Agave utahensis Engelm.

Plants acaulescent, suckering or not; rosettes solitary or sparingly cespitose, 1.5–6 × 1.5–10 dm. Leaves ascending, 12–50 × 1–5.5 cm; blade grayish green to yellowish green or green, without bud-prints, linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, stiff, adaxially plane or concave toward apex, abaxially convex toward base; margins straight or undulate, nonfiliferous, conspicuously armed, horny from distalmost teeth to apical spine, teeth single, 2–12(–15) mm, 1–4 cm apart, rarely absent; apical spine light gray to ivory white, acicular or subulate, 2–20 cm. Scape 1.7–5 m. Inflorescences spicate, racemose or narrowly paniculate, open to densely flowered; bracts caducous, narrowly triangular, 4–8 cm; lateral branches 50+, horizontal to slightly ascending, comprising distal 1/2–2/3 of inflorescence, shorter than 10 cm. Flowers 2–12 per cluster, erect, urceolate, 2.3–4.3 cm; perianth yellow, tube campanulate, 1–4 × 6.5–11.5 mm, limb lobes connivent, erect, subequal, 7–12 mm; stamens slightly exserted; filaments inserted at or 1–3 mm above base of perianth tube, erect, white, 1.3–2.4 cm; anthers pale yellow, 5–12 mm; ovary 1.2–2.9 cm, neck constricted, 3.5–8.5(–10) mm. Capsules pedicellate, oblong to ovoid, 1–2.5 cm, apex beaked. Seeds 2–4 mm.

It is a temperate to subtropical plant. It grows naturally in south-western North America in the Grand Canyon on dry stony limestone slopes between 1000-1500 metres. It suits hardiness zones 7-11.

The bulb of the root is roasted and eaten. The heart of the plant can be eaten after baking. It is sweet but fibrous. The seed is ground into flour and used to thicken soups. The flower stalk can be roasted and used like asparagus. The roots are eaten cooked. Sap from the cut flowering stems can be used as a syrup. It is fermented into an alcoholic drink. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer.

Plants can be grown from seed. Seed should be sown on the surface and germinate in 1-3 months at 20°C. The seedlings should be grown in a sunny position until 20 cm tall. Plants can also be grown from offshoots.