Lechuguilla

The lechuguilla plant is in the agave family (same family as our century plants). Its botanical name, Agave lechuguilla, reflects that relationship. Its beautiful green color and the way the leaves nest into each other and curl back in at the top are both reminiscent of leaf lettuce, hence the name, which means “little lettuce.” Actually, the leaves are thick and leathery and each leaf is tipped with a sharp spine. The lechuguilla leaves have strong fibers, which were used by pre-Columbian people and more recently, Native Americans, to make twine which can be woven into mats and used to make shoes, nets, and the like. The plant is not particularly common in Sutton County—you are much more likely to see it closer to the Pecos River near the Rio Grande, and in New Mexico.

If you ever visit Seminole Canyon, the Texas State Park and Historic Site just east of where the Pecos joins the Rio Grande, you can see mats from lechuguilla fibers on the floor of the Fate Bell shelter.

Based on where I’ve seen (and not seen) lechuguilla plants, you can imagine my surprise when, while taking pictures near the Round Tank, I noticed in the background of  one picture what looked like a couple of lechuguilla plants.

I have personal experiences with lechuguilla from hiking in and near the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. One time I ended up with the tip of a leaf in my shin and although I thought I had pulled it out, I still had a little black spot. About three months later I had a warm, reddish bump in that spot, and then the tiny black tip of the lechuguilla leaf popped out of my leg. No surprise to me, then, when I read that lechuguilla was a danger in the early exploration of the Southwestern U. S, both to horses and to riders unfortunate enough to fall from their horses.

Like the more familiar century plants, it takes several years of stored energy for a lechuguilla to bloom. I read that the plant sends up a stalk as much as 15 feet tall, and a mass of pink or yellow flowers grows on the upper part. In the picture I saw, the flowers looked a lot like those of the sotol.



Perhaps one of these years our lechuguilla plants will bloom. Pink flowers would be nice.