Information on the Desert Agave Plant
Desert agaves grow in hot deserts in sub-tropical latitudes and are native to Southern California, Arizona and Baja California. The desert agave plant often is referred to as the century plant, as many people once believed they bloomed only once every 100 years. Desert agaves actually boom once every 20 years. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Lifespan
-
If conditions are favorable, the desert agave plant lives between 10 and 12 years, according to the Department of Geography at San Francisco State University. Favorable conditions include shade cover and rainfall between 5 and 10 inches. The desert agave is an annual plant because it blooms once, then withers and dies.
Geography
-
Desert agave plants are native to gravely soils in the lower Colorado River Valley in the Sonoran Desert, according to the Department of Geography at San Francisco State University. The growing range of the plant extends into southern Arizona and the Mojave Desert. Baja California, the base of the Providence Mountains, the Anza-Borrego Desert, the palm desert and the San Bernardino Mountains also have desert agave plants.
-
History
-
Agaves have been used as a food source for more than 9,000 years, dating to the Aztecs, according to San Francisco State University. The Coahuilan Indians of Southern California called the agave "a-mul" and cooked the stalks, leaves and blossoms of the plants in various ways for food.
Uses
-
Throughout history, the desert agave has been used to produce food, soap, clothing, rope, needles, thread, paper, glue, weapons, medicines and red coloring, according to San Francisco State University.
Reproduction
-
Flowers of the desert agave plant have both female and male parts, according to San Francisco State University. Flowers with both female and male parts are considered "perfect." This makes pollination easy. The stalk of the agave's flower can grow to a height of 50 feet.
Taxonomy
-
The desert agave plant belongs to the liliopsida class, the liliales order, the agavaceae family, the agave genus and the deserti species, according to the Department of Geography at San Francisco State University.
Fun Fact
-
Pre-agricultural man from the American southwest relied mainly on this plant for food and water year round, according to the Department of Geography at San Francisco State University.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Agave image by Moon from Fotolia.com
