Furcraea niquivilensis Matuda ex García-Mend. is a relatively recently described furcraea — formally published in 1999 by García-Mendoza, based on earlier collections by Matuda from the state of Chiapas, southern Mexico. Unlike many of the obscure furcraeas, this species benefits from a reasonably detailed original description and documented ethnobotanical uses. It is an arborescent species of impressive dimensions, with trunks to 3 m and leaves to 2.1 m, rivalling the more famous Furcraea macdougallii in stature. Yet it remains essentially unknown in cultivation outside its native region.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
Published by García-Mendoza in Novon 9: 42–45 (1999) as a new species from Chiapas. The epithet niquivilensis presumably refers to a locality in the Chiapas region. Family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. POWO accepts the name. The species is based on Matuda’s earlier collections but was only formally and validly described by García-Mendoza.
Morphological description
Furcraea niquivilensis is a monocarpic shrub developing a trunk up to 3 m tall and 40 cm in diameter — firmly in the arborescent category alongside Furcraea longaeva, Furcraea parmentieri and Furcraea macdougallii. The rosette comprises up to 150 leaves, each lanceolate to sword-shaped, up to 210 cm long and 14 cm wide, armed with sharp curved prickles up to 8 mm long along the margins. The flowering stalk can reach 9 m in height, bearing a large panicle of greenish-white flowers.
These dimensions are remarkably large — comparable to the smaller end of the Furcraea macdougallii range. The armed leaf margins place it in the toothed-margin group alongside Furcraea selloa and Furcraea tuberosa, rather than the smooth-margined Furcraea foetida.
Distribution and natural habitat
Endemic to Chiapas, southern Mexico. The specific habitat is not detailed in the accessible English-language literature, but the Chiapas location — which hosts both dry thorn forests and humid montane forests depending on altitude — suggests a transitional or mid-elevation habitat. The species is known from a limited number of localities.
Ethnobotany
Wikipedia, citing García-Mendoza’s original description, notes that the local population plants Furcraea niquivilensis to control erosion and uses the leaf fibres for making ropes and baskets — paralleling the traditional uses of fique (Furcraea andina, Furcraea cabuya) in South America.
Cultivation and cold hardiness
| Hardiness | Unknown — no garden data available |
| Habitat | Chiapas, Mexico; specific altitude and biome not well documented |
| Documentation level | ★ — well described morphologically but not cultivated outside native range |
No cultivation data exists outside the native range. Given the Chiapas location, frost tolerance is expected to be minimal — possibly 0 to −3 °C depending on the altitude of origin, which is not precisely specified in available sources. The species is not in the commercial trade.
For any specialist grower who might encounter this species through botanical exchanges, the morphological similarities with Furcraea macdougallii (large arborescent habit, armed leaves, impressive inflorescence) suggest broadly similar cultural requirements: full sun, excellent drainage, minimal frost.
References
García-Mendoza, A.J. (1999). Una especie nueva de Furcraea (Agavaceae) de Chiapas, México. Novon, 9(1), 42–45.
POWO (2026). Furcraea niquivilensis Matuda ex García-Mend. Plants of the World Online, Kew.