Agave bovicornuta

Cowhorn Agave
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Agave
Species: A. bovicornuta
Binomial name
Agave bovicornuta
H. S. Gentry

Agave bovicornuta Gentry,[1][2] is a plant in the genus Agave, native to mountainous regions in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Sonora and Sinaloa. The common name Cowhorn Agave and the specific epithet refer to the prominent red spines along the edges of the leaves. Other common names include "lechguilla verde"

The plant forms a solitary rosette with no suckers. Yellowish-green flowers are borne on a stalk up to 150 cm tall. The Tarahumara peoples who live in the region where the plant is found sometimes eat the leaves although they consider it inferior to other species.[3]


Gallery

Cowhorn Agave plant in a pot 
The same plant viewed from above 
Agave bovicornuta in the San Francisco Botanical Garden 

References

  1. H.S. Gentry, Publications of the Carnegie Institute of Washington 527: (Rio Mayo Plants) 92, tab. 15, fig. 1. 942.
  2. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database].
  3. C. Pennington. 1963. The Tarahumar of Mexico: their material culture. University of Utah Press.


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