Agave americana - Agave d'Amérique

Habitat

Exposition

Plein soleil

Humidité

Sol sec à moyen. Tolère la sécheresse.

Sol

Sol léger à moyen. Nécessite un sol drainant.

pH

Sol acide ou calcaire

Rusticité

Zone 9

Habitat originel

Original habitat is unknown but it grows wild in Mexico on cultivated land and in pine woods[11].

Origine géographique

South-western N. America. Naturalized in the Mediterranean[11].

Dangers connus

• Contact with the fresh sap can cause dermatitis in sensitive people [218, 238].
• The plants have a very sharp and tough spine at the tip of each leaf .
• They need to be carefully sited in the garden .

Comestibilité

• The heart of the plant is very rich in saccharine matter and can be eaten when baked [2, 92, 183].
• Sweet and nutritious, but rather fibrous [213].
• It is partly below ground [85].
• Seed - ground into a flour and used as a thickener in soups or used with cereal flours when making bread [92].
• Flower stalk - roasted [92, 95].
• Used like asparagus [183].
• Sap from the cut flowering stems is used as a syrup[177] or fermented into pulque or mescal [183].
• The sap can also be tapped by boring a hole into the middle of the plant at the base of the flowering stem [213].

Usages médicinaux

• The sap of agaves has long been used in Central America as a binding agent for various powders used as poultices on wounds [254].
• The sap can also be taken internally in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery etc [254].
• The sap is antiseptic, diaphoretic, diuretic and laxative [21, 218, 240].
• An infusion of the chopped leaf is purgative and the juice of the leaves is applied to bruises [218].
• The plant is used internally in the treatment of indigestion, flatulence, constipation, jaundice and dysentery [238].
• The sap has disinfectant properties and can be taken internally to check the growth of putrefactive bacteria in the stomach and intestines [21].
• Water in which agave fibre has been soaked for a day can be used as a scalp disinfectant and tonic in cases of falling hair [21].
• Steroid drug precursors are obtained from the leaves [238].
• A gum from the root and leaf is used in the treatment of toothache [218].
• The root is diaphoretic and diuretic [240].
• It is used in the treatment of syphilis [218, 240].
• All parts of the plant can be harvested for use as required, they can also be dried for later use .
• The dried leaves and roots store well [238].

Autres usages

• The plant contains saponins .
• An extract of the leaves is used as a soap [2].
• The roots are used according to another report [238].
• It is likely that the root is the best source of the saponins that are used to make a soap [K].
• Chop up the leaves or the roots into small pieces and then simmer them in water to extract the saponins .
• Do not over boil or you will start to break down the saponins [K].
• There is a report that the plant has insecticidal properties, but further details are not given [218, 238].
• A very strong fibre obtained from the leaves is used for making rope, coarse fabrics etc [2, 61, 92, 238].
• A paper can also be made from the leaves [2].
• The thorns on the leaves are used as pins and needles [2].
• The dried flowering stems are used as a waterproof thatch[2] and as a razor strop [89].
• The plants are used in land-reclamation schemes in arid areas of the world [238].

Culture

• Requires a very well-drained soil and a sunny position [1, 200].
• The agave is not very hardy in Britain tolerating temperatures down to about -3°c if conditions are not wet [260].
• It succeeds outdoors on the south coast of England from Torbay westwards [11].
• Plants survived lower temperatures during the very cold winters from 1985/1987 and were unharmed at Glendurgan gardens in West Cornwall [K].
• A monocarpic species, the plant lives for a number of years without flowering but dies once it does flower .
• However, it normally produces plenty of suckers during its life and these continue growing, taking about 10 - 15 years in a warm climate, considerably longer in colder ones, before flowering [11].
• This plant is widely used by the native people in its wild habitat, it has a wide range of uses .
• In a warm climate suckers take 10 - 15 years to come into flower .
• Les membres de ce genre sont rarement (ou jamais) incommodés par le broutage des cerfs. [233].

Propagation

• Seed - surface sow in a light position, April in a warm greenhouse .
• The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 20°c [133].
• Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of well-drained soil when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse until they are at least 20cm tall .
• Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts, and give some protection from the cold for at least their first few winters [K].
• Offsets can be potted up at any time they are available .
• Keep in a warm greenhouse until they are well established [200].