Agave murpheyi
Agave murpheyi
Safety & Hazards
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[1].
Cultivation Details
Agave murpheyi is a cultigen derived via domestication. It was cultivated from around 600 - 1350 CE and was used as food by the ethnic group of the Hohokam. The plants have persisted as relict clones up to the present time, always associated with pre-Columbian living sites of native Americans[2]. The plant rarely produces fruits or seed, but it often produces lots of bulbils on the flowering stem and these can be used for propagation[2]. Agave species are monocarpic, individual rosettes living for a number of years without flowering before sending up an often very large flowering stem and then dying after flowering and setting seed. This species, however, freely produces many new rosettes from suckers or offsets during their lifespan and these new plants will continue the life-cycle. Over time, some species can form extensive clonal colonies by this means.
Propagation
Seed - surface sow in a light position, mid spring in a warm greenhouse. 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 in the greenhouse until they are at least 15cm tall. Plant out at the beginning of the growing season, and give some protection from the cold for at least their first few winters[PFAF]. Offsets and suckers can be potted up at any time they are available. Keep in a warm greenhouse until they are well established[4]. Bulbils, where produced, are an easy method of propagation. Simply pot them up and plant out at the beginning of a growing season when they are 10cm or more tall. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Agave+murpheyi>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]The Agaves of Baja California — Gentry H.S. · California Academy of Sciences; San Francisco · 1978 · ISBN 0068-5461 ↩︎
- [2]Agave Agavaceae — Thiede J. · Springer Nature · 2020 · https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56486-8_111 ↩︎
- [3]Growing from Seed. Volume 1. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
- [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]Population Dynamics and Sustainable Management of Mescal Agaves in Central Mexico: Agave potatorum in the Tehuacán-C — Toees I. et al · 2015 · https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-014-9295-2. ↩︎
- [6]The Agave Family in Sonora; Agriculture Handbook No. 399 — Gentry H.S. · Agicultural Research Service, USDA; Washington D.C. · 1972 ↩︎Gives quite a lot of information on the traditional uses of the plants.
- [7]Notes on Agave palmeri Engelm. (Agavaceae) and its allies in the Ditepalae — Klopper R.R. et al · 2010 · http://10.25223/brad.n28.2010.a8 ↩︎
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎