Agave gomezpompae
Agave gomezpompae
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 gomezpompae is an evergreen, succulent plant with a creeping stem up to 150cm long and 8 - 15cm in diameter, on top of which grows a rosette of leaves. The leaves on mature plants can each be 80 - 85cm long and 10 - 13cm wide near the base. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 2.7 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. Agave gomezpompae has an extremely limited range and is used locally for food. Due to the small size of the population and its proximity to urban areas, there are concerns that future land use changes could impact the population causing rapid declines. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' 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. ].