Agave palmeri explained

Agave palmeri (also known as Palmer's century plant) is an especially large member of the genus Agave, in the family Asparagaceae.

Description

Agave palmeri is the largest Agave species growing in the United States. It produces a basal leaf rosette of fleshy, upright green leaves of up to 120abbr=offNaNabbr=off in length, with jagged edges and ending in sharp, thick spines of NaNcm (-2,147,483,648inches) long. The buds are purplish. Blooming from June to August,^[1] the flowers are pale yellow and green; they are NaNcm (-2,147,483,648inches) long with six segments and stamens, growing on branches from the upper third of the flower spike, which can be up to tall.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua.^{[5] [6]} It can be found in dry, rocky areas.

Cultivation

The plant is frequently cultivated as an ornamental in other regions.^[7] It requires a large pot but is very tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including temperatures of around −10 °C.^[8]

Uses

The plant was used by Native Americans for food, drink, fiber, soap, medicine and to make lances.

Notes and References

1. Book: Spellenberg, Richard . National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region . Knopf . 2001 . 978-0-375-40233-3 . rev . 325-326 . 1979.
2. Gentry, Howard Scott. Agaves of Continental North America. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1992.
3. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101313 Flora of North America, Agave palmeri, v 26 p 460.
4. Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert 2 vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford.
5. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5793053#page/337/mode/1up Engelmann, Georg. Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis 3: 319–320. 1875.
6. Conabio (2009). Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. Conabio, Mexico D.F.
7. Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third i–xiv, 1–1290. MacMillan, New York.
8. Complete Encyclopedia of Succulents by Zdenek Jezek and Libor Kunte