Agave americana

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Agave americana, commonly known as the century plant,<ref name="BSBI07">Template:BSBI 2007</ref> maguey, or American aloe,<ref>Bailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York.</ref> is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is native to Mexico and the United States, specifically Texas. This plant is widely cultivated worldwide for its ornamental value and has become naturalized in various regions, including Southern California, the West Indies, South America, the Mediterranean Basin, Africa, the Canary Islands, India, China, Thailand, and Australia.<ref name="Irish">Template:Cite book</ref>

Despite being called "American aloe" in common parlance, Agave americana is not closely related to Aloe species.

Description

The common name "century plant" stems from its monocarpic nature of flowering only once at the end of its long life. After flowering, the plant dies but produces adventitious shoots from the base, allowing its growth to continue.<ref name=RHSAZ>Template:Cite book</ref> Although it is called the century plant, it typically lives only 10 to 30 years.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> It has a spread around Template:Convert with gray-green leaves measuring Template:Convert in length, each with a prickly margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce deeply. Towards the end of its life, the plant produces a tall, branched stalk adorned with yellow blossoms, which can reach a height of Template:Convert.Template:Citation needed

On the Mediterranean island of Crete, Greece
Blossoms
'Marginata', a variegated cultivar
Cultivar 'Mediopicta'

Naming

The species was given its binomial name Agave americana by Carl Linnaeus in the first edition of Species Plantarum (1753). This name is the one still in use today.<ref name="GRIN"/>

Cultivation

A. americana is cultivated as an ornamental plant, particularly valued for its large, dramatic mature form. It is often found in modernist, xeriscapes (drought-tolerant), and desert-style cactus gardens. It is popularly used in hot climates and areas prone to drought.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The plant's presence can evoke the ambiance of 18th- to 19th-century Spanish colonial and Mexican provincial areas in the Southwestern United States, California, and xeric regions of Mexico. In dry beach gardens in Florida and coastal areas of the Southeastern United States, it is a favored choice for landscaping.Template:Citation needed

When grown as a houseplant, A. americana is tolerant of light levels ranging from direct sunlight to shade, and requires minimal watering. It undergoes a winter resting period at temperatures around Template:Convert. It thrives in a highly porous, sandy potting soil, should be allowed to dry out between waterings, and should be repotted annually in the spring.<ref>Template:Cite book </ref>

Subspecies and varieties

The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes two subspecies and two varieties of A. americana. Additionally, there are several cultivars, including 'Marginata,' 'Mediopicta,' 'Mediopicta Alba,' 'Mediopicta Aurea,' 'Striata,' and 'Variegata.' Some of these cultivars, along with the parent species, have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Two subspecies and two varieties of A. americana are:<ref name="WCSP">Search for "Agave americana", Template:Cite web</ref>

A. americana subsp. americana
A. americana subsp. protamericana Gentry
A. americana var. expansa (Jacobi) Gentry
A. americana var. oaxacensis Gentry
A. americana var. marginata Trel.

Cultivars include:<ref>Vermeulen, Nico. 1998. The Complete Encyclopedia of Container Plants, pp. 36-37. Netherlands: Rebo International. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Royal Horticultural Society Database : Agave americana Template:Webarchive, retrieved 2011-07-28</ref>

'Marginata' Template:Smallcaps<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with yellow stripes along the margins of each leaf
'Mediopicta' Template:Smallcaps<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with a broad cream central stripe
'Mediopicta Alba' Template:Smallcaps<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with a central white band
'Mediopicta Aurea' with a central yellow band
'Striata' with multiple yellow to white stripes along the leaves
'Variegata' Template:Smallcaps<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with white edges on the leaves.

(those marked Template:Smallcaps, as well as the parent species,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit).

Uses

Tools used to obtain agave's ixtle fibers, at the Museo de Arte Popular, Mexico City, D.F.

Cuisine

Agave americana has various uses starting in pre-Columbian Mexico. If the flower stem is cut before flowering, a sweet liquid known as aguamiel ("Template:Lit) can be collected from the plant's hollowed heart. This liquid can be fermented to produce the alcoholic drink called pulque or octli used in pre-Columbian Mexico.<ref name="HLAW">Template:Cite book</ref>

In the tequila-producing regions of Mexico, agaves are known as mezcales. Mezcal refers to the high-alcohol product obtained through fermented agave distillation, and A. americana is among the several Agave species used for this purpose. The specific mezcal known as tequila is produced from Agave tequilana, commonly referred to as "blue agave." Mezcal comes in various types, some of which may be flavored with the intensely pungent mezcal worm.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mezcal and tequila, despite being produced from agave plants, differ from pulque in their sugar extraction techniques and classification as distilled spirits. In mezcal and tequila production, the sugars are obtained by heating the piñas (or hearts) of the plants in ovens, as opposed to collecting aguamiel from the cut stalk of the plant. Therefore, if pulque were to be distilled, it would not be classified as mezcal but rather as a distinct beverage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Agaves are also found throughout Latin America and are used in similar ways. In Ecuador, the equivalent of pulque is known as guarango, which has recently been distilled as miske.

Agave nectar is marketed as a natural sweeteners with a low glycemic index, primarily due to its high fructose content.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fibers

The leaves of A. americana yield fibers called pita, which are suitable for making ropes, nets, bags, sacks, matting, and coarse cloth. They are also used for leather embroidery in a technique known as piteado.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Both pulque and maguey fiber played significant roles in the pre-Columbian economy of Mexico.<ref name="HLAW"/>

Medicine

Agave americana contains agavose, a sugar that is isomeric (similar) to sucrose (Template:Format molecular formula)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but with reduced sweetening power, as well as agavasaponins and agavosides.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is used in traditional medicine to treat various ailments,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and as a laxative, diuretic, and diaphoretic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, a comprehensive review of research literature using systematic methods (scientific review) did not find sufficient data to support its effectiveness or safety.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is important to note that A. americana can cause severe allergic dermatitis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Heraldry

The plant holds heraldic significance and is featured in the coat of arms of Don Diego de Mendoza, a Native American governor of the village of Ajacuba, Hidalgo.<ref>pacbell.net/nelsnfam/mexico Template:Webarchive</ref>

Art

Additionally, the Aztecs used the pulped leaves of A. americana to create paper.<ref name="HLAW" /> The fragments known as the Humboldt fragments were made using this technique.<ref name="WAM">Template:Cite book</ref>

References

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External links

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