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Agave deserti (desert agave, mescal, century plant or maguey) is an agave native to desert regions in southern California, Arizona, and Baja California. Its tall yellow flower stalks dot dry rocky slopes and washes throughout the spring.

Desert agave
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Agave
Species:
A. deserti
Binomial name
Agave deserti
Engelm.

It forms a rosette of fleshy gray-green leaves 20–70 cm long and 4.5–10 cm broad, with sharp spines along the edges and at the tips. It flowers at maturity (20 to 40 years[2]), sending up an inflorescence 2–6 m tall. The panicle bears numerous yellow, funnel-shaped flowers 3–6 cm long.

There are two varieties:


Cultivation and uses


The desert agave is drought-tolerant but requires good drainage.

The desert dwelling Native Americans used fibers from the leaves to make cloth, bowstrings, and rope.[2] Young flower stalks (roasted), buds, and hearts of plants (also roasted) were eaten.[2] Natives of southern California commonly harvested the "heads" using a specialized digging stick and roasted the leaves and heart alike. Food thus obtained often became a dietary staple, even into drought years.

Alcoholic drinks were also manufactured from the sweet juices of this and other agaves.

A mass of flowers on an Agave deserti inflorescence
A mass of flowers on an Agave deserti inflorescence
Agave deserti in cultivation
Agave deserti in cultivation

References


  1. Vanderplank, S. (2019). "Agave deserti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T114979533A116353748. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T114979533A116353748.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Dole 1996, pg. 57

Sources



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Agave deserti es una especie de planta del género Agave oriunda de las zonas desérticas de California, Baja California y Arizona.



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