Background and Aims:

The genus Agave is well represented in the flora of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, Mexico, where it has provided various benefits to the human communities inhabiting the region. The objective of this study is to present the results of the taxonomic and nomenclatural study of four species from the sections Agave and Heteracanthae.

Methods:

Between 2014 and 2024, visits were made to wild agave populations and those managed by human groups in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, in the states of Oaxaca and Puebla. Herbarium specimens were collected, and biological, ecological, and ethnobotanical data were obtained. Plant identification was carried out using the available dichotomous keys for the genus. However, since no correspondence was found with the species recorded for the area, a historical investigation of those described in the 19th and 20th centuries was conducted, as well as a critical review of herbarium specimens and nomenclatural types. Conservation status was assessed according to the criteria of NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 and the IUCN Red List.

Key results:

Agave franzosinii is recorded as part of traditional management systems, A. dissimulans is geographically and taxonomically circumscribed, the name A. gilbeyi is prioritized over A. oteroi, and A. titanota is lectotypified. For each species, historical, geographical, habitat, phenological, morphological relationships and uses in the areas where they grow are provided. For wild species, risk categories are proposed in accordance with NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 and the IUCN Red List.

Conclusions:

Fieldwork, herbarium, as well as the thorough historical review of four species of Agave that grow in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, made it possible to clarify the taxonomic and nomenclatural situation and to propose their conservation status and risk of extinction.

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