Agave americana
Agave americana
Safety & Hazards
Contact with the fresh sap can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[ 218 Title Medicinal Plants of China Publication Author Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Publisher Reference Publications, Inc. Year 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4 Description Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject. , 238 Title Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Publication Author Bown. D. Publisher Dorling Kindersley, London. Year 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31 Description A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant. ]. The plants have a very sharp and tough spine at the tip of each leaf. They need to be carefully sited in the garden. 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 americana is an evergreen, succulent, perennial plant forming a large, rosette of sharply-pointed leaves a metre or more long and a flowering stem that can be 7 metres or more tall. A true multipurpose plant, providing food, medicine and many commodities for the people who live in its arid environment. It is also used to produce a syrup, which is traded internationally. The plant is often grown as an ornamental. Agave americana has a relatively wide range, is abundant, the threats affecting it are localised with the exception of extensive ranching that occurs in a wide portion of its range and it occurs in several protected areas. 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. ]. Widely cultivated as an ornamental, the plant has escaped from cultivation in some areas - it has become naturalized in the Mediterraneam and is reported as being invasive in New Zealand and some of the Pacific Islands[ 305 Title Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk Publication Author Website http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands. ].