leaves and fibres of ‘‘chahui’’ and the sapogenin-rich 
leaves of ‘‘ahué’” can be easily transported and traded 
throughout the area. On the other hand, food and fer- 
mented beverage made from the members of subgenus 
A gave are prepared and consumed near dwellings and 
‘an not easily be transported (except mescal bread). A. 
polianthiflora is presently known only from Western 
Tarahumara region and adjacent Sonora. fl. americana 
var. evpansa 1s not reported from the Guarijio or Tara- 
humara regions. 
Another significant point is that the species of eave 
here discussed are commoner on the western slopes and 
barrancas of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The diversity 
of species of subgenus f.2ave is greater toward the west 
(cf. Gentry, 1972). The increased diversity of ‘‘imé”’ 
encountered by the westward moving ancestors of West- 
ern Tarahumara could be handled by an expanded no- 
menclature borrowed from an assimilated tribe, such as 
the Guazapar. The language of the Guazapar was said 
to be the same as Guarijio, although it resembled Tara- 
humara (Pennington, 1968: 9). 
Boranical List or A gave 
Subgenus Agave 
Agave americana LL. var. expansa (Jacobi) Gentry, 
U.S.D.A., Agric. Handbook no. 899, p. 80. 1972. 
Western Tarahumara: GALIME (house maguey) 
Mexican: mescal maguey 
This large maguey, cultivated near houses, produces 
easily transplanted sucker shoots or ‘‘ranala’’ (Spanish: 
hijos). Its antiquity among the Western T'arahumara is 
unknown, and it is not reported from any other nearby 
regions of southwestern Chihuahua and adjacent Sonora. 
Gentry (1972: 84) suggests that it was introduced north- 
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