Agave leopoldii is one of the smaller, slower growing agaves.  In Japan this plant is cultivated under the name Taki no silaito which translates loosely as "White Thread of Cascade".

Description: Miniature hybrid species that has lots of fiber peeling off its short, very narrow leaves, and lots of suckers.
Rosette: Up to 30 cm tall and wide, compact, densely covered with leaves.
Leaves: Upright narrow spine-like, light green, decorated with white markings and curling threadlike fibrous margins that peel back giving the entire plant a hairy look.
It is easy to tell what features the Agave filifera contributed to this charming hybrid.
Flowers: Not particularly showy, but at any rate interesting with dark yellow anthers atop red stamens.

Scientific Name: Agave x leopoldii Hort. ex G. Nicholson

Origin:  Garden origin. Hybrid of Agave filifera ssp. filifera × Agave filifera ssp. schidigera

First described:  by G. Nicholson in 1900 and published in Garden Chronicles in 1912 it was later described as a garden hybrid between Agave filifera and Agave.schidigiera (now A. filifera ssp. schidigiera) by Alwin Berger in his 1915 “Die Agaven”.

In Japan this plant is cultivated under the name Taki no silaito which translates loosely as "White Thread of Cascade".

The distinct white markings are unique, like mini-variegation bordering each leaf and give it the appearance of a mass of hairy spines.
 

Cultivation: Leopold agave (Agave leopoldii) is often grown as a houseplant. Suited for light shade to full sun. It grows well from suckers or seed and forms attractive specimens. Though no good data has been found to indicate the hardiness of this plant, but  both parents are  to  at least -6° C,  particularly when dry. It is great in small pots or nestled into a rock crevice.