Common English Names: Lechuguilla, Shindagger

Common Spanish Names: Lechuguilla

Scientific Name: Agave lechuguilla (a-GA-vee lay-chew-GHEE-uh) Family: Agavaceae (Agave Family)


Range: Throughout the Chihuahuan Desert in Trans-Pecos Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Mexico south to Hidalgo. almost always on limestone.


Plant Form: Perennial shrub 2' x 2' Description: Endemic indicator plant for the Chihuahuan Desert; basal rosette of narrow semi-succulent yellow-green leaves with short recurved marginal spines and a stout, sharp, terminal spine; produces purplish to yellow flowers on 3-12 ft stalk after 3 to 5 years; dies after flowering; the nectar is a great nutrient in the diet of insects, bats, and some birds.  Spreads by suckers (pups); prefers dry, alkaline, limestone soils; roots eaten by deer and javelina, toxic to livestock. Very low water, full sun, fully hardy.


The leaves are tough and rigid, with very sharp, hardened points which can easily penetrate clothing and even leather (thus the colloquial name Shin-daggers).


The water stored in this plant, rich in salts and minerals, is often sold in Mexico as a sport drink, though the plant itself is poisonous to cattle, goats, and sheep.


Native Americans living in the Southwestern Deserts have often used the fibers from the succulent leaves to make ropes and mats