Accession Count: 4
Common Name:
shindagger
Family Name:
Asparagaceae
Botanical Name:
Agave lechuguilla
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
Agave lechuquilla forms a basal rosette with 20-50 thick fleshy yellow-green colored leaves forming the caudex (3,4,5). The plant is evergreen. Leaves are tapered at the top, one to two inches wide and nine to eight inches long, with re-curved teeth on the margin with a stout terminal spine (1). Spines face downward, line the leaf margins, and are 0.1-0.4 inches. One leaf can live up to 15 years, (creating a way of aging the shindagger!) and 12-15 years of vegetative production is needed before the plant flowers. Once the stalk forms, it grows rapidly, up to 8 inches per day. The stalk is unbranched and usually curves due to the weight of the flowers. The flowers produced are perfect and have a purplish-yellow coloration to them. The seeds created are dehiscent capsules. The seeds are dry and smooth, and over a few hundred can be created. After the flowers and seeds are created, the mother plant dies. Before death, the shinagger creates many offshoots or suckers which replenish the population in the spaces around the original mother plant (3,4,5). The roots are very shallow. On average, only 4% of the plant biomass is found underground (4).
Compound:
Aga lec
Geographic Origin:
Texas, New Mexico, Mexico
Ecozone Origin:
Nearctic
Biome Origin:
Southwest
Natural History:
The shindagger is native to parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. These regions lie within the Chihuahuan Desert, wherein the agave presence indicates the desert's boundaries. The vast area the shindagger covers is approximately a hundred-miles-wide and seven hundred-mile-long. This large portion of land is south-central and southeastern New Mexico, the far west region of Texas, and northeastern and central Mexico (2). Usually, this agave occurs and is found most prevalently below 4,900 ft in elevation (4).
Cultivation Notes:
Highly grown in cultivation mainly for the ethnobotany benefits below but also for the physical characteristics of the agave. Shindagger is grown easily from seed (3). Offsets that gradually form patches several feet across can also be used for asexual propagation by division. since this species is considered an indicator plant of the Chihuahuan desert, where annual precipitation received is between seven and thirteen inches per year (6). It thrives in more arid environments with full sun (6). When planting, leave ample room for the development of pups/offsets. The species is also a good choice for colder or more dry climates because they are fairly hardy (to USDA Hardiness Zone 7a / 0°F) and require very little water (1,7). Shindagger grows best in soils that are dry, rocky, limestone, and/or calcareous (4).
Ethnobotany:
The shindagger has been used for a variety of purposes ranging from human health to building construction. Humans have used shindagger as a source of food and poison! The sap found produced is toxic to livestock and other animals, but not to humans. One of the toxins produced, saponin, is used by the plant as a means to combat fungal and bacterial diseases. Humans have used this chemical on the ends of arrows for fishing and other hunting excursions to poison and kill the targeted animal. Also, this agave and its sap are used to make mezcal tequila and Pulque. The roots have been used as a pounded-up mixture and turned into shampoo and soap. It has antibacterial and antifungal properties (3). The agave fibers have been used as strings for bow strings, nets, baskets, mats, sandals, blankets, and cloth (3,5). This agave is perfect in natural desert landscapes because it is low maintenance and a natural feature of the desert landscape. In addition, it often attracts hummingbirds (1).
Height:
0 - 5 feet
Width:
0 - 5 feet
Growth Rate:
Moderate Growing
Grow Season:
ForeSummer
Flower Season:
ForeSummer
Color:
Yellow
Function:
Accent
Spread:
Non-spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Hardy
Water Use:
Low water Use
