Agave stricta
Agave stricta
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 stricta is an evergreen, succulent plant with a short, decumbent, branched main stem. At the end of each branch there is a dense rosette of leaves that can be 40 - 70cm tall and 60 - 80cm in diameter. Each rosette can produce 100 or more narrow leaves that can each be 20 - 35cm long and around 1cm wide near the base, with a sharp point at their end. After several years of growth, the rosette produces a flowering stem that can be up to 2 - 3 metres tall, after which that 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 , 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. It is often grown as an ornamental, valued especially for its dense rosette of long, narrow leaves[ 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. , 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 ]. Although it is impacted by agriculture, mining and collection, Agave stricta is not declining at a rate sufficient to qualify in a threat category. 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. ].