Queen Victoria Century Plant (Agave victoriae-reginae)

Queen Victoria Century Plant
Agave victoriae-reginae

saw this perfect plant recently, and even though a number of photos of this already in PF, had to add this one

I just saw this again and thought this is the most perfect plant I have ever seen!

Geoff, do you know how to differentiate between Agave nickelsiae and Agave victoria-reginae? I notice all the pics of Agave nickelsiae have the black tips but then some of Agave victoria-reginae have them too.

Agave nickelsiae, aka Agave Ferdinand Regis, is a closely related species, but is like A victorian--reginae on steroids... much larger leaves and overall plant. Otherwise I cannot tell them apart.

Sadly t hese are the only two photos I have left of this species... all the rest lost with the crash

So sad and upsetting to lose all your photos! At least you have so many of them posted on here that we all get to enjoy so much! Thank you for that!

I was looking up more on this topic and found this on the subject.
http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=3120
"in comparison with typical Agave victoriae-reginae it has a more open rosette with fewer and larger leaves, less bud imprinting and instead of silver colored margins has dark reddish brown edges. It also often has multiple small spines subtending the large terminal spine, a feature we have never seen on A. victoriae-reginae."

So do you think this identifying detail by San Marcos is describing my photo on link below of plant's terminal spine? "It also often has multiple small spines subtending the large terminal spine, a feature we have never seen on A. victoriae-reginae." Which means I have this on wrong entry though I see no dark reddish brown edges.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/264319/

Do you think Agave victoriae-reginae Compacta is a real cultivar separate from Agave victoriae-reginae? Your photo above which is my favorite form, seems to be that one???? you think?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/105034/

http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=86

This message was edited Dec 2, 2016 2:37 PM

This is interesting too from the San Marcos
"The most recent news is that in 2011 a team of Mexican botanists (Gonzalez-Elizondo, M.S.; Gonzalez-Elizondo, M.; Lopez-Enriquez, I.L., Resendiz-Rojas, L.; Tena-Flores, J.A. and Retana-Renteria, F.I.) revised this complex to now recognize four distinct taxa (3 species and one subspecies) with this form reverting back to the Agave nickelsiae, a name it was described as by the French botanist Robert Roland-Gosselin (1854-1925) in Revue Horticole 67: 579-580 in 1895. This name does seem to have priority since it predates Berger's name "ferdinandi-regis" by 20 years but we will let botanists continue to argue the validity of the various names and will continue to refer to this stately plant as Agave ferdinandi-regis until such time as another name becomes widely recognized."

But they do not give the actual names of the four distinct taxa (3 species and one subspecies).

Someone (can't recall their name) on the San Marcos staff is very knowledgable and up to date, constantly rewriting their descriptions... I trust most of what they say, though sadly when they make glaring errors are slow to fix them if not discovered by their own staff.