Code
FURFO
Growth form
Succulent
Biological cycle
Perennial
Habitat
Terrestrial
FURFO
Growth form
Succulent
Biological cycle
Perennial
Habitat
Terrestrial
🗒 Synonyms
| synonym | Agave bulbosa W.Bull |
| synonym | Agave commelyni Salm-Dyck |
| synonym | Agave foetida L. |
| synonym | Agave gigantea (Vent.) D.Dietr. |
| synonym | Agave madagascariensis (Haw.) Salm-Dyck |
| synonym | Aloe foetida (L.) Crantz |
| synonym | Fourcroya gigantea (Vent.) Hook. |
| synonym | Funium piliferum Willemet |
| synonym | Furcraea atroviridis Jacobi & Goeff. |
| synonym | Furcraea barillettii Jacobi |
| synonym | Furcraea commelyni (Salm-Dyck) Kunth |
| synonym | Furcraea gigantea var. mediopicta Trel. |
| synonym | Furcraea gigantea Vent. |
| synonym | Furcraea madagascariensis Haw. |
| synonym | Furcraea viridis Hemsl. |
| synonym | Furcraea watsoniana Sander |
🗒 Common Names
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| Creoles and pidgins; French-based |
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📚 Overview
Diagnostic
Global description
Furcraea foetida is a succulent plant with many long, long leaves arranged in a rosette. Leaves fleshy, 0.5 to 2.5 m long and 10 to 20 cm wide, tender green, rigid, straight or curved in the terminal part, with a tip at their end and bearing at the lower part of the the margin, some sharp teeth. The inflorescence is a long and single branched, upright stem that extends from the heart of the plant and can reach 5 to 10 m in height. Scented, light green, pendulous flowers, with six oval petals and six red stamens and a long salient style. After flowering, a large quantity of bulblets, 5 cm in diameter, are formed in the axils of the floral bracts. They unhook from the stem at maturity and take root on the ground to form new individuals.
Furcraea foetida is a succulent plant with many long, long leaves arranged in a rosette. Leaves fleshy, 0.5 to 2.5 m long and 10 to 20 cm wide, tender green, rigid, straight or curved in the terminal part, with a tip at their end and bearing at the lower part of the the margin, some sharp teeth. The inflorescence is a long and single branched, upright stem that extends from the heart of the plant and can reach 5 to 10 m in height. Scented, light green, pendulous flowers, with six oval petals and six red stamens and a long salient style. After flowering, a large quantity of bulblets, 5 cm in diameter, are formed in the axils of the floral bracts. They unhook from the stem at maturity and take root on the ground to form new individuals.
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
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No Data
📚 Nomenclature and Classification
No Data
📚 Natural History
Life Cycle
New Caledonia : Furcraea foetida is flowering from February to June.
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Cyclicity
Furcraea foetida is a perennial species. It reproduces and spreads by bulblets that will form stands around the mother's feet. This species is said to be monocarpic because it flowers and fruits only once after several years of growth, then it dries up and dies.
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Ecology
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New Caledonia : It grows mainly on the west coast, on dry and draining soils, on hillsides and pastures up to 1000 m above sea level.
Reunion: Furcrea foetida is a very common and invasive plant in all dry environments on the west coast of the island, up to an altitude of 1000 m.
West Indies: Exotic species, grows on dry coastal areas, sometimes grown in gardens.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
No Data
📚 Habitat and Distribution
General Habitat
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Origin
Furcraea foetida is native to Central America.
Worldwide distribution
This species has been widely distributed for its ornamental properties and for its fibre used in rope-making and textiles. It has become naturalised in many oceanic islands, particularly in the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles), East and South Africa, India, Thailand, Western Australia, Northern New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Tonga and Tuamotu.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
No Data
📚 Occurrence
No Data
📚 Demography and Conservation
Risk Statement
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Global harmfulness
A single individual produces hundreds of bulbs suitable for invasion. This succulent plant with fleshy flesh swollen with water, withstands drought, which increases its ability to invade during dry periods when other species regress. Furcraea foetida is one of 300 major invasive species in tropical Australia, the Indian Ocean and Oceania, including New Caledonia, where it was introduced in the second half of the 19th century.
Local harmfulness
New Caledonia: Furcraea foetida is widespread and is often invasive in various environments up to 1000 m altitude. It is particularly abundant on the west coast, on dry and draining soils, on hillsides and pastures.
Reunion Island : This species is very invasive in the degraded vegetation and along the gullies of the entire west coast of the island up to 1000 m altitude.
South Africa: Furcraea foetida invades coastal sites and cliffs, ravines, hillsides and open forests, where it crowds out native species.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
No Data
📚 Uses and Management
Uses
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Industrial: Furcraea foetida has long been grown for its fibre, which is used to make rope and textiles.
Ornamental: This species is still used as an ornamental plant, despite its often invasive nature.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
Management
Local control
New Caledonia: The particular biology of Furcraea foetida involves the rapid elimination of young stands from the hundreds of bulbils produced by each foot, under penalty of each becoming a foot itself which will produce in turn other hundreds of bulblets. This process would lead to massive infestations that are difficult to control. Mechanical destruction is not easy except to tear off each foot completely or cut halfway up the leaves. Targeted chemical treatment on each young plant is easier. It is sprayed on the leaves with a conventional active ingredient such as 2,4-D, but triclopyr is generally more effective.
New Caledonia: The particular biology of Furcraea foetida involves the rapid elimination of young stands from the hundreds of bulbils produced by each foot, under penalty of each becoming a foot itself which will produce in turn other hundreds of bulblets. This process would lead to massive infestations that are difficult to control. Mechanical destruction is not easy except to tear off each foot completely or cut halfway up the leaves. Targeted chemical treatment on each young plant is easier. It is sprayed on the leaves with a conventional active ingredient such as 2,4-D, but triclopyr is generally more effective.
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
No Data
📚 Information Listing
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
References
- Blanfort, V., F. Desmoulins, J. Prosperi, T. Le Bourgeois, R. Guiglion and P. Grard (2010). AdvenPaC V.1.0 : Adventices et plantes à conflit d'intérêt des Pâturages de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Montpellier, France, IAC, Cirad.http://idao.cirad.fr/applications
- CABI https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.114444
- Plants of the World Online https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:64429-1
- The World Flora Online http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000768263
- Fournet, J. 2002. Flore illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe et de Martinique. Montpellier, France, Cirad, Gondwana éditions.
- Invasives South Africa https://invasives.org.za/fact-sheet/mauritian-hemp/
Information Listing > References
- Blanfort, V., F. Desmoulins, J. Prosperi, T. Le Bourgeois, R. Guiglion and P. Grard (2010). AdvenPaC V.1.0 : Adventices et plantes à conflit d'intérêt des Pâturages de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Montpellier, France, IAC, Cirad.http://idao.cirad.fr/applications
- CABI https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.114444
- Plants of the World Online https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:64429-1
- The World Flora Online http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000768263
- Fournet, J. 2002. Flore illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe et de Martinique. Montpellier, France, Cirad, Gondwana éditions.
- Invasives South Africa https://invasives.org.za/fact-sheet/mauritian-hemp/
Images
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Furcraea%2520foetida
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
No Data
🐾 Taxonomy
| Root | Root |
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Liliopsida |
| Order | Asparagales |
| Family | Asparagaceae |
| Genus | Furcraea |
| Species | Furcraea foetida (L.) Haw. |
📊 Temporal Distribution
📷 Related Observations
