The Desert Agave (Agave deserti var. deserti) is native to southern California and Baja California, Mexico and is one of the most drought-tolerant agaves.

Usually growing in tight clumps, its leaves are a gray-bluish green with toothed edges and often banded with various colors across the width of the leaves. These leaves take on a concave or curved shape, harnessing and directing any water or moisture that may appear on them into the center of the plant.

In order to conserve energy, the Desert Agave will only reproduce one time during its lifetime and will die after blooming just once.

To learn more about native plants in southern California and the Desert Agave, visit the San Diego Natural History Museum’s San Diego County Plant Atlas.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jeannie Gregory, SDNHM