Giant Cabuya
Furcraea foetida
Also known as Mauritius Hemp, Green Aloe
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Giant Cabuya
Identify Giant Cabuya 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: Large smooth-edged rosette, cultivated for fiber (Mauritius hemp).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Basal.
- Confirm leaf shape: Broad succulent rosette.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Agavaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Giant Cabuya.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Furcraea foetida
- Genus
- Furcraea
- Family
- Agavaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Planted in gardens
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Introduced in other parts of Tropics from Central America
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- BasalrecordedLeaves cluster at the base of the plant rather than along a stem.“The leaves emerge one-by-one, almost in a “rosette” formation from the ground, one leaf unfurling at a time.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf shape
- Broad succulent rosetterecorded
- Leaf margin
- EntirerecordedA smooth, unbroken edge with no teeth or notches.“Leaf margins are entirely smooth in some varieties, or edged with hooked spines in others.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- GlabrousrecordedSmooth, hairless.“Leaf margins are entirely smooth in some varieties, or edged with hooked spines in others.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Giant Cabuya itself; the rest are typical of the Agavaceae family.
Local Names
- Tamil
- யானை கற்றாழை
About Giant Cabuya
Giant Cabuya (Furcraea foetida) belongs to the Agavaceae family, where it grows as a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and 5 other states. It is planted in gardens. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Agavaceae
Agave Family
Giant Cabuya belongs to the Agavaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
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