View source for Furcraea

{{Treatment/ID
|accepted_name=Furcraea
|accepted_authority=Ventenat
|publications={{Treatment/Publication
|title=Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris
|place=1: 65. 1793
|year=1793
}}
|common_names=Mauritius hemp;pita;cabuya;cahum
|basionyms=
|synonyms=
|hierarchy=Agavaceae;Furcraea
|hierarchy_nav=<div class="higher-taxa"><div class="higher-taxon"><small>family</small>[[Agavaceae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>genus</small>[[Furcraea]]</div></div>
|etymology=for Antoine François de Fourcroy, 1755–1809, French chemist who helped establish the system of chemical nomenclature
|volume=Volume 26
|mention_page=page 413, 414
|treatment_page=page 461
}}<!--

--><span class="statement" id="st-d0_s0" data-properties="whole_organism architecture;whole_organism growth form;multiannual size"><b>Plants </b>massive multiannuals, scapose;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s1" data-properties="trunk presence;trunk some measurement">trunks usually absent, to 6 m when present.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s2" data-properties="stem location"><b>Stems </b>aboveground.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s3" data-properties="leaf quantity;leaf width;leaf shape;leaf some measurement;leaf texture;leaf fragility;leaf texture;tooth size;tooth size;tooth texture;apex life cycle;apex texture;point shape"><b>Leaves </b>up to 50, broad or narrowly lanceolate, to 3.3 m, rigid or flexible, very fibrous, margins with small or large corneous teeth, mature apex a firm, blunt point.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s4" data-properties="inflorescence arrangement;inflorescence some measurement"><b>Inflorescences </b>paniculate, to 13 m, frequently producing bulblets.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s5" data-properties="flower orientation"><b>Flowers </b>in clusters of 2–5, drooping;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s6" data-properties="tepal orientation;tepal fusion;tepal coloration;tepal coloration;tepal shape;tepal length or size">tepals spreading, distinct except at base, greenish or white, ovate to oblong, longer than stamens and styles;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s7" data-properties="filament size">filaments abruptly expanded below middle;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s8" data-properties="ovary position">ovary inferior;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s9" data-properties="style shape;style position;style position">style dilated and 3-lobed proximal to middle;</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s10" data-properties="stigma shape">stigma 3-lobed.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s11" data-properties="fruit architecture;fruit shape;fruit some measurement"><b>Fruits </b>capsular, globose to cylindrical, to 8 cm, infrequently produced.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s12" data-properties="seed quantity;seed coloration;seed prominence or shape;seed quantity"><b>Seeds </b>many, black, flat, 2 rows per locule.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s13" data-properties="x chromosome quantity">x = 30.</span><!--

-->{{Treatment/Body
|distribution=Mexico;Central America;West Indies;South America
|introduced=true
|discussion=<p>Species ca. 22 (2 in the flora).</p><!--
--><p>A number of Furcraea species are cultivated in warm climates worldwide as ornamentals and for cordage from leaf fibers. Reproduction by bulblets from the inflorescence is common.</p><!--
--><p>Furcraea was divided by J. R. Drummond (1907) into three variable groups based on leaf margins. Plants of two of these groups are reported to persist or reproduce locally in southern Florida. Specimens are scarce. Within Furcraea there is a large synonymy, including names that are difficult to apply with certainty because they are based on incomplete specimens or European cultivated material.</p><!--
--><p>R. W. Long and O. Lakela (1971) mentioned Furcraea macrophylla Baker as an ornamental that possibly persists in old sites, but I have seen no herbarium specimens that document its presence in Florida. That species is marked by larger leaves with larger, horny, hooked teeth.</p>
|tables=
|references=
}}<!--

--><div class="treatment-key">
==Key==
<div class="treatment-key-group">
  
{| class="wikitable fna-keytable"
|-id=key-0-1
|1
|Leaves smooth or striate, margins usually entire at least in distal half.
|[[Furcraea foetida|Furcraea foetida]]
|-id=key-0-1
|1
|Leaves roughened by small points, margins with hard, curved teeth.
|[[Furcraea selloa|Furcraea selloa]]
|}
</div></div><!--

-->{{#Taxon:
name=Furcraea
|author=Susan Verhoek
|authority=Ventenat
|rank=genus
|parent rank=family
|synonyms=
|basionyms=
|family=Agavaceae
|distribution=Mexico;Central America;West Indies;South America
|introduced=true
|reference=None
|publication title=Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris
|publication year=1793
|special status=
|source xml=https://bibilujan@bitbucket.org/aafc-mbb/fna-fine-grained-xml.git/src/84153f6d59a0a91d69695978a64cee7560374f8e/V26/V26_966.xml
|genus=Furcraea
|apex life cycle=mature
|apex texture=firm
|filament size=expanded
|flower orientation=drooping
|fruit architecture=capsular
|fruit shape=globose;cylindrical
|fruit some measurement=0cm;8cm
|inflorescence arrangement=paniculate
|inflorescence some measurement=0m;13m
|leaf fragility=pliable
|leaf quantity=0;50
|leaf shape=lanceolate
|leaf some measurement=0m;3.3m
|leaf texture=fibrous;rigid
|leaf width=broad
|multiannual size=massive
|ovary position=inferior
|point shape=blunt
|seed coloration=black
|seed prominence or shape=flat
|seed quantity=2;many
|stem location=aboveground
|stigma shape=3-lobed
|style position=proximal;middle
|style shape=dilated
|tepal coloration=white;greenish
|tepal fusion=distinct
|tepal length or size=longer
|tepal orientation=spreading
|tepal shape=ovate;oblong
|tooth size=large;small
|tooth texture=corneous
|trunk presence=absent
|trunk some measurement=0m;6m
|whole_organism architecture=scapose
|whole_organism growth form=plant
|x chromosome quantity=30
}}<!--

-->[[Category:Treatment]][[Category:Agavaceae]]