Manfreda virginica (False aloe)

Manfreda virginica (L.) Salisb. ex Rose

Agave lata Shinners

Agave tigrina (Engelm.) Cory

Agave virginica L.

Allibertia intermedia Marion

Manfreda tigrina (Engelm.) Small

Manfreda virginica (L.) Salisb. ex Rose var. tigrina (Engelm.) Rose

Polianthes lata (Shinners) Shinners

Polianthes virginica (L.) Shinners

False aloe, rattlesnake master, American aloe, hauco, amole

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Asparagales	A diverse group that includes asparagus
Family	Asparagaceae	Agaves, asparagus, hyacinths, and others
Genus	Manfreda	For Manfredus de Monte Imperiale, fourteenth-century Italian medical writer and botanist
Species	virginica	From or referring to Virginia

About plant names...

False aloe, actually a member of the agave family, is a North American native.

Identification: Plants are a small rosette of leaves up to 18" (45 cm) tall. Leaves are 5-16" (12-40 cm) long and 2½-3" (6.3-7.6 cm) wide, and curved along their length, with wavy edges. They are soft and thin, but they occupy a place between the thin leaves of herbaceous plants and the thick, water-storing leaves of many succulent plants. Leaves may have varying degrees of brown-purple mottling. Fragrant green or yellow-green flowers appear atop a spike up to 6' (1.8 m) tall.

References:

Irish, Mary & Irish, Gary, Agaves, Yuccas and Related Plants: A Gardener’s Guide, Timber Press, 2000, p. 218

Online References:

Manfreda virginica on Missouriplants.com

Manfreda virginica on Tropicos®

Manfreda virginica on SucculentGuide.com

Manfreda virginica on eFloras

Manfreda virginica description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 12 × 11" (30 × 27 cm)

Range: Zones 6-9:

About this map...