A member of Asparagaceae, A. atrovirens is the largest of all Agaves (each leaf can weigh 100 lbs!). Agave has many important practical uses. While this species is used in tequila production, the fiber from its leaves can be used for making rope, and the nectar is used as a natural sweetener. The flowering stem can be roasted and eaten. In addition to edible uses, the plant is grown on the edge of fields and steep cultivated slopes as a fence and to fix the soil. According to ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan, A. atrovirens has been a survival essential in the Arizona-Mexico borderlands region for more than 8,000 years.