Agave parryi Engelm.
Barrel agave, Parry’s agave
Varieties of Parry’s agave are native to Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico.
Plants: Rosettes reach 6–36″ tall ⨉ 10–34″ around (15–91 ⨉ 25–86 cm), and resemble giant artichokes.
Leaves: 10–16″ long ⨉ 3–5″ wide (25–40 ⨉ 7.6–12 cm), gray-green, and flat or somewhat oval in shape, tapering to a sharp dark tan, brown, or black tip. They are smooth and rigid, about ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) thick, edged with teeth, light grayish- or bluish-green.
Flowers: Somewhere between the ages of 10 and 30 years, these erect a stalk 10–20′ (3–6.1 m) tall, bearing bright yellow flowers. This concerted effort to reproduce so exhausts the plant that it subsequently dies. Flowers appear from June to August.
Fruits: Seed pods.
Habitats: High deserts, particularly rocky soils and slopes in grasslands, chaparral, pine-oak woodlands; at elevations between 4000–9000′ (1.2–2.7 km).
Edibility: Indigenous peoples including the Apaches prepared this agave in many different ways as a food source. Today it is used to prepare mescal and tequila, the latter a higher quality form of mescal.
References:
Irish, Mary & Irish, Gary, Agaves, Yuccas and Related Plants: A Gardener’s Guide, Timber Press, 2000, p. 146
Online References:
Desert-tropicals.com (Agave parryi var. parryi)
SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network (Agave parryi var. parryi)
The United States Department of Agriculture's Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) (Agave parryi var. parryi)
4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm) 
1/5/2026 · Fort Huachuca, Huachuca Mountain, Arizona · By John W. Kent 
4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Liliidae | Includes lilies, orchids, and many others |
| Order | Asparagales | A diverse group that includes asparagus |
| Family | Asparagaceae | Agaves, asparagus, hyacinths, and others |
| Genus | Agave | From Greek, meaning “noble” |
| Species | parryi | Named for botanist Charles Parry |
Agave parryi description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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