Agave parryi - Century Plant

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 8

Habitat originel

Semi-arid land, 1300 - 2400 metres, often experiencing snow in winter with temperatures as low as -18°c for short periods[181].

Origine géographique

South-western N. America - Arizona to New Mexico.

Dangers connus

• 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, 105].
• 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].
• Young flower stalk - raw or cooked [257].
• It was generally roasted [177, 183].
• Tender young leaves - roasted [161].
• Sap from the cut flowering stems is used as a syrup [177].
• Nectar from the flowering stems is made into a sweet syrup [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].
• It can be fermented into 'Mescal', a very potent alcoholic drink [213].

Usages médicinaux

• The sap is antiseptic, diuretic and laxative [21].

Autres usages

• The leaves contain saponins and an extract of them can be used as a soap [2].
• It is best obtained by chopping up the leaves and then simmering them in water - do not boil for too long or this will start to break down the saponins [K].
• A very strong fibre obtained from the leaves is used for making rope, coarse fabrics etc [2, 61, 92].
• A paper can also be made from the fibre in 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].

Culture

• Requires a very well-drained soil and a sunny position [1, 200].
• This species is probably the hardiest member of the genus, it survives outdoors grown against a warm wall at Kew [11].
• 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 take 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 .
• 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].