A true multipurpose plant, providing food, medicine and many commodities for the people who live in its arid environment. Agave produces clusters of yellow flowers, growing to three inches across and bloom on a polelike stem after ten years or more. The compound in the agave plant, known as saponins, acts as a cleaning agent. Christopher shares with Mo the many uses of this uniquely Southwestern plant, the agave. According to the website Weeds of Australia (2016) , these species can be distinguished by the following differences: Incredibly beautiful and majestic, Agave americana (Century Plant) is a very large, evergreen perennial forming handsome rosettes of thick, spiny-edged, blue-green leaves, up to 6 ft. long (180 cm). This plant has very attractive blue-green leaves with conspicuous toothed spines. The sap is then fermented into a drink called pulque, and can then be distilled to make the spirit mescal (a related plant, the blue agave, is used to produce tequila). Agave americana special feature. Each plant typically forms a large, evergreen basal rosette of thick, succulent, lanceolate, gray-green leaves. The juice of the plant has antiseptic, wound-healing, and anti-inflammatory properties. It having many uses, one of them is for extracting the fiber from their leaves. Century Plant; Spanish: Maguey, Lechuguilla, Mescal Agave americana, American Agave, American Aloe, Amerikanische Agave, Century Plant, Garingboom, Hundertjährige Agave, Maguey, Pita Común, Pite, Spreading Century Plant, Wild Century Plant. The leaves are used to make mats. Culinary. Agave has been taken by mouth for constipation, indigestion, flatulence, jaundice, cancer, and diarrhea; to promote labor; and to promote urine production. Agave: The two largest agave producers in the world are Mexico and South Africa. Botanical Name. Agave americana var. Common uses. Agave zonata Trel. Agave americana L (AA) is one naturalised plant growing in abundance in Swaziland. Apart from this, you can also try agave for the preparation of soap. Plant uses were included into nine categories . The category with more diversity of uses and records was Materials. Agave americana is sometimes grown as a hedge. It has long been used in Central America to treat burns, bruises, minor cuts, injuries, and skin irritation caused by insect bites. Agave americana in bloom in Portugal: The flower stalk may reach up to 8 m (26 ft) in height.. Agave americana, common names sentry plant, century plant, [4] maguey or American aloe, [5] is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Mexico, and the United States in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.Today, it is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant. Agave americana is a rosette-forming perennial succulent that is native to Mexico. Ethnobotany of Agave americana. A thick row of century plants is virtually impenetrable to humans and animals. Agave is a plant found in parts of the US, as well as Mexico, Central and South America, the Mediterranean, and some parts of India. Caution: Toxins known in the genus includes haemolytic saponins, acrid volatile oils, oxalic acid, and oxalates. If the flower stem is cut without flowering, a sweet liquid called agua miel ("honey water") gathers in the heart of the plant. A. americana may be easily confused with other agave and hemp species such as Agave sisalana, Agave angustifolia, Furcraea foetida and Furcraea selloa. oaxacensis; Agave americana ssp. The native American agave (Agave americana) survives the best in arid, subtropical regions. Tools used to obtain agave's ixtle fibers, at the Museo de Arte Popular, Mexico City D.F. MEDICINAL USES: There are many uses for Agave in Mexican folk medicine. The name is commonly applied to A. americana, which is grown as an ornamental in many places and is a source of the fibre maguey and of “ agave nectar” used as a sweetener. Agave americana is an evergreen, succulent plant forming a large, rosette of sharply-pointed leaves a metre or more long and a flowering stem that can be 7 metres or more tall. The pointed and sharp ends of the leaves are used as nails and needles. This plant is known to some as the century plant, because it is thought to flower only once every 100 years; however, this is misleading as it usually flowers after 20-30 years of storing enormous food reserves in its leaves and then dies. Uses. The wild native Agave Americana is bluish in color and from Mexico. The leaves of Agave Americana and Agave Sislana are used in making paper and weaving mats. Aloe americana (L.) Crantz: Agave americana L. is an accepted name: A gave, derived from the scientific name is the adopted common name for most agave species: (1) Magey, maguey, agave, Agave americana (2) Agave, sword agave, Agave vivipara L. Blue Agave: Blue agave is a vital cash crop in Jalisco, Mexico. Agave Americana. Then juice is extracted from core of agave known as piña. The flower … Agave americana uses Fresh sap may cause skin irritation or dermatitis. The older leaves often gracefully arch down, suggesting motion, which makes the garden even more intriguing. Uses of Agave americana. Agave: Agave is used as a vegan alternative to honey during cooking. The common variety is the solid bluish color. Agave americana is regarded as an environmental weed in several parts Aloe americana (L.) Crantz : Agave americana L. is an accepted name The Plant List: Agave, derived from the scientific name is the adopted common name for most agave species: (1) Magey, maguey, agave, Agave americana (2) Agave, sword agave, Agave vivipara L. There is no authentic record regarding the exact origin of this type, but most of the sources say that it derived from Mexico. Agave Americana is the cheaply available plant which commonly known as "Aloevera". It is also used as an ornamental plant and its flowering stems can be used for fencing. Century plant, any of several species of Agave in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). Agave Americana is having the different uses; one of them is for the fiber extraction. It is famous for the tequila that is made from the cooked plant hearts. The juice is filtered and heated in order to break polysaccharides into simple sugars. Like the coconut in India, all the parts of the Agave Americana are used by the local people. Prickles along the leaf margins and the sharp apical spines can cause severe injury to humans and animals. Presented in a massive rosette shape , its smooth, fibrous leaves are gray-blue to blue-green with spines at their tips and margins; the … Agave angustifolia, known as Caribbean agave; consumed as food and aguamiel (sweet sap) ; A. fourcroydes or henequen; grown primarily for its fiber; A. inaequidens, called maguey alto because of its height or maguey bruto because the presence of saponins in its tissue can cause dermatitis; 30 different uses including food and aguamiel; A. hookeri, also called maguey alto, is used … It is also grown as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. (Hutchings et.al.) The agave grows up to 6 feet … The leaves and juice are applied externally to treat open wounds, snake bites, toothache, venereal disease, and other inflammations of the tissues. It is used as an ornamental, for fodder, medicinally, agriculturally and for erosion control. The roots, sap, and juice of agave are used to make medicine. Family Agavaceae; Agave americana; Common Names. Man has been harvesting and utilizing agaves for approximately 9,000 years. Economic and other uses. There are many variegated forms, such as the American Marginata Amave. It often grows as tall as 6 feet (183 cm) . (Brown) Administered to people: The Zulus use A. americana to treat chest pains and asthma. Soaps, as well as alcoholic beverages, are made from this plant. Fructan, a polymer of fructose molecules, is the main polysaccharide. Ancient hieroglyphics were inscribed on the leaves, macerated in water and glued together as the bark of paper mulberry.” Peeling the leaves and allowing them to … Environmental and other impacts. The American Century Plant Agave or Maguey in Mexico is usually called Agave Americana. Uses of Agave Americana. In Mexico drinks are made by cutting off the flower head and collecting the rising sap - as much as 1000 litres per plant! Agave americana is commonly grown for ornamental purposes, although it does have a few more interesting uses.In Central America, the plant is used as fencing to keep livestock contained and trespassers at bay. Agave is a plant found in parts of the US, as well as Mexico, Central and South America, the Mediterranean, and some parts of India. The huge plant comprised a huge part of primitive man’s diet. Agave americana has many uses. What is Agave? It is also used as a sweetener for cold beverages such as iced tea and some breakfast cereals. According to Scientific Americana, “the agave holds the place of Asiatic hemp and Egyptian papyrus. Agave americana is the most prevalent species of the genus Agave.Its excellent adaptation ability has helped it spread worldwide regardless of hot or cold climate. It has been introduced and has naturalized in a number of tropical areas around the world. Century plant (Agave americana) Agave americana, also referred to as the centuryplant or maugey, is a large and majestic flowering plant from the Agave family.This species is originally native to the southwestern US and Mexico. Its leaves are sometimes used medicinally or grown for their fibres. Agavaceae Agave americana L. American Century Plant Pima - Food, Starvation Food Use documented by: Russell, Frank, 1908, The Pima Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #26:1-390, page 70 View all documented uses for Agave americana L. You can also use the sharp tip of Agave americana as a needle. This large white striped form of the Agave is of horticulture origin and it is the Agave you see most in Hawaii landscapes. The plant based fibers are cellulosic in nature and are classified as hard and soft fibers. Agave syrup is produced by cutting off the leaves of A. tequilana and Agave Americana plants after grown for seven to fourteen years. It gives a … Ethno Medicinal Uses of Agave americana. 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