Product Description

A definitive reference by the recognized authority on the genus, combining taxonomic information with ethnobotanical insights.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #575583 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 670 pages

From the Inside Flap
New in paperback Spring 2004, this is an indispensable guide to agaves. The uses of agaves are as many as the arts of man have found it convenient to devise. At least two races of man have invaded Agaveland during the last ten to fifteen thousand years, where, with the help of agaves, they contrived several successive civilizations. The region of greatest use development is Mesoamerica. Here the great genetic diversity in a genus rich in use potential came into the hands of several peoples who developed the main agricultural center of the Americas. Perhaps, as the Aztec legends suggest, it was the animals that first showed man the edibility of agave. Evolution in use ranges all the way from the coincidental and spurious, through tool and food-drink subsistence with mystical overlay, to the practical specialties of modem industry and art. The historic period of agave will be outlined here as briefly as that complicated development will allow.

From the Back Cover
"A valuable source for professional botanists, ethnologists, and horticulturalists." --American Reference Books Annual "Based on twenty-five years of research on the genus Agave, this book combines an authoritative taxonomic treatment and extensive ethnobotanical information with an attractive, readable text which has much to offer both scientists and laypersons. . . . Gentry has gathered together enough material on agave taxonomy, distribution, ethnobotany and cultivation to make two or three books and presented it in an informative and engaging fashion." --Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science "A total of 136 species (197 taxa) are carefully described [with] detailed notes on their native habitat and economic usages, all of which is presented in a most readable manner. It is a book to browse through and enjoy." --Journal of Arid Environments "Professional taxonomists will need the book for the 23 new taxa and 13 changes in taxonomic status that are described. Field biologists can rejoice in the regional keys and easily discernable key characters." --Quarterly Review of Biology "Because of the importance of agaves in desert gardening throughout the world, many gardeners will also find this book a much needed guide through what has until now been a most confusing complex of species and varieties." --American Horticulturalist "It is a publication which all serious collectors of succulent plant books must have, and will clearly become a classic reference book on this neglected genus." --British Cactus and Succulent Journal

About the Author
Howard Scott Gentry (1903-1993) was recognized as the world's leading authority on agaves. His principal works include Río Mayo Plants of Sonora-Chihuahua, The Agave Family of Sonora, and The Agaves of Baja California.

Customer Reviews

The Bible of the Agaves is back in print!
Back by Popular Demand The University of Arizona Press called this week, to let me know that they have reprinted Dr. Howard Scott Gentry's Bible of the Agaves..."Agaves of Continental North America." This book, originally printed in 1982, is an indispensable guide to the Agaves, a group of plants that have been used by the people of Mesoamerica for well over 9,000 years. With a copy of this book in your fat little hands, you can learn how to brew up a few cups of killer Mescal and weave a mat to rest on while you contemplate the authority of your brew... Dr. Gentry gave twenty-five years of his life to the Agaves, conducting field research from central Nevada south to the islands off the coast of Panama. Widely recognized as the world's leading authority on the Agaves, Dr. Gentry was an agricultural explorer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more than 30 years. I first met Dr. Gentry while on a field trip in Mexico in the late `50's. I was asked to be his mailman. I delivered mail from the U.S. to him and took mail back to post from El Paso. I learned more about the Agave family in one night around the campfire than I could have learned in two semesters at a University. I was invited to a reception honoring Dr. Gentry back in 1982 at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. The occasion was a giant celebration of the publication of the book Agaves of Continental North America. Part of the funding for the book was from a grant from the National Academy of Science. A day after the reception, Dr. Gentry took me over to his office to share some field data and photos with me. When I asked Dr. Gentry about the fine points of funding research and writing, he smiled and said: "You know, I would rather re-write the entire book and do all of the field work all over again than I would fill out all the paper work necessary to obtain funding from the National Academy." Dr. Gentry's book is one of those rare books that speak to the scholar and to the layman. Every serious student of desert plants needs a copy of this book. I know that Dr. Gentry is in Agave heaven, visiting with Mayahuel, the Goddess of Agaves and together, they are profusely thanking the University of Arizona Press, for this important reprint!

One of the classic books on agaves: a resource.
Exhaustive, well-written, highly-detailed, indispensible for a correct classification of agaves. Nothing currently in print is as authoratative and complete

A must have!!!
This is simple the "Bible" for the Agave enthusiasts, an obligate reference for any serious work with this genus...