Furcraea foetida

Furcraea foetida (Giant Cabuya, Green-aloe or Mauritius-hemp) is a species of flowering plant native to the Caribbean and northern South America. It is widely cultivated and reportedly naturalized in many places (India, parts of Africa, Portugal, Australia, Thailand, Florida, New Zealand, and many oceanic islands)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

Furcraea foetida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Furcraea
Species:
F. foetida
Binomial name
Furcraea foetida
Synonyms[1]
  • Agave foetida L.
  • Aloe foetida (L.) Crantz
  • Furcraea gigantea Vent.
  • Funium piliferum Willemet
  • Furcraea madagascariensis Haw.
  • Agave madagascariensis (Haw.) Salm-Dyck
  • Agave commelyni Salm-Dyck
  • Agave gigantea (Vent.) D.Dietr.
  • Furcraea commelyni (Salm-Dyck) Kunth
  • Fourcroya gigantea (Vent.) Hook.
  • Furcraea barillettii Jacobi
  • Agave bulbosa W.Bull
  • Furcraea atroviridis Jacobi & Goeff.
  • Furcraea viridis Hemsl.
  • Furcraea watsoniana Sander
  • Furcraea gigantea var. mediopicta Trel. in L.H.Bailey

Description
Plant with bulbils

Furcraea foetida is an monocarpic-perennial (to evergreen) subshrub, closely related to the North American Agave and Yucca genera. The plants are generally stemless; larger, more mature specimens may develop a short, trunk-like stem over time, growing approximately one meter (3 feet) tall. The leaves (which are somewhat more pliable than those of the agaves) are sword-shaped, 1-1.8 m long and 10–15 cm broad at their widest point, narrowing to 6–7 cm broad at the leaf base to a sharp spine tip at the apex. The leaves emerge one-by-one, almost in a “rosette” formation from the ground, one leaf unfurling at a time. Leaf margins are entirely smooth in some varieties, or edged with hooked spines in others. The flowers are greenish to creamy white, 4 cm long, and strongly scented; they are produced on a large inflorescence up to 7.5 m tall.[24] As with other monocarpic plants, the flowering section dies-back after blooming and setting seed, normally leaving behind young plants (or “pups”), which emerge from the roots and from the rhizome, surrounding the bottom of the main “mother” plant.

Cultivation

The plant is cultivated in subtropical and tropical regions as a fiber and textile product, and as an ornamental plant for appropriate gardens. Its leaves are mainly used to produce a natural fiber similar to sisal, with large plantations dedicated to its cultivation in East Africa.

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
  3. Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.
  4. Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
  5. Pandey, R.P. & Dilwakar, P.G. (2008). An integrated check-list flora of Andaman and Nicobar islands, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 32: 403-500.
  6. Vikraman, R.R., Pandurangan, A.G. & Thulasidas, G. (2008). A study on the garden escaped exotics of Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 32: 765-781.
  7. Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  8. Sykes, W.R. (1970). Contributions to the Flora of Niue: 1-321. Botany Division, Sept. of Sci. and Industrial Research, Christchurch.
  9. Lebrun, J.P. (1973). Énumération des plantes vasculaires du Sénégal: 1-209. Maisons Alfort: Institut d'élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux.
  10. Bosser, J. & al. (eds.) (1978). Flore des Mascareignes 177-188: IRD Éditions, MSIRI, RBG-Kew, Paris.
  11. Smith, A.C. (1979). Flora Vitiensis Nova. A new flora for Fiji (Spermatophytes only) 1: 1-495. Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai.
  12. Healey, A.J. & Edgar, E. (1980). Flora of New Zealand 3: 1-220. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington.
  13. Tutin, T.G. & al. (eds.) (1980). Flora Europaea 5: 1-452. Cambridge University Press.
  14. Brown, L.C. (1982). The Flora and Fauna of St Helena: 1-88. Land Resources Development Centre, Surbiton, England.
  15. Hoyos F., J. (1985). Flora de la Isla Margarita Venezuela: 1-927. Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle.
  16. Hansen, A. & Sunding, P. (1985). Flora of Macaronesia. Checklist of vascular plants. 3. revised edition. Sommerfeltia 1: 5-103.
  17. George, A.S. (ed.) (1986). Flora of Australia 46: 1-247. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
  18. Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1987). A Geographical Checklist of the Micronesian Monocotyledonae. Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 20: 19-129.
  19. Robertson, S.A. (1989). Flowering Plants of Seychelles: 1-327. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  20. Karthikeyan, S., Jain, S.K., Nayar, M.P. & Sanjappa, M. (1989). Florae Indicae Enumeratio: Monocotyledonae: 1-435. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.
  21. Orchard, A.E. (ed.) (1994). Oceanic Islands 1. Flora of Australia 49: 1-681. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
  22. Thaman, R.R., Fosberg, F.R., Manner, H.I. & Hassall, D.C. (1994). The Flora of Nauru. Atoll Research Bulletin 392: 1-223.
  23. Boggan, J. Funck, V. & Kelloff, C. (1997). Checklist of the Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, Franch Guiana) ed. 2: 1-238. University of Guyana, Georgetown.
  24. Flora of North America, Vol. 26 Page 461, Furcraea Ventenat, Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris. 1: 65. 1793.
  • "Furcraea foetida". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
  • Huxley, A. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
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