Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

AGAVE

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 371 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

AGAVE , a large botanical genus of the natural See also:

order Amaryllidaceae, chiefly Mexican, but occurring also in the See also:southern and western See also:United States and in central and tropical See also:South See also:America. The See also:plants have a large rosette of thick fleshy leaves generally ending in a See also:sharp point and with a spiny margin; the stout See also:stem is usually See also:short, the leaves apparently springing from the See also:root. They grow slowly and See also:flower but once after a number of years, when a tall stem or " See also:mast " grows from the centre of the See also:leaf-rosette and bears a large number of shortly tubular See also:flowers. After development of See also:fruit the plant See also:dies down, but suckers are frequently produced from the See also:base of the stem which become new plants. The most See also:familiar See also:species is Agave americana (see fig.), a native of tropical America, the so-called See also:century plant or See also:American See also:aloe (the maguey of See also:Mexico). The .number of years before flowering occurs depends on the vigour of the individual, the richness of the See also:soil and the See also:climate; during these years the plant is storing in its fleshy leaves the nourishment required for the effort of flowering. During the development of the inflor-escence there is a See also:rush of See also:sap to the base of the See also:young flower-stalk. In the See also:case of A. americana and other species this is used by the Mexicans to make their See also:national beverage, See also:pulque; the flower shoot is cut out and the sap collected and subsequently fermented. By See also:distillation a spirit called mescal is prepared. The leaves of several species yield fibre, as for instance, A. rigida See also:var. sisalana, sisal See also:hemp (q.v.), A. decipiens, false sisal hemp; A. americana is the source of pita fibre, and is used as a fibre plant in Mexico, the See also:West Indies and southern See also:Europe. The flowering stem of the last named, dried and cut in slices, forms Agave americana, Century plant or American aloe. About 4 nat. See also:size.

1, Flower; 2, same flower split open above the ovary; 3, ovary cut across; 1, 2, and 3, about i nat. size. From the Botanical See also:

Magazine, by permission of See also:Lovell See also:Reeve and Co. natural See also:razor strops, and the expressed juice of the leaves will lather in See also:water like See also:soap. In the See also:Madras See also:Presidency the plant is extensively used for hedges along railroads. Agave americana, century plant, was introduced into Europe about the See also:middle of the 16th century and is now widely cultivated for its handsome See also:appearance; in the variegated forms the leaf has a See also:white or yellow marginal or central stripe from base to See also:apex. As the leaves unfold from the centre of the rosette the impression of the marginal spines is very conspicuous on the still erect younger leaves. The plants are usually grown in tubs and put out in the summer months, but in the See also:winter require to be protected from See also:frost. They mature very slowly and See also:die after flowering, but are easily propagated by the offsets from the base of the stem.

End of Article: AGAVE

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
AGATHYRSI 		[next]
AGDE

Site © 2006 - Net Industries