Common name

Alto

Scientific name

Agave inaequidens

Description

Alto grows as a big, upright rosette, about four to seven feet tall, looking like a crown. ‘Alto’ can also refer to different agaves in different places

Size

4-5 ft (1.22-1.52 m)

States

Ciudad de México; Durango; Estado de México; Hidalgo; Jalisco; Michoacán; Morelos; Sinaloa; Tlaxcala

Geo region

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and adjacent highlands

Terrain

High elevation pine oak and oak forests on rocky slopes and ravines; sometimes xeric scrub margins

Mezcal use

Important regional mezcal species; also domestication ancestor for A. hookeri

Producers

Maguey Melate, Don Mateo, Hacienda de Bañuelos, Mezonte