Jed Weingarten / Wild Wonders of China / Snow leopard (Uncia uncia) with Bharal (Pseudois nayaur) prey, Serxu County, Garze Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China.

Rob Tilley / Agave (Agave sp.) leaf close-up detail. Maui, Hawaii, February.

Rob Tilley / Agave close up abstract (Agave sp) Botanical Garden, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Rob Tilley / Close up of Agave leaves (Agave macroacantha)Botanical Garden, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Agave (Agave palmeri) plants growing amongst long grass, Sands Ranch Conservation Area, Pima Country, Arizona, USA

Jack Dykinga / Gopher snake (Pituophis sp) amongst Lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) and prickly pear cacti (Opuntia macrocentra), Maderas del Carmen Natural Reserve, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Agave (Agave montana) in mountain habitat in the Sierra Madre Oriental range, Nolina (Nolina sp), Madrone and Pine (Pinus sp) also present, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Close-up of Agave (Agave montana) with red thorns / spines and interesting patternation on blades, Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Looking down into the leaves of an Agave plant {Agave utahensis} with Pinyon pine cone {Pinus edulis}, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona, USA

Denis-Huot / Cattle in Sisal (Agave sisalana) fields, near lake Bogoria, Kenya, March 2011

Martin Gabriel / Lion's Tail / Swan's Neck (Agave attenuata) in flower. La Palma Island, Canary Islands, Spain, February.

Rob Tilley / Agave (Agave sp.) leaf close-up detail. Maui, Hawaii, February.

Toby Roxburgh / Agave (Agave genus) and Palms (Palmae) growing in the Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech, Morocco, March 2010.

Hermann Brehm / Sisal plantation {Agave sp} Berenti, Madagascar

Jouan & Rius / Sisal (Agave sp.) processing factory for manufacturing rope, Berenty Private Reserve, Madagascar

Jouan & Rius / Woman working in a Sisal (Agave sp.) processing factory for manufacturing rope, Berenty Private Reserve, Madagascar

Jack Dykinga / Servilletta Canyon's walls with Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba) trees, bromeliads (Bromeliad sp), agaves (Agave sp) and Prickly pear cacti (Opuntia sp). Tamaulipas, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Agave / Harvard's Century Plant (Agave havardiana) beside a stream in San Isidro Canyon. Maderas del Carmen Natural Preserve, Coahuila, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Giant Sabino tree (Taxodium sp) with agaves (Agave sp) growing on its branches, beside a pool at Minas Viejas Falls in San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Close-up of two Agaves (Agave utahensis) in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Jack Dykinga / Agave (Agave montana) and Madrone (Arbutus sp) at an altitude of 9200ft at the top of El Borrado in the Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico

Jouan & Rius / Sisal (Agave sp.) field with plants flowering, South Madagascar

Hermann Brehm / Sisal leaves {Agave sp} harvested for sisal production, Berenti, Madagascar

Hermann Brehm / Sisal fibres {Agave sp} collected together for sisal production, Berenti, Madagascar

Hermann Brehm / Sisal fibres {Agave sp} being baled together for sisal production, Berenti, Madagascar

Hermann Brehm / Sisal fibres {Agave sp} being baled together for sisal production, Berenti, Madagascar

Rob Tilley / Agave (Agave genus), Phoenix Botanical Gardens, Arizona, USA. April 2006

Rob Tilley / Agave (Agave genus) close-up, Desert Botanical Museum, Phoenix, Arizona

Rob Tilley / Close up of {Agave sp} leaf, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Philippe Clement / Parry's Century Plant (Agave parryi). Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, USA

Philippe Clement / Parry's Century Plant (Agave parryi). Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, USA

Philippe Clement / Parry's Century Plant (Agave parryi). Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, USA

Philippe Clement / Parry's Century Plant (Agave parryi). Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, USA 2007

Jack Dykinga / Agave (Agave montana) and Soyata tree (Nolina sp) in the mountain habitat of the Sierra Madre Oriental range, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Agave (Agave lophantha) on rock face with red flowering Bouvardia sp, Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Close-up of Agave (Agave montana) with red thorns / spines and interesting patternation on blades, Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Close-up of Agave (Agave montana) with red thorns / spines and interesting patternation on blades, Madrone and Oak trees in background, Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Flowering Pincushion / Fishhook cactus {Mammillaria sp} and Agave {Agave sp} nr Catavina, Desierto Central, Baja California, Mexico

Jack Dykinga / Agaves {Agave palmeri} in grassland, Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona, USA

Simon Colmer / Molded wax agave flower (Echeveria agavoides), from Mexico

Philippe Clement / Close-up of Agave thorns {Agave salmiana}, Botanical gardens, Belgium.

Patricio Robles Gil / Agave plant {Agave sp} Coahuila, Mexico

Patricio Robles Gil / Agaves {Agave sp} + Ocotillos {Fonquiera sp} Chihuahuan desert, Mexico

Patricio Robles Gil / Agave cactus {Agave sp} Sierra del Carmen, Coahuilla, Mexico