This variegated Agave in the parrasana group shows off a matte blue-gray rosette of broad leaves, with sharply defined, slender red spines tracing the edges. (The MAIN photo shows a young plant, so the leaves are still developing—they’ll eventually grow to about three times this width.)

It closely resembles A. parrasana 'Fireball' , but if you look carefully, this one tends to have broader edge variegation that is more creamy in color. The similarity makes sense—they both belong to the A. parrasana lineage. In fact, this cultivar was originally selected by Dutch collector Stef van Dort from a batch of Agave parrasana seeds collected in Mexico. (You can read more about the background here: A parrasana seedling selected from wild-collected seed in Northern Mexico.)

At first, some thought it might be a natural hybrid—after all, it looked a bit like A. ovatifolia —and it was even called "ovatisana" for a time. But since their natural ranges don’t overlap, that theory was rejected. Now, it’s widely considered to be a distinct form of parrasana.

If you’re searching for leaves with even bolder variegation, try looking for A. 'Ripple Effect' (though it can be a bit pricey!).

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