Agave chazaroi is a strikingly beautiful agave from the semi-arid tropical deciduous forests near Tequila, Jalisco — a plant that changes character dramatically as it matures. Young rosettes resemble the fiercely toothed Agave titanota or Agave ghiesbreghtii, with prominent marginal teeth and reddish-brown leaf margins. But as the plant matures, the teeth all but disappear, the leaves broaden and stiffen, and the rosette transforms into a wide, open form of deep green to bluish-grey foliage with smooth, nearly spineless margins. It is, in essence, two plants in one — fierce as a juvenile, elegant and almost benign as an adult.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
Described by J. Antonio Vázquez-García and Oscar Valencia-Pelayo in 2007. Family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Named in honour of Miguel Cházaro Basañez, a Mexican botanist. Introduced to cultivation by the International Succulent Introductions (ISI) of the Huntington Botanical Gardens in 2010 (ISI 2010-9). Placed in subgenus Littaea. Native to Jalisco, Mexico (near Tequila, San Martín de Cañas), at 900–1,200 m elevation.
Common names
No established English common name.
Morphological description
Habit
Solitary (non-offsetting), relatively open rosette, up to 80 cm tall and 1.5 m wide at maturity. The solitary habit means that once the plant flowers and dies, it is lost unless seed has been collected or rare offsets have been produced.
Leaves
Spreading, broad, stiff, up to 80 cm long and 20 cm wide, irregularly arranged. Colour ranges from glossy yellowish-green and deep green to bluish-grey. The defining feature is the ontogenetic change in armature: young leaves have wavelike margins with prominent teeth resembling *Agave titanota*; mature leaves are nearly spineless with smooth, narrow reddish-brown margins and only small vestigial teeth near the base. Terminal spine stout, 3–5 cm long.
Inflorescence and flowering
Monocarpic. Unbranched spike (subgenus Littaea), up to approximately 2.5 m tall, bearing yellowish-green flowers up to 3 cm long.
Distribution and natural habitat
Endemic to the area near Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico (20°57’N, 103°52’W), at 900–1,200 m elevation. Inhabits cliffs in semi-arid tropical deciduous forest, in a climate with little annual temperature fluctuation and a dry, slightly cooler winter.
Cultivation guide
| Hardiness | −2 °C / 28 °F approximately (USDA zone 10a); frost-tender |
| Light | Full sun to filtered sun; tolerates shade (cliff habitat) |
| Soil | Rich but well-drained (unusual for an agave) |
| Water | Moderate; more water-tolerant than desert species |
| Size | Medium to large (80 cm tall × 1.5 m wide) |
| Solitary | Does not offset — collect seed for perpetuation |
Key cultivation point: frost sensitivity
Agave chazaroi is frost-tender and will be severely damaged below −2 °C. In European and North American gardens outside USDA zone 10, it must be grown in a container and overwintered under cover. One Davis, California grower concluded it would “most likely live in a pot” due to cold sensitivity.
Unusual requirements
Unlike most agaves, Agave chazaroi does best in a richer, more organic soil mix — Llifle recommends “2 parts peat moss to 1 part loam to 1 part pumice.” It also tolerates shade, reflecting its cliff-dwelling habitat. These requirements make it behave more like a tropical agave than a desert species.
Landscape use
A collector’s agave, prized for the dramatic metamorphosis from toothed juvenile to smooth-leaved adult. Excellent in containers, conservatories and frost-free subtropical plantings. Rancho Tissue notes it “also tolerates filtered sun in cultivation.”
Propagation
Seed: the primary method, since the species is solitary and rarely offsets.
Offsets: rare; when produced, should be carefully separated and grown on.
References
Vázquez-García, J.A. & Valencia-Pelayo, O. (2007). Agave chazaroi sp. nov. In: Agaves del Occidente de México.
POWO (2026). Agave chazaroi. Plants of the World Online, Kew.
Huntington Botanical Gardens, ISI 2010-9.