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Asparagaceae FAMILY

Agave guttata

Agave guttata

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The corm is rich in saponins and has been used as a fish poison[1]. Many Agave species have strong, sharp spines on the leaves and leaf tips. In theory at least, the flowers, nectar, immature flowering stem and the centre of the rosette of all Agave species is edible and, with proper preparation, can provide a sweet, tasty foodstuff. Some species, however, contain relatively high levels of saponins (which makes them taste bitter) and some other compounds which can cause bellyache, and so these would only be eaten in times of desperation. In addition, many people may find these foods to be strongly laxative the first few times they eat them[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Not known

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a container in a light position. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15 - 20°c[3, 4]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of well-drained soil when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a sunny position until they are at least 10cm tall before planting out. Division of the clump in the dormant season. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Agave+guttata>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Sistemática del género Manfreda Salisb. (Agavaceae) — Castillejos-Cruz C. · Texcoco (MX): Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo · 2009 ↩︎An unpublished Ph.D. thesis.
  2. [2]The Agaves of Baja California — Gentry H.S. · California Academy of Sciences; San Francisco · 1978 · ISBN 0068-5461 ↩︎
  3. [3]Growing from Seed. Volume 1. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Agave Agavaceae — Thiede J. · Springer Nature · 2020 · https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56486-8_111 ↩︎
  6. [6]Huaco and Amole: A Survey of the Uses of Manfreda and Prochnyanthes — Verhoek S. · 1978 · http://www.jstor.org/stable/4253919 ↩︎