Furcraea hexapetala (Jacq.) Urb., Asparagaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Agave cubensis Jacq.; Furcraea cubensis (Jacq.) Vent.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Cuban hemp

Spanish: cabuya, penco blanco

Habit:  succulent

Description:  "Acaulescent or the stem below ground; leaves 25-40 in compact to open rosette to 1 m across and nearly as high, individual leaves lanceolate, 4-9 dm long, 3-6 cm broad at base, 8-15 (20) cm wide at or near middle, bright green, rigid, slightly concave and smooth adaxially, more or less scabrous abaxially, bearing a subspinose, rather blunt, horny, brownish tip 2-3 cm long, this usually more or less grooved on adaxial side, margins of leaves armed with antrorsely hooked brown teeth or prickles 2-8 mm long; flowering scape erect, including panicle often to 5-7 m tall, the basal stalk 8-10 cm thick; panicle to 2 dm tall, 1-1.5 mm broad at base, lower branches spreading, others gradually more ascending to nearly erect, 1-7 dm long, bearing numerous flowers (or bulblets) on slender, slightly drooping pedicels 3-10 mm long; perianth broadly campanulate to subspreading, oblong segments 2-2.5 cm long, about 8-9 mm wide; stamens about half as long as perianth segments, filaments 4-6 mm wide below, subulate above; style slightly longer than stamens; stigma minute, irregularly fimbriate  or lacerate around rim; flowers often replaced by bulblets 1-3 cm high on many plants, sometimes almost entire panicle bearing only bulblets and few or no flowers"  (Wiggins and Porter, 1971; pp. 783-785).

Habitat/ecology:  In the Galápagos Islands, "in forest openings, along trails and around abandoned ranch sites, or occasionally among shrubs on ridges, often cultivated as an ornamental or to form hedges around fields and pastures.  Extensive thickets are often virtually impenetrable and thoroughly exclude most other plants in such a colony" (Wiggins and Porter, 1971; pp. 783-785).

Propagation:  Seed or bulblets.

Native range:  West Indies to northwestern South America.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 67)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1931) (voucher ID: BISH 101838) Taxon name on voucher: Furcraea cubensis Vent.

Additional information:
Additional online information about Furcraea hexapetala is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Furcraea hexapetala as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Furcraea hexapetala may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1931. Voucher specimen #BISH 101838 (Christophersen, E. 2776).

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Cronk, Q. C. B./Fuller, J. L. 2001. Plant invaders. Earthscan Publications, Ltd., London. 241 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

McMullen, C. K. 1999. Flowering plants of the Galápagos. Comstock Pub. Assoc., Ithaca, N.Y. 370 p.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wiggins, I. L./Porter, D. M. 1971. Flora of the Galapágos Islands. Stanford University Press. 998 pp.