Agave americana

by Thomas Medland 1799]]

Agave americana, commonly known as the Century Plant, is an agave originally from Mexico but cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant. It has since naturalised in many regions and grows wild in Europe, South Africa, India, and Australia.

Description

It has a spreading rosette (about wide) of gray-green leaves up to long, each with a spiny margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce to the bone. Its common name derives from its habit of only occasionally flowering, but when it does, the spike with a cyme of big yellow flowers may reach up to in height. The plant dies after flowering, but produces suckers or adventitious shoots from the base, which continue its growth. The average lifespan is around 10 years.

Cultivated varieties include the "marginata" with yellow stripes along the margins of each leaf, "medio-picta alba" with a central white band, "medio-picta aurea" with a central yellow band, "striata" with multiple yellow to white stripes along the leaves, and "variegata" with white edges on the leaves.

Taxonomy and naming

Agave americana was one of the many species first described by the father of taxonomy Carl Linnaeus, and appeared in the 1753 edition of Species Plantarum.

It is known by a variety of common names, including Century plant and maguey. It is also known as the American Aloe, although it is in a different family from the true aloes.

Subspecies

Agave americana var. americana

Agave americana var. expansa

Agave americana var. latifolia

Agave americana var. oaxacensis

Agave americana ssp. protamericana

Uses

If the flower stem is cut without flowering, a sweet liquid called agua miel ("honey water") gathers in the heart of the plant. This may be fermented to produce the drink called pulque. The leaves also yield fibers, known as pita, which are suitable for making rope, matting, coarse cloth and are used for embroidery of leather in a technique known as piteado. Both pulque and maguey fibre were important to the economy of pre-Columbian Mexico. Production continues today to a much lesser extent. Agave nectar (also called agave syrup) has recently been marketed as a healthful natural sugar substitute.

The sap is quite acidic and can be quite painful if it comes in contact with the skin. It can form small blisters.

Tequila is made from a different species, the Blue Agave (A. tequilana).

Pictures

Heraldry

The plant figures in the coat of arms of Don Diego de Mendoza, a Native American governor of the village of Ajacuba, Hidalgo.

See also

Purpuric agave dermatitis

Agave nectar

Maguey worm

Mezcal

Piteado

Pulque

References

americana Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Medicinal plants Category:Fiber plants Category:Crops originating from Mexico Category:Flora of Texas Category:Flora of Coahuila Category:Flora of Tamaulipas Category:Flora of Nuevo León Category:Flora of San Luis Potosí Category:Flora of Pakistan