FEATURES/ORIGINFeatures/Origin

This is a hybrid with Agave macroacantha A. macroacantha as one parent. Normally, Agave macroacantha has deep green leaves covered in a thick powdery coating, but in this hybrid, the leaves show off a subtle silvery hue. Its slender blue-gray leaves with black-tipped spines inspired the name, as they resemble a gathering of little penguins (the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor). Technically, since they look like a crowd of penguins, the name should be in plural form, but because this detail often gets skipped in katakana, I'm not too worried about it!

Here is the inspiration for the name: the charming Little Penguin. Even fully grown, they're only about 30cm tall—making them the world's smallest penguin species! They're also called Fairy Penguins, and some subspecies can be found in aquariums like the Kasai Rinkai Suizokuen. Somehow, despite editing plant encyclopedias, I keep learning more and more about penguins...