Agave Gracilipes

The Slim-footed agave grows in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico, south New Mexico and west Texas; it can be seen most readily in Big Bend National Park. The agave resembles several other species, having dense clusters of leaves that are greyish-green in color, tipped by a grooved brown/red spine and edged by relatively large teeth about half an inch apart. Plants are quite compact, the leaves around 12 inches long, and each is concave on top and convex underneath, with the curvature more pronounced towards the apex. The flower stalk does not branch, like some comparable species, instead the blooms are borne all along the upper portion.