Agave Americana

• Agave Americana is characterized by spines at the end of each leaf.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Agave Americana is the largest and most majestic of the Texas agave plants. With a potential to grow to a height of 6 feet, it is characterized by gray-blue to blue-green leaves that have spines at the tips. It is not unusual for these plants to live for 10 to 25 years. Before plants die, they produce a flower stalk that can reach 15 feet tall and spread to a width of 1 to 5 feet. Lateral branches extending from the stalk will eventually produce flowers. Once the plant flowers, it dies, but small offshoots that have grown at the base of the plant replace the original plant. This particular agave tolerates temperatures down to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
  

Other Agave Types

• Agave attenuata is the spineless version of the familiar century plant.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Agave attenuata is the spineless century plant. It is smaller than the century plant with spines, so it is better suited to smaller landscapes and gardens where children might play. It is more commonly found in California than Florida. It is characterized by soft light blue-green leaves that have no thorns or spines at the ends. Emerging leaves form a cone at the center of the plant. It is suited to U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 9 to 11 where there are only brief periods of sub-freezing temperatures. It is not native to North America and only grows to a height of 2 to 3 feet.
  
  

Poisons And Irritants

• The sap from the agave plant is poisonous and can also cause severe skin irritation.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Century plants form six-sided raphides that contain saponins. Saponins are compounds with steroid cores to which one or more sugars are attached. They are also known as steroidal glycosides, and they are found in many plant families in addition to the Agavaceae family. Some of these saponins, including those in century plant are extremely poisonous when consumed, but others may cause severe skin irritation. Symptoms of irritation from the sap of the agave plant include a rash and burning and itching skin. Eye damage is possible if sap makes contact with the eyes.
  
  

Ancient Food Source

• The crown of the century plant was eaten by the Mescalero Apache Indians.Siri Stafford/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Agave palmerii is also known as century plant and mescal. This genus of plants in the Agavaceae family are native to Mexico. Pulp is fermented to make an alcoholic beverage called "pulque" in Cuba and Mexico. It is also used to make tequila. This huge plant that grows in the wild of the Sonora Desert was an important food staple of the Mescalero Apache Indians. Although the plant is toxic when raw, it is edible when roasted. The crown was the nutritious part of the plant and is sweet, but high in protein and calcium.