agave

Agaves are desert plants from the New World. They normally flower once when they reach maturity – which in some species may take as long as 60 years – and then die. Fibres such as sisal can be produced from some species, and the alcoholic drink tequila is made from others.

Any of several related plants with stiff, sword-shaped, spiny leaves arranged in a rosette. All species come from the warmer parts of the New World. They include Agave sisalana, whose fibres are used for rope making, and the Mexican century plant A. americana, which may take many years to mature (hence its common name). Alcoholic drinks such as tequila and pulque are made from the sap of agave plants. (Genus Agave, family Agavaceae.)