Agave potrerana
Agave potrerana
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 potrerana is an evergreen, thick-stemmed, succulent plant forming a rosette of leaves that can be 70 - 100cm tall and 150 - 200cm in diameter. The leaves on mature plants can each be 40 - 80cm long and 6 - 7cm wide near the middle. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 4 - 8 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die. However, the plant usually produces a number of young plants around its base that will develop as new plants. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use of its fibre. It is grown as an ornamental[ 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. ]. Agave potrerana occurs very scarcely across a large area, the population is severely fragmented and a continuing decline is reported in the literature and suspected from lack of new herbarium records. It is suspected that the total number of mature individuals is less than 10,000 and the number in each of the subpopulations is less than 1,000. The species faces many threats and it is found for sale online in international websites, where demand seems high. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013). However it is very likely that it qualifies for a higher threatened category and more research is urgently needed on its distribution, population size, threats and ecology[ 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. ].