Abelmoschus esculentus (L - the University of Maine at Fort Kent

Kermath, Bennett and Pulsipher - Food Plants in the Americs
SPANISH: cacayas (flowers only), chahuar, guapilla, maguey, maguey
manso, maguey meco, maguey pulquero, mescal, zapalote
USES/NOTES: Thick stems are cooked down to a gelatinous substance,
rich in vitamins B and C, which is consumed as food or fermented
and distilled into an alcoholic beverage called mescal or
aguardiente. Uncooked sap can be consumed fresh as aguamiel or
fermented into pulque. Fruits and flowers are eaten in Mexico,
and leaf cuticles are used to wrap foods, especially tortillas.
A. atrovirens is one of the chief pulque sources and is also a
fiber source.
NATURAL RANGE: East-central Mexico to the southeastern U.S.
REFERENCES: Espejo Serna et al. n.d., Gentry (H.) 1982, León 1987,
Leung 1961, Loyola 1956, Nobel 1994, OAS 1973, Purseglove 1972,
Sauer 1993, Uphof 1968, von Reis Altschul 1973, Williams and
Williams 1969
Agave cantala (Haw.) Roxb. ex Salm-Dyck
FAMILY: Agavaceae (agave) or Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis)
ENGLISH: Bombay aloe, cantala, maguey, Manila maguey
PORTUGUESE: agave
SPANISH: cantala, maguey, maguey de Manila
USES/NOTES: Used like other agaves as a pulque source, though grown
mainly for its leaf fiber used for making twine, hammocks, and
mats. An important fiber source in the Philippines and Indonesia.
NATURAL RANGE: Mexico
REFERENCES: Bourke et al. 1987, Gentry (H.) 1982, León 1987,
Mabberley 1987, Purseglove 1972, Rehm and Espig 1991
Agave deserti Engelm.
FAMILY: Agavaceae (agave) or Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis)
ENGLISH: desert agave
SPANISH: mezcal
USES/NOTES: Leaf bases and young flower stalks are boiled down to a
sweet mescal, sap is used for aguamiel and pulque, flowers and
young buds are eaten as vegetables, and nectar can be consumed
directly from flowers. Seeds are said to be flour source.
NATURAL RANGE: Southern California, Arizona, and adjacent
northwestern Mexico
REFERENCES: Facciola 1990, Munz 1974, Nobel 1994, Uphof 1968
Agave karwinskii Zucc. [syn. A. bakeri Ross, A. corderoyi Baker]
FAMILY: Agavaceae (agave) or Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis)
SPANISH: cirial, maguey cirial, tobasiche
USES/NOTES: Cultivated on a small and diminishing scale in Oaxaca
as a mezcal source.
NATURAL RANGE: Oaxaca and Puebla, Mexico
REFERENCES: Gómez Arriola 2005, Kermath (notes)
Agave lecheguilla Torrey
FAMILY: Agavaceae (agave) or Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis)
DRAFT - DO NOT DUPLICATE OR DISTRIBUTE
23