Agave

This succulent grows a rosette of huge thick leaves, each often ending is a hard sharp point, and have spines along its margin. A mature plant will produce a huge terminal spike of flowers, and then dies after flowering. Most plants will have produced numerous offsets before the mother plant dies.

In Mexico, the young flower spike is cut and the sap collected, brewed and distilled to make the drink tequila.

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Pictures:

Agave attenuata

See also:  Cactus & succulents

Flowers

Ths agave is unusual in that the leaves are soft and spineless, and for this reason, it is popular in gardens. The flower stem is curved, whereas those of other agaves are usually straight.

Flowers Flowers