Monday, November 21, 2011

Blue Agave



Blue Agave

Agave tequilana

(a-GAH-vee) (te-kee-lee-AH-na)

Synonyms: Tequila Agave, A. palmaris, A. pseudotequilana



This is a little stand of Blue Agave we saw growing in Southern California. While the main purpose of growing this plant is to get the sap from the heart to distill tequila it seems to make a nice looking landscape plant too. The dusty blue and arching leaves are pleasant to look at but the leaves are very pointed and can present some danger to gardeners and farmers.


This plant is native to the Jalisco area of Mexico where it likes to grow at an elevation of 5,000 feet. The heart of the plant has a high production of fructose and they are harvested after about 12 years. Once the agave flowers it dies with each flowering stalk producing several thousand seeds.

2 comments:

DeniseinVA said...

Another fascinating post. The blue agave is very striking and I have enjoyed both the photo and the reading, thanks again.

Karin M. said...

Oh ... I've never seen a blue agave ... very nice ..
Best regards Karin