages=444,447|url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101317|accessdate=28 June 2012}}</ref> The flowers of ''Agave schottii'' produce a pleasant, sweet fragrance. <ref name="Schaffer" />

The ''Agave schottii'' [[fruit|fruits]] are [[Dehiscence (botany)|loculicidal capsules]], or dry fruit that split open to release seeds. <ref name="FNA" />

''Agave schottii'' is composed of steroidal [[sapogenin|sapogenins]] in its pulp. This makes up about 2% of its dry weight. <ref name=Nobel>{{cite book|last=Nobel|first=Park. S.|title=Envronmental biology of Agaves and cacti|year=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|pages=9}}</ref>

==Pollination==
Like most species in the ''Agave'' genus, this species has its flowers pollinated by many possible [[pollinator|pollinators]] bats, butterflies, moths, bumblebees, honeybees, and hummingbirds. <ref name="Schaffer" />

The ''Agave schottii'' produces on average 1.6 µL of [[nectar]] per day.<ref name="Schaffer" /> This is a fairly low amount associated with the nectar amounts produced by insect pollinated flowers. The ''Agave schottii'' does produce most of its nectar nocturnally, suggesting pollination by bats. <ref name="Schaffer" /> However, the yellow flowers, sweet smell, and low protein concentration of the nectar provide evidence for insect and/or bird pollination. <ref name="Schaffer" />

==Reproduction==
The ''Agave schottii'' is a [[clonal colony|clonal plant]], meaning it has the ability to clone itself and produce genetically identical offspring vegetatively. This method of [[asexual reproduction]] is not favorable as it produces offspring with low [[heterozygosity]], or low genetic diversity. <ref name="Trame">{{cite journal|last=Trame|first=Anne-Marie|coauthors=Coddington, Amy J., Paige, Ken N.|title=Field and genetic studies testing optimal outcrossing in Agave schottii, a long-lived clonal plant|journal=Oecologia|date=18|year=1995|month=April|volume=104|pages=93-100|url=http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4221083?uid=3739256&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21100872756221}}</ref> Experimentation shows that this plant favors outbreeding with an optimal range between 10 and 100 meters. The greater the proximity of cross-breeders, the lower the genetic diversity. When the range of cross-breeders exceeds the optimal range, the plant risks breeding with a member of its species too unlike itself. ''Agave schottii'' is a good model to observe this type of [[outcrossing]]. <ref name="Trame" />

==Usage==
''Agave'' plants in general have many uses, as a sweetener, to create [[tequila]], and as an [[antibiotic]].<ref name="DuHamel">{{cite web|last=DuHamel|first=Jonathan|title=Agave, a plant of many uses|url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/wryheat/2011/12/21/agave-a-plant-of-many-uses/|accessdate=28 June 2012|language=English|date=21|month=December|year=2011}}</ref>

''Agave schottii'' in particular has a very bitter taste, and thus it is not suitable as a food for people or cattle. <ref name=Gentry>{{cite book|last=Gentry|first=Howard Scott|title=Agaves of Continental North America|year=1982|publisher=The University of Arizona Press|location=Tuscon|isbn=0816507759|pages=207-208}}</ref> The bitter taste comes from its steroidal sapogenin properties, which make them usable as a soap. It is called [[Chlorogalum|"amole"]], "maguey," and "amolillo" by Spanish-speaking people in the area of its habitat, and by native peoples, like the [[Seri people]], and used for washing clothes. <ref name="felger" /> The Seri people also call ''Agave schottii'' "ikapanniim," which means to 'wash hair with.' It is used as a shampoo to clean, soften, and grow hair. <ref name="felger" />

The sapogenin in ''Agave schottii'' is being researched for its potential role in [[cancer|anti-cancer]] treatments. <ref>{{cite journal|last=Bianchi|first=E.|coauthors=Cole, J. R.|title=Antitumor agents from agave schottii(amaryllidaceae)|journal=Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences|date=17|year=2006|month=September|volume=58|issue=5|pages=589-591|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jps.2600580516/abstract}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Genus]]

2012-06-19T23:41:37Z

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Agave schottii

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