Agave Variety and Uses: Native American lore, Agave Identification

Journey into the rugged desert world of agaves - the versatile native American plants known as century plants, maguey, or American agave (Agave americana). These iconic succulents have sustained indigenous cultures for thousands of years across the arid Southwest and Mexico.
Learn about the many agave varieties and types that thrive in this harsh climate, from the huge flowering Agave deserti and compact Agave utahensis, to spiky Agave palmeri and cultivated Agave americana. Understand how agave's unique lifecycle and boom-and-bust flowering has earned these useful plants the name “century plant.”
Explore all the native American agave plant uses, like fiber, food, shelter and more. From agave flower stalk feasts to spun agave leaf fibers used in Native American sandals and baskets. Gain tips for gardening with agaves in your own landscape and discover easy agave plant identification.
Join desert frontiersman Alan on this journey into the sculptural forms and versatility of the agave, essential to both wildlife and native peoples across the Southwest for thousands of years. An ancient Mexican immigrant still blanketing America’s arid hills.