Agave parryi

Like all agave plants, this plant is, for several years, a rosette of stiff, succulent, sword-like leaves. These 1 ft., spine-tipped leaves eventually subtend a tall flowering stalk supporting a cluster of yellow flowers at its tip. After the plant flowers, it dies.

Agaves are often called century plants and require many years to flower, but not a century. They provided southwestern Native American with food, beverages, fiber, soap, medicine, and lances. Today the liquors mescal, pulque, and tequila are made from the juice of the Mexican species.