Agave parryi
Agave parryi
Safety & Hazards
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 parryi is an evergreen, stemless, succulent plant forming a compact rosette of leaves that can be 15 - 75cm tall and 25 - 85cm in diameter. Around 90 - 160 leaves are produced on mature plants, each of which can be 10 - 65cm long and 5 - 20cm wide at the widest point. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 4 - 6 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die. However, the plant usually produces a number of young plants around its base that will develop as new plants[ 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 ]. This species has a wide range of uses, supplying food, medicine and a variety of products for local use. It was much used by the native north Americans, though is probably little used nowadays. The plant is often grown as an ornamental, especially in xeriscape gardens. Agave parryi has a large distribution, numerous large stable subpopulations and occurs in protected areas. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' 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. ].