Agave flexispina
Agave flexispina
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 flexispina is an evergreen, stemless, succulent plant forming an open rosette of leaves that can be 25 - 45cm tall and 50 - 70cm in diameter. Around 35 - 40 leaves are produced on mature plants, they can each be 16 - 30cm long and 6 - 8cm wide near the base. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 2 - 3.5 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 ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and fibre. It is grown as an ornamental. Agave flexispina has a wide range, however it is scattered and it is not abundant. In parts of its range the species habitat is impacted by cattle ranching which is estimated to have caused a 20% decline in the population in the last 60 years (approximately one and a half generations) and if the trend continues, it is projected that the decline will reach 40% in the next 60 years. 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. ].