Agave guttata
Agave guttata
Safety & Hazards
The corm is rich in saponins and has been used as a fish poison[ 1856 Title Sistemática del género Manfreda Salisb. (Agavaceae) Publication Author Castillejos-Cruz C. Publisher Texcoco (MX): Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo Year 2009 ISBN Description An unpublished Ph.D. thesis. ]. 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 guttata is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a bulbous rootstock with a fleshy, contractile root. It produces rosettes of usually 2 - 7 lanceolate, semi-succulent leaves around 17 - 34cm long and 12 - 35mm wide, and a flowering stem 60 - 160cm tall. The plant spreads by means of rhizomes to form a cluster of growth[ 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 soap. At one time commonly used as a soap in Mexico, where it used to be harvested in large quantities and sold in markets[ 1852 Title Huaco and Amole: A Survey of the Uses of Manfreda and Prochnyanthes Publication Economic Botany, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1978), pp. 124-130 Author Verhoek S. Website http://www.jstor.org/stable/4253919 Publisher Year 1978 ISBN Description ]