Agave horrida
Agave horrida
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 horrida is an evergreen, stemless, succulent plant forming a compact, formidably armed rosette of leaves that can be 30 - 60cm tall and 45 - 90cm in diameter. Mature plants have around 80 - 100 leaves which can each be 18 - 35cm long and 4 - 7cm wide near the base. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 2 - 2.5 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of fibre and to make the distilled alcoholic beverage 'mezcal'. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental. Agave horrida has relatively large subpopulations occurring over a large area. The species is not currently declining at a rate sufficient to qualify for a threat category. 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. ].