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

 

GROUP	SPECIES	SYNONYMS	AUTHOR
Amolae	attenuata		Salm Dyck 1834
		cernua	Berger 1915
		glaucescens	Hooker 1862
		pruinosa	Lem. ex Jacobi 1863
	bakeri		Hooker 1903
		gilbertii	Berger 1904
	chrysoglossa		Johnston 1924
	ocahui v. ocahui		Gentry 1972
	ocahui v. longifolia		Gentry 1982
	pedunculifera		Trelease 1920
	vilmoriniana		Berger 1913
		eduardii	Trelease 1920
		houghii	Trelease 1920
		mayoensis	Gentry 1942
	vazquez-garciae		Chazaro- Basanez & Pelayo 2002
	yuccaefolia		Delaroche 1812
		spicata	Cavanilles 1825
Choripetalae	ellemeetiana		Jacobi 1865
	guiengola		Gentry 1960
Filiferae	filifera ssp. filifera		Ullrich 1992
		filamentosa	Salm Dyck 1859
		filamentosa v filamentosa	Baker 1877
		filifera	Salm Dyck 1859
	filifera ssp. microceps		Kimnach 1995
	filifera ssp. multifilifera		Ullrich 1992
		multifilifera	Gentry 1972
	filifera ssp. schidigera		Ullrich 1992
		disceptata	Drummond 1912
		schidigera	Lemaire 1862
		wrightii	Drummond1909
	geminiflora		Ker-Gawler 1817
		angustissima	Engelmann 1875
	ornithobroma		Gentry 1982
	ortgesiana		Roezl 1861
		colimana	Gentry 1968
Marginatae	albomarginata		Gentry 1982
	angustiarum		Trelease 1920
	difformis		Berger 1915
		haynaldii	Todaro 1876
	ensifera		Jacobi 1868
		lophantha v. latifolia	Berger 1915
		heteracantha	Baker 1877
	funkiana		Koch & Bouche 1860
	garciae-mendozae		Galvan & Hernandez 2002
		hidalgensis	Galvan & Koch 2002
	ghiesbreghtii		Lemaire ex Jacobi 1864
		huehueteca	Standley 1943
		purpusorum	Berger 1915
		roezlii	Baker 1877
	glomeruliflora		Berger 1915
		chisosensis	Muller 1939
		heteracantha v. glomeruliflora	Engelmann 1883
		lechuguilla v. glomeruliflora	Trelease 1920
	horrida ssp. horrida		Ullrich 1993
		horrida	Lemaire ex Jacobi 1864
		gilbeyi	Berger 1915
		maigretiana	Jacobi
		regeliana	Hort ex Baker 1877
	horrida ssp. perotensis		Ullrich 1992
	impressa		Gentry 1982
	kerchovei		Lemaire 1864
		convallis	Trelease 1920
		dissimulans	Trelease 1920
		expatriata	Rose 1900
		inopabilis	Trelease 1920
		noli-tangere	Berger 1915
	lechuguilla		Torrey 1859
		heteracantha	Hort.
		lophatha v. poselgeri	Berger 1915
		multilineata	Baker 1888
		poselgeri	Salm Dyck 1859
	lophantha		Gentry 1982
		heteracantha	Zuccarrini 1833
		mezortillo	Hort.
		univittata	Haworth 1831
		vittata	Regel. 1858
	obscura		Schiede 1830
		polyacantha v. xalapensis	Gentry 1982
		xalapensis	Roezl ex Jacobi 1865
	peacockii		Croucher 1873
		macroacantha v. latifolia	Trelease 1907
		roezliana v. peacockii	Trelease 1920
	pelona		Gentry 1972
	potrerana		Trelease 1920
	pumila		De Smet 1888
	titanota		Gentry 1982
	triangularis		Jacobi 1869
		hanburyi	Baker 1892
		rigidissima	Jacobi 1869
	victoriae-reginae		Moore 1875
		consideranti	Carr. 1875
		fernandii-regis	Berger 1915
		nickelsii	Gosselin 1895
	xylonacantha		Salm Dyck 1859
		carchariodonta	Pampanini 1907
		kochii	Jacobi 1866
Nizandensae	nizandensis		Cutak 1951
Parviflorae	felgeri		Gentry 1972
	parviflora ssp. parviflora		Gentry 1982
	parviflora ssp. flexiflora		Gentry 1972
		hartmanii	Shreve & Wiggins 1964
	polianthiflora		Gentry 1972
	schottii v. schottii		Engelmann 1875
		geminiflora v. sonorae	Torrey 1859
		mulfordiana	Trelease 1920
		schottii v. serrulata	Mulford 1896
	schottii v. treleasei		Kearney & Peebles 1939
		treleasei	Toumey 1901
	toumeyana ssp. toumeyana		Gentry 1982
	toumeyana ssp. bella		Gentry 1982
Polycephalae	chiapensis		Jacobi 1866
		teopiscana	Matuda 1972
	mitis v. mitis		Martius 1859
		botteri	Baker 1876
		bouchei	Jacobi 1865
		celsii v. celsii	Hooker 1856
		haseloffii	Jacobi 1866
		micracantha	Salm Dyck1855
		oblongata	Jacobi 1869
		? polyacantha *****	Haworth 1821
	mitis v. albidior		Ullrich 1993
		albicans	Jacobi 1865
		celsii v. albicans	Gentry 1982
		mitis v. albicans	Terracciono 1885
	pendula		Schnittspan 1857
		aloina	Koch 1860
		coespitosa	Todaro 1876
		sartorii	Koch 1860
	polyacantha*****		Haworth 1821
		chloracantha	Salm Dyck 1859
		densiflora	Hooker 1857
		engelmanii	Trelease 1892
		flaccifolia	Berger 1907
		maximowicziana	Regel. 1890
		micrantha	Baker 1878
		uncinata	Jacobi 1865
	warelliana	o	Baker 1877
	wendtii		Chazaro Basanez 1995
Serrulatae	bracteosa		Watson 1882
Striatae	dasylirioides		Jacobi & Bouche 1865
		dealbata	Lemaire ex Jacobi 1865
		intrepida	Greenman 1899
	petrophila		Garcia Mendoza 1998
	rzedowskiana		Carrillo-Reyes, Avina & Ramirez-Delgadillo 2003
	striata ssp. striata		Zuccarrini 1833
		recurva	Zuccarrini 1845
	striata ssp. falcata		Gentry 1982
		falcata	Engelmann 1875
		paucifolia	Todaro 1877
	striata ssp. stricta		Ullrich 1990
		echinoides	Jacobi 1868
		striata v. stricta
		striata v. striata	Baker 1877
	tenuifolia		Zamudio Ruiz 1995
Urceolatae	arizonica		Gentry & Weber 1970
	utahensis ssp. utahensis		Engelmann 1871
		haynaldii v. utahensis	Terraciono 1885
		newberryi	Engelmann 1875
		scaphoidea	Greenman & Rouch 1929
		utahensis v. discreta	Jones 1930
	utahensis ssp. kaibabensis		Gentry 1982
		kaibabensis	McKelvey 1949
		utahensis v. kaibabensis	Breitung 1960
	utahensis v. nevadensis		Engelmann 1929
		nevadensis	Hester 1943
	utahensis v. eborispina		Breitung 1960
		eborispina	Hester 1943

 

***** According to Ullrich (1992), the name Agave polyacantha ( Haworth )should no longer be used. He felt that polyacantha var. xalapensis plus probably polyacantha var.polyacantha should come under the name agave obscura ( Schiede ). Whilst var. xalapensis is correctly placed under that banner, var. polyacantha has many similarities to the variable complex of agave mitis var. mitis ( formerly celsii ) and is likely to belong there.

 

 

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
Choripetalae	Gentry 1982		bracteosa
			ellemeetiana
			guiengola
			spicata
Filiferae	Gentry 1982		colimana
			felgeri
			filifera
			geminiflora
			ornithobroma
Marginatae	Gentry 1982		albomarginata
			angustiarum
			arcedianoensis
			chazaroi
			difformis
			ensifera
			funkiana
			garciae mendozae
			ghiesbreghtii
			horrida
			impressa
			kerchovei
			lechuguilla
			lophantha
			montium sancticaroli
			pelona
			pintilla
			potrerana
			pumila
			titanota
			triangularis
			victoriae reginae
			xylonacantha
Parviflorae	Gentry 1982		parviflora
			polyanthiflora
			schottii
			toumeyana
Polycephalae	Gentry 1982		chiapensis
			gomez pompae
			mitis
			obscura
			pendula
			warelliana
			wendtii
Serrulatae	Baker 1877	Amolae ( nizandensiae; yuccaefoliae)	attenuata
			chrysoglossa
			gilberti
			manantlanicola
			nizandensis
			ocahui
			pedunculifera
			vasquez garciae
			vilmoriniana
Striatae	Baker 1888		albopilosa
			dasylirioides
			petrophila
			rzedowskiana
			striata
			stricta
			tenuifolia
Urceolatae	Gentry 1982		utahensis