Agave seemanniana
Agave seemanniana
Safety & Hazards
The seedpods are rich in saponins and are used in rivers and lakes as a fish poison to stupefy fish[ 331 Title Flora of Guatemala Publication Author Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark Website http://www.archive.org/ Publisher Year 1946 - 1976 ISBN Description A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/ ]. 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 seemanniana is an evergreen, stemless, succulent plant forming an open rosette of leaves that can be 100 - 150cm tall and 150 - 200cm in diameter. Mature plants can produce around 30 - 40 spiny leaves that can each be 30 - 55cm long and 14 - 22cm wide at their widest point. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 4 - 6 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die[ 1207 Title Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Publication Author Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/118975#/summary Publisher Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Year 1993 - 2015 ISBN 968-36-3108-8 Description An excellent flora (in Spanish) of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán biosphere reserve in southeastern Mexico. It can be downloaded from the Internet ]. The plant is used for the production of mezcal in the state of Oaxaca. Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage that is very popular in Mexico and is also exported. Agave seemanniana has a wide distribution, occurs in numerous protected areas, and has no major threats. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].