Agave titanota
Agave titanota
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 titanota is an evergreen, succulent plant sometimes developing a short trunk, it forms a rosette of leaves that can be 50 - 80cm tall and 80 - 150cm in diameter. Mature plants can produce around 20 - 30 spiny leaves that can each be 30 - 60cm long and 12 - 15cm wide near the base. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be up to 3 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 ]. However, the plant occcasionally produces a number of young plants around its base that will develop as new plants. The plant is harvested from the wild for use in making the distilled alcoholic beverage mezal. The plant is also often 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 titanota has a limited range and extent of occurrence, being known from only three locations and in all of these there is an ongoing decline in numbers of mature individuals due to overcollection of the plant for mezcal production. The plant is classified as 'Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2020)[ 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. ].