Dunbar Spring Neighborhood - Agave murpheyi
Botanical Name: Agave murpheyi
Common Names:
English: Murphey's agave, Hohokam agave
Spanish: Maguey
O'odham: A'ud
Family: Agavaceae
Rain Garden Zone: A. murpheyi thrives in the terrace Rain Garden Zone, but may also grow well in the top Rain Garden Zone (5).
Reproduced with permission from "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond" by Brad Lancaster, HarvestingRainwater.com
Flowering Season: Fall
Harvest Season: March - July
Harvest Techniques: Harvest agave hearts, or piñas, immediately before the flowering stalk emerges. This ensures that the plant has plenty of stored carbohydrates. Begin by slicing away the leaves so that the heart of the agave is accessible (4), careful to avoid their slightly caustic leaves (1).
Planting Season: Fall
Landscape Cultivation: A murpheyi may be propagated by offsets, aerial plants, or seeds. Plant in areas with adequately draining soil and full sun. Established plants will only need to be watered once or twice during the dry seasons (3).
Characteristics: A murpheyi is a slow growing, evergreen perennial reaching 3 ft high and 3 ft wide. The leaves are a blueish or yellow-green and grow in a basal rosette (circular arrangement). The flowering stalk of the agave typically grows up to 12 ft and produces pale yellow flowers. After the flowers drop, small bulbils form on the bloom stalk, but sets no viable seed (3).
Ethnobotany:
Food:
Agaves have historically been highly valued plants by indigenous peoples of the Sonoran Desert as an important food source. Traditionally, the Tohono O'odham obtained agave from the Santa Rosa, Santa Rita, and Santa Catalina mountains, or through trade. Agave plants have large amounts of stored carbohydrates in the time immediately before flowering, so the optimal time to harvest agave for food is right before the stalk emerges. Agave hearts and heads (meristems) are harvested and baked, which converts the stored starches into sugars. These baked heads can be eaten or chewed immediately, or they may be dried, pounded into tortilla-sized cakes, and stored for later consumption. Agave syrup, a sugar alternative growing in popularity, can be produced by cooking down the baked agave hearts in water. Mescal, a distilled liquor made from the baked heart or meristem, emerged from northern Mexico; although, the term mescal is an indigenous word that can refer to the plant or its cooked parts. A. murpheyi was and is prized for its particularly sweet taste, large size, and ease in harvesting and processing. While all agaves have mildly to moderately caustic leaves, the leaves of A. murpheyi are less caustic and therefore easier to handle. Additionally, the leaves contain fine fibers that lead to rot resistance. While some species of agave are less valued for food and more valued for fiber, the Tohono O'odham people designated A. murpheyi a "food a'ud" rather than a "rope a'ud." (1)
Other:
Agaves have traditionally been used for food, beverages, syrup, fiber, clothing, sandals, nets, blankets, medicines, soaps, and musical instruments. A. murpheyi is grown as ornamentals and as hedgerows. (1)
References:
- Hodgson, W.C. (2001). Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Print.
- https://toccatlas.plantpress.net/index.htm
- Jones, W. and Sacamano, C. (2000). Landscape Plants for Dry Regions. Tucson, AZ. Fisher Books LLC. Print
- Hiatus Tequila
- Lancaster, B. (2006) Rainwater harvesting for drylands and beyond. Tucson, AZ. RainSource Press.
For more information on this plant, see the Campus Arboretum species description pages.
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