Common Name:
mescal pardo
Family Name:
Asparagaceae
Botanical Name:
Agave sobria
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
The gulf agave is a small to medium, rosette-forming succulent (3). Its habit is usually caespitose (forming dense clonal clusters), with few leaves, short-stems (appearing almost stemless), and with each cluster consisting of single rosettes that are 50-150 cm (1.6-5 ft) in diameter (2, 3). Leaves are bright glaucous-gray, linear to lanceolate in shape, with long-acuminate leaf tips, and most often 5-10 cm (1.9-3.9 in) wide by 45-80 cm (17.7-31.5 in) long (3, 5). Leaves are frequently cross-banded, straight or curved, sometimes twisted, flat to concave above, and thick to concave below toward the leaf base, while the margins are undulate to mammillate (nipple-like protrusions at the base of the marginal teeth) (3, 5). Teeth are remote, 5-10 mm (0.2-0.4 in) long with flattened, gray bases, reddish or chestnut color toward the tips, variously flexed or straight, sometimes flexible, and typically 3-4 cm (1.2-1.6 in) apart (3, 5). Apical spines are acicular (needle-shaped), typically 3-6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) long, and narrowly grooved above (3). Inflorescence are panicles, 2.5-4 m (8.2-13 ft) tall; slender, sometimes arching, and with 12-20 branches (3). Flowers are pale yellow, 45-55 mm (1.8-2.2 in) long, and slender while tepals are a distinguishing feature of this species, being very narrow (3-4 mm (0.1-0.16 in) wide) and long (17-22 mm (0.7-0.9 in) long) (3). Fruit are dry capsules, 15-18 mm (0.6-0.7 in) wide by 50-65 mm (2-2.6 in) long, oblong, thick-walled, borne on a short stipe (stem), and apiculate (ending in a short, protruding tip) (3). Seeds are 5-6 mm (0.2-0.24 in) wide by 7-8 mm (0.28-0.32 in) long, lunate, with narrowly winged margins (3).
Compound:
Aga sob
Geographic Origin:
Sonoran Desert
Ecozone Origin:
Nearctic
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
The gulf agave grows on volcanic soil in sarcocaulescent (ie. consisting of fleshy-stemmed plants) scrublands between 0-1000 m (3280 ft) (1). It favors the shadier, northern slopes of canyons (1, 3). It is common on both sides of the Sierra de la Giganta mountain range in Baja California Sur (1, 3). At the eastern foot of the range, the plants are smaller and more drought-stressed (3, 5). The plants grow in scattered caespitose clumps, but do not form dense colonies (3). The genus Agave comes from Linnaeus, who named it in 1753 for the Greek word ‘agaue’ meaning “noble” or “splendid” (4). The specific epithet sobria, meaning “sober,” comes from a misunderstanding by the prominent botanist couple Mary and Townshend Brandegee, wherein they thought that this particular agave was not used by indigenous peoples, such as the Cochimi people, for mescal making (3). This turned out to be true of A. aurea, which grows in the same vicinity, whereas A. sobria is in reality a well-known mescal source (3).
Cultivation Notes:
To propagate gulf agave from seed, sow the seeds on the surface of lightly moistened, well-draining soil, and place in indirect light in a warm place or a warmed greenhouse (2). The seed typically germinates in 1-3 months when temperatures are between 15-20°C (59-68°F) (2). The seedlings should be grown in pots in a partial sun until they are at least 15 cm (6 in) in height, at which point they can be transferred to the ground or into larger pots and slowly introduced to more sun (2). They will benefit from frost protection during their first few winters (2). This species can also be propagated from its numerous basal suckers and offsets, which can be plucked out (keep some roots attached if possible), allowed to dry for a few days to two weeks, and then planted in well-draining soil (2). The gulf agave is drought and sun tolerant at maturity, coming from an area which is subject to prolonged drought, though it may look best with some shade (2, 5). It can thrive in a variety of well-draining soils, though in the wild it seems to best like limestone soils with neutral to alkaline pH conditions (2). The plant will bloom and die at maturity, which takes 7-15 years, sometimes longer, in the wild (2). Hardiness of the plant is unclear, but a subspecies, A. sobria ssp. frailensis is reported to be hardy to -6.7°C (20°F) (6).
Ethnobotany:
The gulf agave is a well-known source of mescal and food in Baja California Sur (3). It has been recorded in writing as such since the 1770s, when Miguel del Barco wrote about local uses of various agave in the Sierra de la Giganta, particularly writing of uses by the Cochimi people (3). Much of the more modern ethnobotanical information on the plant was gathered from people living at Comondú, who spoke highly of the plant as a mescal and food source (3).
Height:
0 - 5 feet
Width:
0 - 5 feet
Growth Rate:
Slow Growing
Grow Season:
Spring
Flower Season:
Summer
Color:
Yellow
Function:
Accent
Spread:
Spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Semi-hardy
Water Use:
Low water Use
