Agave murpheyi
Agave murpheyi
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 murpheyi is an evergreen, stemless, succulent plant forming a rosette of leaves that can be 60 - 80cm tall and 100cm in diameter. The leaves on mature plants can each be 50 - 65cm long and 6 - 8cm wide near the base. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 3 - 4 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die. However, the plant reproduces prolifically both by suckers and also from bulbils produced on the flowering stem[ 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 cultivated for use in making the distilled liquor 'mezcal'[ 1845 Title Population Dynamics and Sustainable Management of Mescal Agaves in Central Mexico: Agave potatorum in the Tehuacán-C Publication Econ. Bot. 69(1): 26-41, 2015 Author Toees I. et al Website https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-014-9295-2. Publisher Year 2015 ISBN Description ]. It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of fibre.