A new species described by Cabral, Villareal and Estrada in Act. Bot. Mexicana 80: 51-57 (2007). It belongs to the subgenus Littaea and family group Striatae. It grows in the Sierra Madre Oriental. A distinguishing feature is a ring of hairs growing near the tip of each leaf, below the terminal spine.
© Ismael Cabral
 
One of the newly named species following the revision of the taxonomic status of agave gypsophila belonging to the Marmoratae group (Vasquez-Garciae & Nieves 2013). Found in southern Jalisco.
 
One of the newly named species following the revision of the taxonomic status of agave gypsophila belonging to the Marmorate group.
(Sahagun & Vasquez-Garciae 2013). Found in Michoacan.
 
A close relative of agave angustiarum belonging to the genus Littaea and subgenus Marginatae and described in 2007 by Chazaro, Valencia and Vazquez. It was originally named agave colimillensis. It grows on virtually unreachable vertical cliffs and is endemic to the barranca of Colimilla and Rio Verde, Jalisco. It does not produce offsets or bulbils.
 
 
 
This is probably a provisional name as the plant has not yet formally been described. A hybrid between x mitis nova and ellemeetiena the plant appears to have similarities with attenuata and pedunculifera (group amolae).
               
Photos by Jeremy Spath
 
Described by Webb & Starr in 2014 from Picachos de Santa Clara, Baja California. It's closest relative would appear to be agave vizcainoensis and the two form the new section Intermediae in the author's new revision of the group Deserticolae. It is a medium-sized species with distinctive glaucous blue-green leaves that does not produce offsets, has a relatively short and narrow inflorescence, and a distinctive flower structure. This new species is a narrow endemic restricted to mostly rocky slopes and alluvial surfaces emanating from isolated mesas and peaks in an environment with strong fog influence.
 
© Webb & Starr 2014
 
Newly described by Greg Starr in Phytotaxa 428 (2): 073–080 92020). The plant was first discovered in 2004 on limestone hills north of Nizanda in Oaxaca,Mexico. It belonds in Littaea, sect. Heteracanthae (corresponding to Marginatae). Nearest relatives are agave ghiesbreghtii (and huehueteca) and agave angustiarum.
 
© Greg Starr 2020
 
Nice photos here: https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9773&sid=b7c8ca2e0372f721606a6a4cddb37902
 
Newly described by Vazquez in 2007. It was found in Tequila, Jalisco and with the stiff unarmed leaves is thought possibly to be the long lost agave bakeri.
 
(photo from Nick Macer)
 
Described by Lode and Pino in 2007 in Cactus Aventures (January 2008). The type plant is to be found in Peru but these plants have also been observed in Bolivia,Columbia and Ecuador. It would appear that in the past they have been mistakenly identified as agave americana or agave americana v. expansa. One of the characteristics of this plant is the inflorescence which is bent and grows almost horizontally in a comma shape.
 
    
Habitat photos from Peru by Helmut Wendenburg © 2008


From Sierra El Doctor, part of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Queretaro, Mexico. Described by Hernandez-Sandoval and Magallan-Hernandez
in 2014; it comes within the group Marginatae and is related to agave glomeruliflora and agave montium sancticaroli. 
It has some use locally in the production of aguamiel and pulque.
Newly described in 2019 by Garcia-Mendoza & D. Sandoval in Acta Botanica Mexicana 126: e1461  |  2019  |  10.21829/abm126.2019.1461
This plant belongs to subgenus Littaea and the Choripetalae group. It is solitary with ovate, glaucous leaves with straight margins. Very closely related to agave guiengola. Found in Oaxaca in the district 
of Tlaxiaco.


(photo UNAM)
Discovered in 2004 and subsequently described by Chazaro-Basanez and Jimeno-Sevilla. It is found in a small area near Cordoba in the state of Veracruz in Mexico. Although abundant in the locality it has a very restricted geographical distribution. It belongs to the subgenus Littaea and the family group Polycephalae. It's closest relative is agave pendula.
 
From Queretaro and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Described in 2013 by Galvan and Zamudio. Belongs to the group Striatae and is related to agave dasylirioides, agave petrophylla and agave rzedowskiana
 
Described in 2013 by Chazaro-Basanez and Vazquez-Garcia this plant was found in Totonacapan, Veracruz. Belonging to the subgenus Littaea and family group Polycephalae it is closely related to agave gomez pompae, but differs mainly being smaller.
 
Newly described by Garcia-Mendoza and Chavez-Rendon (2013) this species is from from Oaxaca and very closely related to agave dasylirioides. Subgenus Littaea and family group Striatae.
 
One of the newly named species following the revision of the taxonomic status of agave gypsophila belonging to the Marmoratae group.
(Vasquez-Garciae & Chazaro-Basanez 2013). Found in Michoacan.
 
Newly named species by Garcia-Morales, García-Jiménez & Iamonico in Novon, A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature Vol. 27 nr. 4 (2019). Found in Taumalipas, north eastern Mexico and morphologically similar to agave tenuifolia & agave striata
 
Newly described in 2019 by Garcia-mendoza & S.Franco in Acta Botanica Mexicana 126: e1461 | 2019 | 10.21829/abm126.2019.1461
Belongs to subgenus Agave and the Ditepalae group. It is found In Oaxaca and Puebla, in the Valley of Tehuacan. It is related to agave palmeri but smaller,solitary and with an open rosette. It is found in the vicinity of ag. karwinskii, kerchovei, marmorata and potatorum and known to be used in the production of mezcal.
 
(photo UNAM)
 
A new species from western Mexico is described by Cuevas Guzmán, Santana-Michel, and Balcazar-Medina in Brittonia 64(3):330-335, 2012.
It is an endemic species from the high altitude mountains of the Sierra de Manantlán in western Mexico, only found at high elevations between 2640 to 2865 m on near vertical cliffs with constant fog during the rainy season.
The species belongs to the subgenus Littaea and according to post Gentry classifications to the Serrulatae group ( alongside attenuata, chrysoglossa, gilberti, nizandensis, ocahui, pedunculifera, vasquezgarciae & vilmoriniana).
 
(collection of Jos van Roosbroeck)
 
Photos by kind permission of Jeremy Spath ©
 
A newly described species by Arzaba-Villalba, Chazaro-Basanez & Viveros-Colorado in Phytotaxa 360 (3): 263–268 ; 2018.
It belongs to the subgenus Littaea and Polycephalae group. This new species comes from the Sierra de Monte de Oro, relatively low mountains near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico ; it occurs on a volcanic substrate in the tropical oak forest of the coastal plain of Veracruz in eastern Mexico. It is very similar to agave pendula with similar but shorter lanceolate to oblong leaves with a central yellow stripe. The shorter leaves have a continuous reddish margins ,larger teeth and a thicker terminal spine. The flower stem and flowers are also smaller in measurements.
 
           
Magnolia Press 2018 ©
 
Newly described in 2019 by Garcia-Mendoza & Sandoval in Acta Botanica Mexicana 126: e1461 | 2019 | 10.21829/abm126.2019.1461
Belongs to subgenus Littaea and the Marginatae group. Found in Oaxaca, Silacayoapam district, plus Puebla and Guerrero. Very close to agave xylonacantha, is solitary in an open rosette with long leaves with a central band.
 
(photo UNAM)
 
A new species described by Garcia-Mendoza, Jacques-Hernandez and Salazar Bravo in the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 1 (1):79-84 ;2007.
It was found in 2003-04 in the Sierra de San Carlos region, Taumalipas in Mexico. It belongs to the Marginatae group of the subgenus Littaea and is similar to agave X glomeruliflora (Berger) but is generally a larger plant than X glomeruliflora with larger and more numerous leaves.
 
................
 
Newly described in April 2020 by Zamudio and Gutierrez ( Brittonia, DOI 10.1007/s12228-020-09613-0\0). Belongs to the group Choritepalae in subgenus Littaea. It is found only in a small area in Queretaro.The stand out feature is the inflorescence which is large and covered in purple bracts and purple flowers.
 
           
 
A new species from Oaxaca described by Garcia-Mendoza in Acta Botanica Mexicana 91:71-93 (2010). This is accompanied by a revision of the potatorum complex in the group Hiemiflorae. The habitat is alongside agave potatorum and seemanniana in the mountains of Mixteca Alta in Oaxaca, potatorum extending northwards into Puebla. Gentry had described agave seemanniana as growing in Chiapas and extending southwards into Guatemala,Nicaragua and Honduras. The plants growing in Oaxaca now considered by Garcia-Mendoza to be agave seemanniana had been assigned by Gentry as agave potatorum,emphasising how closely related they are.
The new species differs from agave potatorum in the shape of the inflorescence and minor leaf differences.
Agave nussaviorum coexists with A.convallis(?kerchovei); A.atrovirens; A.salmiana and A. angustifolia.
 
 
The above notes apply also to v. deltoidea, which is distinguished by the larger deltoid shaped leaves.
It's habitat is also different, being at a higher altitude and consisting mainly of volcanic rock.
 
           
Jos van Roosbroeck collection
A new species of agave has been described in SIDA Vol 20 ( 2 ) pages 495-499 in November 2002. The authors are Greg Starr and Jose Villareal.
The plant originates from the Sierra de Lampazos in northern Nuevo Leon. It belongs to the subgenus Agave and the group Parryanae. It is related to A. havardiana and A. parrasana.
It is considered that this plant is the same as collected and distributed previously by Mrs Anna Nickels as A. noah, which was never properly described or published but Trelease in 1911 treated it as a synomym of A. wislizenii. A.wislizenii in turn was originally considered synonymous with A. parrasana but subsequently Ullrich in 1992 argued that it was actually a form of A. parryi.
Description: Agave ovatifolia is solitary (non-offsetting) with a hemispherical rosette reaching anywhere from 2-5 feet tall by 3-6 feet across. When grown hard, the plant will stay on the smaller end while those grown with ample moisture will attain maximum size. The common name, Whale's Tongue comes from the short, wide, distinctively cupped leaf blade. Marginal teeth are small, and the dark grayish black terminal spine is about 1 inch long. The paniculate inflorescence is 10-14 feet tall and consists of several side branches, each densely clustered with large, greenish yellow flowers
Habitat and Distribution: Agave ovatifolia is found in the sierras in northeastern Mexico. It occurs at elevations from 3,700-7,000 feet.
 
© 2003 Greg Starr
 
One of the newly named species following the revision of the taxonomic status of agave gypsophila belonging to the Marmoratae group.
(Vasquez-Garciae, Muniz & Padilla-Lepe 2013). Found in Colima.
 
 
A new subspecies of agave parviflora is described by Starr & van Devender in Cactus and Succulent Journal, 83(5):224-231. 2011, published by Cactus and Succulent Society of America. it is distinguished from subspecies parviflora & flexiflora by a larger leaf size and more densly crowded flower stalk. It was found growing east of Yecora in south eastern Sonora.
 
© 2011 Greg Starr & Tom Van Devender
 
Newly described form of agave victoriae reginae from the region of south east Durango ( Acta Botanica Mexicana 95: 65-94 (2011) ).
 
In the new article by Gonzales Elizondo et al. in 2011 agave victoriae reginae is newly reclassified as follows:
1. victoriae reginae ssp. victoriae-reginae (western Nuevo León and eastern extreme of Coahuila
2. victoriae reginae ssp. swobodae (southern Coahuila and northeastern Durango)
3. nickelsiae (microendemic to southeastern Coahuila) ; replaces fernandi-regis
4. pintilla (the most westernly distributed species in the group, restricted to southeastern Durango).
 
Newly described in 2019 by Garcia-Mendoza & S. Franco in Acta Botanica Mexicana 126: e1461 | 2019 | 10.21829/abm126.2019.1461
Belongs to subgenus Littaea and the Marginatae group. Found in Oaxaca, Cuicatlan district and very closely related to Gentry's agave titanota.
Grows with agave karwinskii as a solitary plant with long. lanceolate leaves straight margins and variable teeth, some interstitial.
 
(photo UNAM)
 
A new species of agave is described in Brittonia: vol 55, no 3, pp. 240-244 ( 2003 ). The authors are Pablo Carrillo-Reyes and Raymundo Ramirez-Delgadillo from the University of Guadalajara and Rito Alvina from the University of Sinaloa. The species belongs to the group Striatae of the subgenus Littaea and comes from Jalisco and Sinaloa in western Mexico. It is related to agave dasylirioides and agave petrophila.
 
   
Habitat pictures from Jalisco, México
These photos are by courtesy of and strictly the property of Pablo Carrillo-Reyes


Described by Wendy C. Hodgson, Andrew M. Salywon and William H. Doelle in Systematic Botany, 43(3):734-740 published by The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (2018).
Found in a few sites along the San Pedro river, it has grey-green leaves with thick bases and conspicous bud printing. It appears to be sterile.
This plant has similarities to ag. phillipsiana and ag. palmeri. It is considered as a crop plant grown by the Hohokam, ancient inhabitants of Arizona between 300-1450. Agave delamateri and murpheyi 
were identified as growing in ancient agricultural fields alongside a third 'mystery' plant, now identified and named as sanpedroensis, a domesticated crop.
     
                                                          Photo from Ron Parker
First collected by Vazquez-Garcia & Chazaro-Basanez in 2010 this new species was found in the municipalities of Mexticacan and Canadas de Obregon in the Los Altos region of Jalisco, western Mexico. The area is close to the Rio Verde and threatened by the El Zapotillo dam project. It's flowering features place it in the group Ditepalae and there are morphological similarities with agave wocomahi and agave durangensis.
A new species from northeastern Baja California described by R.H.Webb and J.M.Salazar-Ceseña in Brittonia, v. 63 ( 203-210); 2011.
This solitary species is placed in the group Deserticolae and it's closest relatives appear to be agave moranii and agave desertii v. simplex.
It has a very restricted habitat on monzogranite and adjacent colluvial slopes in the Sierras Cucapá and El Mayor.
 
A large,robust new species has been described in 2004 by Miguel Chazaro-Basanez and J. Antonio Vazquez-Garcia from the University of Guadalajara and Yalma Luisa Vargas-Rodriguez of Louisiana State University. The plant is solitary, non suckering with dark green cross banded leaves. It is endemic to western Jalisco and has been placed in the Marmoratae species group of subgenus Agave. It's closest relative is Agave marmorata.
It's local name is maguey relisero and it is used in the manufacture of a type of mescal called raicilla ( also known as ximat ), which is an alcoholic tequila like beverage manufactured mainly from Agave maximiliana in the rural highlands of western Mexico. It was the examination of wild populations of this maguey relisero that led to the realisation that these plants were not identifiable with any currently known species.
 
( from the Jos van Roosbroeck collection )
 
This new species was discovered and presented as such in 2002 by Miguel Chazaro-Basanez and Oscar Valencia Pelayo from the University of Guadalajara. It would appear that this plant had previously been wrongly identified as Agave pedunculifera by a number of various authors.
This non suckering species is found only on the northern slopes of Sierra Manantlan in southern Jalisco,western Mexico. It belongs to the Amolae species group of subspecies Littaea. It's closest relative is Agave pedunculifera from which it differs in having larger, firmer leaves, a larger terminal spine plus larger flower spikes and flower parts.
 
( from the Jos van Roosbroeck collection )
 
Newly described by Hodgson & Salywon in 2013. Found in central Arizona,close to archeological sites, suggesting it could be a 'domesticate' or clone thereof. No close relatives, but some characteristics of ag. delamateri, chrysantha and shrevei. It has been provisionally placed in group Ditepalae.
 
(courtesy of Ron Parker)
 
Newly described by Hodgson & Salywom in 2013. See notes for agave verdensis above as these apply also to this plant.
 
(courtesy of Ron Parker)