Kamal Cactus / Century Plant
Agave americana
Also known as American Aloe
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Kamal Cactus
Identify Kamal Cactus by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Huge blue-grey rosette, flowers once after decades then dies (century plant).
- Confirm leaf shape: Broad succulent rosette.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Agavaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kamal Cactus.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Agave americana
- Genus
- Agave
- Family
- Agavaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Native to
- Mexico
- Distribution
- All Tropics
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Odisha
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Broad succulent rosetterecorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kamal Cactus itself; the rest are typical of the Agavaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded“Towards the end of its life, the plant produces a tall, branched stalk adorned with yellow blossoms, which can reach a height of 8–9 m (25–30 ft).” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kamal Cactus itself; the rest are typical of the Agavaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Kamal cactus कमल कैक्टस, Gwarpatha ग्वारपाठा
- Nepali
- केतुकी Ketukee, केतुके, हात्तीबार
- Bengali
- আগাভা আমেরিকানা
- Tamil
- ஆனைக் கற்றாழை, யானைக் கற்றாழை, ரயில் கற்றாழை
- Telugu
- కిత్తనార Kittanara, అమెరికా కలబంద
- Kannada
- ಆನೆಕತ್ತಾಳೆ Aanekattaale, ದೆವ್ವಬಾಳೆ Devva baale, ರಾಕ್ಷಸಬಾಳೆ Raakshasa baale
- Malayalam
- ആനക്കൈത
- Marathi
- घायपात
About Kamal Cactus
A member of the Agavaceae family, Century Plant (Agave americana) is a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and 6 other states. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
In practice it is long used in traditional medicine, planted as an ornamental and stripped for fibre used in rope and matting. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Its sap or hairs can irritate skin, so handle it with care.
Agavaceae
Agave Family
Kamal Cactus belongs to the Agavaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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