Kingdom Plantae Clade Monocots Subfamily Agavoideae Higher classification Agavoideae Order Asparagales | Clade Angiosperms Scientific name Manfreda Rank Genus | |
 | ||
Similar Manfreda maculosa, Agavoideae, Manfreda virginica, Hesperaloe, Polianthes | ||
Manfreda is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Along with Polianthes, members are commonly called tuberoses. Some authorities place Manfreda in genus Polianthes, while others group place both genera in Agave. The generic name honours 14th-century Italian writer Manfredus de Monte Imperiale.
They are native to the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America.
Like others in its family, tuberoses have rosettes of leaves branching from a very short stem, and flowers at the end of a long stalk. The flowers are tubular and whitish, yellow, green, or brownish, with lengthy stamens.
The spotted manfreda, also called Texas tuberose (Manfreda maculosa) is notable for having silvery-green leaves covered with purple spots and is a popular xeriscape plant in the Southwest US.
Species
Accepted species:
- Manfreda brunnea (S.Watson) Rose - Tamaulipas
- Manfreda bulbulifera Castillejos & E.Solano - Guerrero
- Manfreda chamelensis E.J.Lott & Verh.-Will. - Jalisco
- Manfreda elongata Rose - Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit
- Manfreda fusca Ravenna - Guatemala
- Manfreda galvaniae A.Castañeda, S.Franco & García-Mend. - México State
- Manfreda guerrerensis Matuda - Guerrero
- Manfreda guttata (Jacobi & C.D.Bouché) Rose - central Mexico
- Manfreda hauniensis (J.B.Petersen) Verh.-Will. - central Mexico
- Manfreda involuta McVaugh - Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco
- Manfreda jaliscana Rose - northwestern Mexico
- Manfreda justosierrana García-Mend. - Guerrero
- Manfreda littoralis García-Mend., A.Castañeda & S.Franco - Guerrero, Oaxaca
- Manfreda longiflora (Rose) Verh.-Will. – Amole de Río, Longflower Tuberose - Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Texas
- Manfreda maculata (Mart.) Rose - México State, Guerrero, Oaxaca
- Manfreda maculosa (Hook.) Rose – spotted manfreda, amole de culebra, spice lily, Texas tuberose - Texas, Tamaulipas
- Manfreda malinaltenangensis Matuda - México State
- Manfreda nanchititlensis Matuda - México State
- Manfreda paniculata L.Hern., R.A.Orellana & Carnevali - Yucatán
- Manfreda parva Aarón Rodr. - Guerrero
- Manfreda petskinil R.A.Orellana, L.Hern. & Carnevali - Yucatán
- Manfreda planifolia (S.Watson) Rose - Sonora, Chihuahua
- Manfreda potosina (B.L.Rob. & Greenm.) Rose - Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí
- Manfreda pringlei Rose - central Mexico
- Manfreda pubescens (Regel & Ortgies) Verh.-Will. ex Espejo & López-Ferr. - Morelos, Oaxaca, Chiapas
- Manfreda revoluta (Klotzsch) Rose - México State
- Manfreda rubescens Rose - Jalisco, Nayarit
- Manfreda scabra (Ortega) McVaugh - widespread from central Mexico south to Nicaragua
- Manfreda sileri Verh.-Will. – Siler's Tuberose - Tamaulipas, Texas
- Manfreda singuliflora (S.Watson) Rose - Sonora, Chihuahua
- Manfreda umbrophila García-Mend. - Guerrero, Oaxaca
- Manfreda undulata (Klotzsch) Rose - described in 1840 from specimens grown in a garden in Germany; never found in the wild, so probably extinct
- Manfreda variegata (Jacobi) Rose – Amole Akayman, Mottled Tuberose - widespread across Texas and much of Mexico
- Manfreda verhoekiae García-Mend - Oaxaca
- 'Manfreda virginica (L.) Salisb. ex Rose – Amole de Virginia, False Aloe - Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, southeastern United States from Texas to the Carolinas and West Virginia