Agave bracteosa is the spider agave — a small, graceful, clumping species from the mountains of north-eastern Mexico whose narrow, arching, spineless (or nearly spineless) leaves radiate outward like the legs of a pale green spider. It is one of the few agaves that combines genuine cold hardiness (to −10 to −12 °C in well-drained soil) with a complete absence of dangerous spines, making it an outstanding choice for gardens where both frost tolerance and pedestrian safety matter. Since 2024, POWO places this species in the genus Paleoagave under the name Paleoagave bracteosa (S.Watson ex Engelm.) A.Vázquez, Rosales & García-Mor.; this site keeps the name Agave bracteosa, still used by growers and the nursery trade.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
Family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Placed in Agave subgenus Littaea (the spicate-inflorescence group). POWO: Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León). The species grows on limestone cliffs and rocky ledges in the Sierra Madre Oriental, at elevations of 900–1,700 m.
Since 2024, POWO no longer places this species in Agave. The change follows a revision published in January 2024 by Vázquez-García and co-authors (“New genera and new combinations in Agavaceae”, Phytoneuron 2024-02). Based on molecular phylogeny, it shows that Agave in the broad sense is not a uniform genus but brings together distinct evolutionary lineages; the authors therefore created three new genera for these lineages: Echinoagave, Paleoagave and Paraagave. Paleoagave (“ancient agave”) holds the earliest-diverging lineage, that of Agave bracteosa, which Howard Scott Gentry had already set apart in his informal group Choritepalae. POWO has adopted these genera and now accepts the name Paleoagave bracteosa (S.Watson ex Engelm.) A.Vázquez, Rosales & García-Mor., with Agave bracteosa as a synonym. This site nevertheless keeps Agave bracteosa as its working name, because it is the name growers, nurseries and the trade still use; POWO remains the botanical reference. Nothing changes in the plant or its cultivation: only the name.
Common names
Spider agave, squid agave, candelabrum agave (English).
Morphological description
Habit
A small, clumping, rosette-forming succulent. Individual rosettes are 30–50 cm tall and 50–60 cm wide. The species offsets freely, forming attractive multi-rosette clumps with age.
Leaves
Narrow, strap-shaped, arching to recurved, pale green to yellow-green, 30–50 cm long, 2–5 cm wide. Margins smooth or bearing tiny, inconsequential teeth — effectively spineless. No terminal spine (or only a soft, flexible tip). The gracefully recurving habit and pale colour are highly ornamental.
Inflorescence and flowering
Monocarpic at the rosette level (but the clump persists through offsets). Gentry (1982) called the species of his Choritepalae group “polycarpic” and wrote that Agave bracteosa flowers “repeatedly from the axils of the upper leaves”, without further detail, which is why some nursery catalogues still list it as a polycarpic agave. Repeat flowering of the same rosette has never been confirmed: Zona (2018) likens the repeat-flowering agave to a “botanical Bigfoot”, reported by credible witnesses but never convincingly proven, and LLIFLE describes the species as “mostly monocarpic”. In cultivation the flowering rosette dies, while the clump lives on through its offsets. The agaves whose rosettes genuinely survive flowering belong to the Striatae group, now the genus Echinoagave (Agave striata, Agave stricta). The inflorescence is an unbranched spike (subgenus Littaea), 1–1.5 m tall, densely packed with creamy white flowers. Attractive and fragrant.
Cultivation guide
| Hardiness | −10 to −12 °C / 10–14 °F (USDA zone 8a) |
| Light | Full sun to partial shade (shade-tolerant for an agave) |
| Soil | Well-drained; limestone/alkaline preferred |
| Water | Low; tolerates more moisture than most agaves |
| Spines | Effectively none — safe for high-traffic areas |
| Size | Small (30–50 cm tall × 50–60 cm wide per rosette) |
Key strengths
The combination of cold hardiness (−10 to −12 °C), spinelessness and shade tolerance makes Agave bracteosa uniquely versatile. It is one of very few agaves that can be safely planted alongside paths in USDA zone 8a gardens. It also tolerates more moisture and shade than most agaves, reflecting its cliff-dwelling, canyon-wall habitat in the Sierra Madre Oriental.
Landscape use
Excellent in rock gardens, along pathways, in containers, as an edging plant, in mixed succulent plantings, and as a groundcover when multiple rosettes are allowed to form a colony. The clumping habit creates a soft, flowing texture unusual for agaves. Works well in shaded or partially shaded positions where most agaves would etiolate.
Cultivars
‘Monterrey Frost’ — variegated form with cream-margined leaves; one of the most attractive variegated agaves for cold climates.
Propagation
Offsets: freely produced. Separate in spring.
Seed: germinates easily at 20–25 °C.
References
Gentry, H.S. (1982). Agaves of Continental North America. University of Arizona Press.
Vázquez-García, J.A., Rosales-Martínez, C.S., Padilla-Lepe, J., Hernández-Vera, G. & García-Morales, L.J. (2024). New genera and new combinations in Agavaceae (Asparagales). Phytoneuron 2024-02: 1–14. [Description of the genus Paleoagave and of the combination Paleoagave bracteosa.]
Zona, S. (2018). The Repeat-Flowering Agave is a Botanical Bigfoot. Cactus and Succulent Journal 90(1): 64–68.
POWO (2026). Agave bracteosa. Plants of the World Online, Kew.