Agave aurea
Agave aurea
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 aurea is an evergreen, short-stemmed, succulent plant forming a rosette of leaves that can be 100 - 120cm tall and 150 - 200cm in diameter. The widely arching leaves on mature plants can each be 63 - 110cm long and 7 - 12cm wide near the base. After several years of growth, a flowering stem that can be around 2.5 - 5 metres tall is produced, after which the rosette will die[ 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 ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of food and fibre, and is perhaps sometimes used to make the distilled alcoholic beverage Mezcal. The plant is said to have been trialled as a commercial source of fibre, but yields were too low[ 454 Title Useful Fiber Plants of the World Publication Author Dodge C.R. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ Publisher USDA; Washington. Year 1897 ISBN Description A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet. ]. Agave aurea is wide ranging, abundant and has no threats affecting its population. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 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. ].