Propagation mechanisms in Agave macroacantha (Agavaceae), a tropical arid‐land succulent rosette

Abstract
Agave macroacantha can sexually reproduce by seeds and propagate vegetatively by aerial bulbils and ground-level basal shoots and rhizomes. It forms compact patches apparently generated by the multiplication of ground-level offshoots. We experimentally evaluated the establishment and survival of bulbils and seedlings of A. macroacantha in the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico, between 1991 and 1994 and studied comparatively the effectiveness of sexual reproduction against vegetative propagation.