This is a table essentially based on Gentry 1982. See below for a more up to date table.

 

GROUP	SPECIES	SYNONYMS	AUTHOR
Americanae	americana cv. marginata	americana v. marginata	Hort.
		americana v. variegata	Hort.
	americana cv. mediopicta	americana v. mediopicta	Hort.
	americana cv. mediopicta f.alba	americana v. mediopicta f. alba	Hort.
	americana cv. picta***	americana v. picta	Terraciono 1885
		ingens	Berger 1915
		picta	Salm Dyck 1859
	americana cv. striata	americana v. striata	Hort.
	americana cv. variegata	americana v. marginata	Hort.
		americana v. variegata	Hort.
	americana ssp. protamericana		Gentry 1982
	americana v. americana		Linnaeus 1753
		complicata	Trelease 1913
		felina	Trelease 1920
		gracilispina	Engelmann 1914
		ingens	Berger 1915
		mediomixta	Trelease 1913
		melliflua	Trelease 1914
		milleri	Haworth
		ramosa	Moensch
		rasconensis	Trelease 1914
		spectabilis	Salisbury
		subzonata	Trelease 1920
		zonata	Trelease 1914
	americana v. expansa		Gentry 1972
		abrupta	Trelease 1920
		expansa	Jacobi 1868
	americana v. oaxacensis		Gentry 1982
	asperrima ssp. asperrima		Ullrich 1992
		asperrima	Jacobi 1864
		caeciliana	Berger 1915
		scabra	Salm Dyck 1859
		scabra ssp. scabra	Gentry 1982
	asperrima ssp. madarensis		Ullrich 1992
		scabra ssp. madarensis	Gentry 1982
	asperrima ssp. potosiensis		Ullrich 1992
		scabra ssp.potosiensis	Gentry 1982
	asperrima ssp. zarcensis		Ullrich 1992
		scabra ssp. zarcensis	Gentry 1982
	franzosini		Baker 1892
		frederici	Berger 1915
	lurida		Aiton 1789
		breviscapa	Berger ex. Roster
		mexicana	Lemaire
		vernae	Berger 1915
	oroensis		Gentry 1982
	scaposa		Gentry 1982
Campaniflorae	aurea		Brandegee 1889
		campaniflora	Trelease 1912
	capensis		Gentry 1978
		brandegeei	Hort. 1912
	promontorii		Trelease 1912
Crenatae	bovicornuta		Gentry 1942
	calodonta		Berger 1912
		scolymus	Berger 1898
	cupreata		Berger 1915
	hookeri		Jacobi 1866
	inaequidens ssp. inaequidens		Gentry 1982
		crenata	Jacobi 1866
		inaequidens	Koch 1864
		megalacantha	Hemsl. 1880
		mescal	Koch 1865
	inaequidens ssp. barrancensis		Gentry 1982
	jaiboli		Gentry 1972
	maximiliana		Baker 1877
		conjuncta	Berger 1915
		katharinae	Berger 1915
	maximiliana v. katharinae		Gentry 1982
		katharinae	Berger 1915
Deserticolae	avellanidens		Trelease 1912
	cerulata ssp. cerulata		Gentry 1982
		cerulata	Trelease 1912
	cerulata ssp. dentiens		Gentry 1978
		dentiens	Trelease 1912
	cerulata ssp. nelsonii		Gentry 1978
		nelsonii	Trelease 1912
	cerulata ssp. cerulata		Gentry 1978
	desertii ssp.desertii		Gentry 1982
		consociata	Trelease 1912
		desertii	Engelmann 1875
	desertii ssp. pringlei		Gentry 1978
		pringlei	Engelmann 1888
	desertii ssp. subsimplex		Gentry 1978
	gigantensis		Gentry 1978
	margaritae		Brandegee 1889
		connochaetodon	Trelease 1912
	mckelveyana		Gentry 1970
	moranii		Gentry 1978
	sobria ssp. frailensis		Gentry 1978
	sobria ssp. roseana		Gentry 1978
		roseana	Trelease 1912
		sobria v. roseana	Johnston 1924
	sobria ssp. sobria		Gentry 1982
		affinis	Trelease 1912
		carminis	Trelease 1912
		slevenii	Johnson 1924
		sobria	Brandegee 1889
	subsimplex		Trelease 1912
	vizcainoensis		Gentry 1978
Ditepalae	applanata		Koch ex Jacobi 1864
	colorata		Gentry 1942
	delamateri		Hodgson & Slauson 1995
	durangensis		Gentry 1982
	flexispina		Trelease 1920
	fortiflora		Gentry 1972
	murpheyi		Gibson 1935
	palmeri ssp. chrysantha		Ullrich 1992
		chrysantha	Peebles 1935
		palmeri v. chrysantha	Little ex Benson 1943
		repanda	Trelease
	palmeri ssp. palmeri		Ullrich 1992
		palmeri	Engelmann 1875
	shrevei ssp. magna		Gentry 1982
		shrevei	Gentry 1942
	shrevei ssp. matapensis		Gentry 1972
	shrevei ssp. shrevei		Gentry 1972
		shrevei	Gentry 1942
	wocomahi		Gentry 1942
Hiemiflorae	atrovirens		Ullrich 1990
		coccinea	Roezl ex Jacobi 1865
		macroculmis	Todaro 1878
		mirabilis	Trelease 1920
		latissima	Jacobi 1864
	atrovirens v. mirabilis		Gentry 1982
		mirabilis	Trelease 1920
	congesta		Gentry 1982
	hiemiflora		Gentry 1982
	hurteri		Trelease 1915
		samalana	Trelease 1915
	lagunae		Trelease 1915
	isthmensis		Garcia- Mendoza 1993
	pachycentra		Trelease 1915
		eichlami	Berger 1915
		opacidens	Trelease 1915
		tenuispina	Trelease 1915
		weingartii	Berger 1915
	parvidentata		Trelease 1925
		compacta	Trelease 1927
	potatorum		Zuccarini 1833
		galeotti	Baker 1877
		grandibracteata	Ross
		potatorum v. verschaffeltii	Berger 1915
		saundersii	Hooker 1865
		scolymus	Karwinsky 1834
		verschaffeltti	Lemaire 1868
	seemanniana ssp. pygmae		Ullrich 1992
		pygmae	Gentry 1982
	seemanniana ssp. seemanniana		Ullrich 1992
		carol-schmidtii	Berger 1915
		guatemalensis	Berger 1915
		seemanniana	Jacobi 1868
		tortispina	Trelease 1915
	thomasae		Trelease 1915
	wercklei		Weber ex Berger 1915
Marmoratae	grijalvensis		Ullrich 1990
	gypsophila		Gentry 1982
	marmorata		Roezl 1833
		todaroi	Baker 1888
	nayaritensis		Gentry 1982
	valenciana		Chazaro- Basanez & Vazquez-Garcia 2004
	zebra		Gentry 1972
Parryanae	gracilipes		Trelease 1912
	guadalajarana		Trelease 1920
	havardiana		Trelease 1912
	ovatifolia		Starr & Villareal 2002
		noah	Nickels
	parrasana		Berger 1906
	parryi ssp. neomexicana		Ullrich 1992
		neomexicana	Wooton&Standley 1913
	parryi ssp. parryi		Ullrich 1992
		americana v. latifolia	Torrey 1859
		applanata v. parryi	Mulford 1896
		applanata v.huachucensis	Mulford 1896
		chihuahuana	Trelease 1911
		couesii	Engelmann ex Trelease 1912
		huachucensis	Baker 1888
		marcusi	De Smet
		parryi f. integrifolia	Breitung 1963
		parryi v. couesii	Kearney & Peebles 1939
		parryi v. huachucensis	Little ex. Benson 1953
		parryi v. truncata	Gentry 1982
		patonii	Trelease 1912
		scabra	Salm Dyck 1859
		wislizeni	Engelmann 1875
Rigidae	aktites		Gentry 1972
	cantala		Roxburgh 1814
		candalabrum	Todaro 1878
		cantula	Roxburgh 1832
		rumphii	Jacobi 1865
	cantala v. acuispina		Gentry 1982
		acuispina	Trelease 1925
	datylio		Simon ex. Weber 1902
	datylio v. vexans		Johnston 1924
		vexans	Trelease 1912
	decipiens		Baker 1892
		laxifolia	Baker 1896
	fourcroydes		Lemaire 1864
		elongata	Berger 1915
		ixtli v. elongata	Baker
		ixtlioides	Lemaire ex. Jacobi
		rigida v. elongata	Baker
		sullivani	Trelease 1920
	karwinskii		Zuccarini 1833
		bakeri	Ross 1894
		corderoyi	Baker 1877
	macroacantha		Zuccarini 1833
	rhodacantha		Laferriere 1995
	stringens		Trelease 1915
	tequilana		Weber 1902
		palmaris	Trelease 1920
		pedrosana	Trelease 1920
		pes-mulae	Trelease 1920
		pseudotequilana	Trelease 1920
		subtilis	Trelease 1920
	tequilana cv. Limeno		Kimnach 1995
	tequilana cv. variegata		Hort.
Salmianae	gentryi		Ullrich 1990
	mapisaga v. lisa		Gentry 1982
	mapisaga v. mapisaga		Gentry 1982
		mapisaga	Trelease 1920
	montana		Villarreal 1996
	salmiana ssp. crassispina		Gentry 1982
		crassispina	Trelease 1914
	salmiana ssp. salmiana		Gentry 1982
		atrovirens v. sigmatophylla	Berger 1915
		coarctata	Jacobi 1868
		cochlearis	Jacobi 1870
		compluviata	Trelease 1914
		jacobiana	Salm Dyck 1859
		lehmanii	Jacobi 1868
		mitriformis	Jacobi 1868
		quioitifera	Trelease 1913
		salmiana	Salm Dyck 1859
		tehuacanensis	Karwinsky ex. Salm Dyck 1859
	salmiana v. angustifolia		Berger 1915
	salmiana v. ferox		Gentry 1982
		ferox	Koch 1860
	tecta		Trelease 1915
Sisalanae	desmettiana		Jacobi 1866
		miradorensis	Jacobi 1868
		regeliana	Jacobi 1866
	kewensis		Jacobi 1897
	neglecta		Small 1903
	sisalana		Perrine 1838
		sisalana v. armata	Trelease 1913
	weberi		Cels ex. Poisson 1901
		franceschiana	Trelease 1912
Umbellliflorae	sebastiana		Greene 1885
		? disjuncta	Trelease 1912
		shawii v. sebastiana	Gentry 1949
	shawii ssp. goldmaniana		Gentry 1982
		goldmaniana	Trelease 1912
	shawii ssp. shawii		Gentry 1982
		orcuttiana	Trelease 1912
		pachyacantha	Trelease 1912
		shawii	Engelmann 1875
Viviparae	vivipara cv. marginata		Hort Forster 1992
		angustifolia v. marginata	Hort ex Gentry 1982
	vivpara cv. variegata		Hort Forster 1992
		angustifolia v. variegata	Trelease 1908
	vivipara v. deweyana		Forster 1992
		angustifolia v. deweyana	Gentry 1982
		deweyana	Trelease 1909
	vivipara v. letonae		Forster 1992
		angustifolia v. letonae	Gentry 1982
		letonae	Taylor ex. Trelease 1925
	vivipara v. nivea		Forster 1992
		angustifolia v. nivea	Gentry 1982
		nivea	Trelease 1915
	vivipara v. sargentii		Forster 1992
		angustifolia v. sargentii	Trelease 1912
	vivipara v. vivipara		Linnaeus 1753
		aboriginum	Trelease 1907
		angustifolia v.angustifolia	Haworth 1821
		angustifolia v. rubescens	Gentry 1982
		bergeri	Trelease 1915
		breedlovei	Gentry 1982
		costaricana	Gentry 1982
		donnell-smithii	Trelease 1915
		elongata	Jacobi 1865
		endlichiana	Trelease 1907
		erubescens	Ellemeet 1871
		excelsa	Baker 1877
		excelsa	Jacobi 1866
		flaccida	Haworth 1812
		flaccida	Salm-Dyck 1834
		flavovirens	Jacobi
		ixtlii	Karwinsky 1837
		ixtlii v. excelsa	Terracciono
		ixtlioides	Hooker 1871
		jacquiniana	Schultes 1829
		kirschneriana	Berger 1915
		lespinassei	Trelease 1907
		lurida	Jacquin 1793
		lurida v. jacquiniana	Ker Gawl ex Hemsley 1884
		owenii	Johnston 1924
		pacifica	Trelease 1920
		panamana	Trelease 1920
		prainiana	Berger 1915
		prolifera	Schott ex Standley 1930
		punctata	Salm-Dyck 1834
		rigida	Miller 1768
		rigida	Berger
		rubescens	Salm Dyck 1834
		serrulata	Karwinsky ex Otto 1842
		sicaefolia	Trelease 1915
		sobolifera var. serrulata	Terracciano
		spectabilis	Todaro 1878
		vera-cruz var. jacquiniana	Ascherson & Graebner
		vivipara	Wight
		vivipara v. rubescens	Forster 1992
		vivipara v. woodrowii	Hort ex Berger
		wightii	Drummond & Prain 1906
		wrightii	Drummond 1909
		yaquiana	Trelease 1920
		zazupe	Trelease 1907

 

(***N.B. In 1992 Forster suggested that the various striped forms of agave americana should be designated as cultivars i.e. cv. and not as formal varieties of americana. this is reflected in the above table. Gentry, who is of the opinion that these forms do not merit formal variety status, uses agave picta as a general term for these various striped plants, noting that the striped patterns lack consistency from generation to generation ).

 

 

Since the original above classification, primarily based on Gentry, was produced in the early days of this website the genus has undergone several revisions and below is a newer classification. The original source for this is 'The Illustrated Handbook of Succulent plants' by Dr. Joachim Thiede (2001).

The agave scene is constantly changing with the post Gentry discovery and naming of new species and revisions of Gentry's work. A recent example of this is the revision of the Deserticolae group and a new look, based on up to date studies in habitat, of the agaves of Baja California by Webb & Starr (2015). Fritz Hochstaetter is producing yet another revision of the genus agave and the work on the subgenus agave is now available online in German (see link on main page). Subgenus littaea is in preparation and the whole work will eventually be available in book form and in English.

Thus these tables risk being out of date quite rapidly.

 

GROUP	AUTHOR	includes	SPECIES
Agave		Americanae (Baker 1888)	americana
			asperrima
			franzosinii
			lurida
			neglecta
			oroensis
			scaposa
			weberi
Applanatae	Trelease 1912	Dipetalae ( Gentry 1982)	applanata
			chrysantha
			colorata
			delamateri
			durangensis
			flexispina
			fortiflora
			grijalvensis
			murpheyi
			palmeri
			shrevei
			temacapulinensis
			wocomahi
Campaniflorae	Trelease 1912		aurea
			capensis
			maximiliana
			promontorii
Costaricenses	Trelease 1913	Guatemalenses (Trelease 1915) Scolymoides (Berger 1915) Hiemiflorae (Gentry 1982)	atrovirens
			congesta
			hiemiflora
			hurteri
			isthmensis
			lagunae
			nussaviorum
			pachycentra
			parvidentata
			potatorum
			seemanniana
			thomasae
Crenatae	Berger 1915		wercklei
			bovicornuta
			calodonta
			cupreata
			hookeri
			inaequidens
			jaiboli
Deserticolae	Trelease 1912		avellanidens
			cerulata
			desertii
			gigantensis
			margaritae
			mckelveyana
			moranii
			sobria
			subsimplex
			turneri
			vizcainoensis
Marmoratae	Berger 1915		gypsophila
			marmorata
			nayaritensis
			valenciana
			zebra
Parryanae	Gentry 1982		guadalajarana
			havardiana
			neomexicana
			ovatifolia
			parrasana
			parryi
Salmianae	Berger 1915		gentryi
			mapisaga
			montana
			salmiana
			tecta
Umbelliflorae	Trelease 1912		sebastiana
			shawii
Viviparae	Trelease 1913	Sisalanae (Trelease 1913) ; Rigidae (Berger 1915)	aktites
			angustifolia / vivipara
			cantala
			datylio
			decipiens
			fourcroydes
			karwinskii
			macroacantha
			rhodacantha
			sisalana
			stringens
			tequilana
			vivipara / angustifolia

 

The name agave vivipara appears several times in the literature from various authors ( Dalziel and Gibbs;Haworth; Linnaeus; Oldendorp ; Wight ) in various lists and refers to plants described in Barbados, Costa Rica and the Leeward Islands as well as the American mainland. It was proposed by D.O.Wijnands in 1983 , P.Foster in 1992 and by G. Smith and E.Steyn in 1999 that the name is now specifically applied to plants formerly known as the variable complex of agave angustifolia.

In 2003 Garcia-Mendoza and Chiang published a paper in which they show that in fact angustifolia and vivipara are separate taxa and should not be considered as one and the same plant ( Brittonia 2003; 55:82-87).

This shows that there is some disagreement concerning the status of agave angustifolia and agave vivipara. Ullrich (1990) and Thiede (2001) called the plants from the american continent (previously known as agave angustifolia) agave vivipara. This supposes that they are one and the same as the Caribbean vivipara. There is a strong body of opinion stating that the name angustifolia should be retained for the non Caribbean plants and consequently they should form part of Gentry's group Rigidae.