Agave quiotepecensis
Agave quiotepecensis
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[ 1846 Title The Agaves of Baja California Publication Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, No. 130, Author Gentry H.S. Publisher California Academy of Sciences; San Francisco Year 1978 ISBN 0068-5461 Description ].
Botanical Description
Agave quiotepecensis is an evergreen, stemless, succulent plant forming a rosette of leaves that can be 150cm tall and 200 - 250cm in diameter. Around 40 - 70 leaves are produced on mature plants, each of which can be 70 - 90cm long and 10 - 20cm wide near the base. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 4 - 5 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die[ 1844 Title Agave Agavaceae Publication Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Monocotyledons, pp 21-311 Author Thiede J. Website https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56486-8_111 Publisher Springer Nature Year 2020 ISBN Description ].. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of fibre. Agave quiotepecensis has a restricted distribution and is only known in three locations. The plant is classified as 'Near Threatened' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[ 1854 Title Cuatro especies nuevas de Agave (Asparagaceae, Agavoideae) del sur de México Publication Acta Botanica Mexicana 126: e1461, 2019 Author García-Mendoza A.J. et al Website http://10.21829/abm126.2019.1461 Publisher Year 2019 ISBN Description ].