With an epithet like obscura one may be tempted to think that this agave is uncommon in cultivation, and that is indeed the case. However, the name alludes to the less showy dark reddish color of the flowers compared to the brilliant yellow of many other agaves. Apparently the species was also uncommon if not nonexistent in herbaria when Gentry was preparing his monumental Agaves of Continental North America (1982), so Gentry had to designate a type specimen. HBG 89135, plants from self-pollination of Glass & Foster 1149a, a plant from seed collected Nov. 14, 1968, between Río Verde and Valles, about 60 km. E of San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico. $8.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 75 (2), March - April, 2003