Agave

“ Look at the marvellous giant leaves of the juicy maguey, or agave, as long as a man, and see the peon insert his siphon to the heart of the plant to draw forth its sap, which he blows into the goatskin on his back, and from which he will presently make his pulque. ”

“ Associated with the prickly-pear is a species of agave, but this does not grow so large in Arizona as it does farther south in Mexico. The plant is familiar to us as the common century plant of our gardens. The long fleshy leaves with spines at the ends are clustered at the surface of the ground, and from their centre, at blooming time, rises a tall flower stalk. The agave requires many years to mature. When the flower stalk has once started it grows rapidly, but after blossoming the plant dies. ”

“ The Agave, called by the natives Maguey, is certainly an extraordinary instance of succulency, and an unrivalled acquisition to a thirsty population. A single plant of the Agave has been known to supply one hundred and fifty gallons of this sap. In good land it grows to an enormous size, the centre stem often thirty feet high, and twelve or fifteen inches in diameter at the bottom. When the plant is in flower, which occurs from seven to fifteen years old, the centre stem is cut off at the bottom, and the juice is collected. ”

“ Evil days were coming to the Toltecs.
The traveller in Mexico to-day sees growing all along the sides of the railway huge stiff bunches of the Agave Americana. The leaves are long and pointed with prickles along the edge, growing in a tuft like huge artichokes. Their blue, rather than green, surface has a whitish bloom over it, which makes the plants look as if they had been made of tin and painted some time ago. Sometimes the leaves are very large, and the bunches enormous. ”

“ The agave matures very slowly, needing about ten years of growth to become productive. The Indians who have watched it know to a day when the blossom will be ready for the knife. The whole heart of the plant is then cut out, leaving nothing but the stiff outside circle of leaves. Into the deep cavity thus left oozes the sap, which is carefully dipped out two or three times each day. The basin of the wounded plant will hold a pailful of the sweet honey-water. ”

“ The very sight of them sets one to moralizing. Like the beautiful but treacherous poppy fields which dazzle one in India, they are only too thrifty, too fruitful, too ready to yield up their heart's blood for the pleasure, delusion, and ruin of the people. We are all familiar with the broad, long, bayonet-like leaf of this plant, which is to be seen in most of our conservatories, known to us by the name of the century plant, and to botanists as the Agave Americana. It rarely blooms except in tropical climates. ”

“ Pulque is the fermented juice of the agave, or so-called century plant, which matures in from five to fifteen years, instead of one hundred as generally believed. It grows wild here, but large plantations of it are cultivated. ”

“ In any of these where the agave is old and has had most of its leaves cut away, he can find what he wants. From some of the plants a long stalk-like stem will be seen shooting up from the centre, and this will have thrown out branches from which the seeds have grown and fallen to the ground. ”

“ The agave is native in the whole region between the tropics of America, where it flourishes from the sandy soil by the sea to table-lands and mountain altitudes. From its, natural region it has been transplanted everywhere, and even in cold climates it is cultivated as a green-house plant. ”

“ Among naked rocks, in the most barren parts of the desert wilderness, the wild agave may be found growing in luxuriance. Its thick, succulent blades, when split open, exude a cool liquid, that often gives considerable relief to the thirsty traveller ”

“ They are cacti. It is a forest of the Mexican nopal. Another singular plant is here. It throws out long, thorny leaves that curve downward. It is the agave, the far-famed mezcal-plant of Mexico. Here and there, mingling with the cacti, are trees of acacia and mezquite, the denizens of the desert-land. No bright object relieves the eye; no bird pours its melody into the ear. The lonely owl flaps away into the impassable thicket, the rattlesnake glides under its scanty shade, and the coyote skulks through its silent glades. ”

“ Agave, a-gā′ve, n. a genus of herbaceous plants, natives of the warmer parts of America, which in Mexico usually flower about the seventh or eighth year, the stem rising to a height of forty feet. It is called also the American Aloe and Century Plant, receiving the latter name from the number of years (40-60, popularly a hundred) it takes to flower in our hot-houses.
Agazed, a-gāzd′, adj. (Shak.) struck with amazement. [Prob. a variant of Aghast.] ”

“ The stem of the agave seems enormous in size when one considers that it is the growth of a few weeks. This plant is said to make a mighty effort to flower and mature its seeds and then to die of exhaustion. Now there is not, so far as I have seen, a mighty effort or the need of one, in wild Nature. She accomplishes her ends without unquiet effort, and perhaps there is nothing more mighty in the development of the flower-stem of the agave than in the development of a grass panicle.
Havana has a fine botanical garden. ”

“ Nearly all its reputed uses actually refer to different if sometimes superficially similar plants which have been mistaken for it, and the literature of 'Agave Americana' is chaotic enough to tax the patience of even a botanist.
Perhaps the most curious thing that I can say of the real Agave Americana is that nobody knows to-day where to seek it as a spontaneous plant, and, except about the Mediterranean, where it has spread extensively, it seems to be found only as an obvious local escape from cultivation. ”

“ Linnæus, not realizing that all the agaves are American, gave it the specific name of Agave americana. Now there are more than a hundred species on horticulturists' catalogues, but many of these are only varieties. The uses to which these plants are found applicable are constantly increasing. In the United States and Europe they are only garden ornaments. In Mexico they hold the first place as wine plants and as textile plants. The filamentous substance obtained from their leaves is known all over the world as aloes fibers. ”

“ This indeed is not the same plant as the American aloe, better distinguished as the agave, whose flowering stem may rise to the height of half a dozen men, so here we must be content with miniature specimens to fit the Succulent House. Beside this collection stands a greenhouse glowing with bloom inside panes dimmed by frosty fog; then beyond open smaller nurseries of tropical and filmy ferns. Outside, here, is supported a huge wistaria, once wreathing the walls of a conservatory now removed. ”

“ It is the Agave Americana, the same aloe that is so common in southern Europe, where indeed it flowers, and that grows in our gardens and used to have the reputation of flowering once in a hundred years. ”

“ This agave, or American aloe, is the century-plant, so called from the popular error that it blossoms only once in a hundred years. It is only true so far that each plant blossoms only once and then dies. In tropical regions this process proceeds rapidly; in colder countries, where it is raised artificially, it takes a long time to complete its perfect growth. ”

“ There are a number of dwarf species of agave that are not so common, although they may be grown with ease. Such plants add novelty to a collection, and may be used through the summer as noted above or plunged with cactus in a bed of tropical plants. ”

“ Agave plants require a number of years to store sufficient plant foods for the production of the huge flower stalk which grows with amazing rapidity to produce the many flowers and seeds, after which the plant dies. ”

“ There is not a fragment in all nature, for every relative fragment of one thing is a full harmonious unit in itself. All together form the one grand palimpsest of the world.
One of the most common plants of my pasture was the agave. It is sometimes used for fencing. One day, in looking back from the top of the Morro Hill, as I was returning to the Island Belle, I chanced to observe two poplar-like trees about twenty-five feet in height. They were growing in a dense patch of cactus and vine-knotted sunflowers. ”

“ After development of fruit the plant dies down, but suckers are frequently produced from the base of the stem which become new plants. The most familiar species is Agave americana (see fig.) , a native of tropical America, the so-called century plant or American aloe (the maguey of Mexico) . The number of years before flowering occurs depends on the vigour of the individual, the richness of the soil and the climate; during these years the plant is storing in its fleshy leaves the nourishment required for the effort of flowering. ”

“ It is prepared by fermenting the juice of a number of species of the agave (agave potatorum, americana, &c.) . The cultivation of the agave for purposes of pulque manufacture constitutes a considerable local industry, the capital invested running into several millions sterling. The juice obtained by tapping the agave is termed aguamiel. ”

“ The Indian makes from the agave fibre many most necessary articles,—bags in which to carry packages, saddle-cloths, sandals, ropes, and twine; if he wants any of the last, he goes into the forest for a wild plant, beats out the filament, twists it in a crude but satisfactory way, and is supplied. The greatest of all uses to which this filament can be applied is the manufacture of hammocks. ”

“ It is like an orange; the thick rind of the unripe fruit possesses astringent properties, and, when ripe, has an exquisite flavor and perfume. The fruit and other parts of the plant are used for medicinal purposes, and a yellow dye is prepared from the skin of the fruits.
16. Agave americana.—This plant is commonly known as American aloe, but it is not a member of that family, as it claims kindred with the Amaryllis tribe of plants. It grows naturally in a wide range of climate, from the plains of South America to elevations of 10,000 feet. It furnishes a variety of products. ”

“ Many species of agaves (ah-GAH-vees) or “century plants” attract attention on desert hillsides when they send up their tall blossom stalks in June and July. The thick, fleshy, sharp-tipped leaves form a basal rosette. Some of the larger species may require 10 to 20 years to store enough plant food to produce the sturdy, fast-growing flower stalk. After blossoming, the exhausted plant dies. Agave scabra, one of the spectacular forms, is limited in its range to the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Agave scabra Amaryllis Family
AGAVE ”

“ Oranges and lemons bear excellent fruit; date-palms uplift their fan-shaped leaves, and sometimes bear fruit; the American agave {294} stretches forth its candelabra-like branches; sugar-cane, cotton, and other industrial plants, which elsewhere in Europe are scarcely ever met with outside hothouses, grow in the fields. ”

“ The Variegated American agave is a noble conservatory and terrace plant. A. applanata, A. horrrida, A. filifera, A. ensiformis, and A. schidigera are distinct and fine. Agaves are usually starved out of character owing to the prevailing notion that they can live on sunshine alone. Of light indeed they must have plenty, but they must also have a good body of soil to root in, and during the growing season plenty of water. A mixture consisting of turfy loam three parts, and one part each of sharp grit and leaf mould will suit them all, and the drainage must be perfect. ”

“ The species and varieties of the agaves or henequen and pulque plants are not clearly distinguished; but two types are tolerably distinct. Agave Americana, or maguey, is cultivated in Mexico for the juice which when fermented is called pulque. The plant after some years of growth in a stemless condition throws up a stem very [356] rapidly to a height of forty feet, or even more. The Mexican cultivator, however, nips this stem before it has attained two feet; and scooping a large hollow in the cut stump, waits for the sap to collect. ”

“ This mescal is the succulent and sweet inner leaf of the agave deserti, which is found in large quantities in this region. The Indians still prepare it in the same manner as did their forefathers. The larger thick leaves are taken from the plants when they are full of sap. Great pits are dug and lined with rocks. Into these pits dry wood, roots, pine cones, etc., are thrown and set on fire, until the whole oven is thoroughly heated. ”

“ The great abundance of a species is no proof of its antiquity. Agave Americana, so common on the shores of the Mediterranean, although introduced from America, and our cardoon, which now covers a great part of the Pampas of La Plata, are remarkable instances in point. ”

“ There can be no question that, if planted in rich moist soil in a shady wood, we should have no trouble in naturalising this graceful fern, the fronds of which are such graceful objects in the dense woods of the “great country.”
Agave americana.—This and its variegated varieties are plants peculiarly suited for subtropical gardening, being useful for placing out of doors in summer in vases, tubs, or pots plunged in the ground, and also for the conservatory in winter. It forms a large rosette of thick fleshy leaves of a glaucous ashy-green colour, overlapping each other at the base, from 4 ft. ”

“ There is but little natural vegetation to be seen—ragged yucca trees, many species of agave and cactus, scrubby mesquite bushes, sage bushes and occasional clumps of coarse grasses. The rainy season completely changes the appearance of these plains, new grass appears, and wheat and Indian corn are cultivated. The rains do not last long, however, and sometimes fail altogether. The most common plants of the Mexican plateau are the agaves, yuccas and cacti, each of which is represented by a number of species. ”