Agave, commonly referred to as “Century Plant” in North America and “Maguey” in Central and South America, is a genus of succulents comprised of more than 200 species (Franck 2012; Morales Areli et al. 2008). Several species are economically significant because they produce the commercial sweetener referred to as “agave nectar” or “agave syrup" which is thinner and sweeter than honey (Lopez et al. 2003). Other species are used to produce mezcals. The most popular mezcal, Tequila, is made from Agave tequilana var. azul, the "blue agave" andis a major export of Jalisco, Mexico (Dalton, 2005;Mohr 1999).
Leaf fiber of certain species is used in the production of sisal hemp and henequen in Mexico, the West Indies and Southern Europe (Franck 2012; Morales Areli et al. 2008).Other products that have traditionally been derived from the plant include: coarse-weaving from fiber in the leaves, needles and pins from the leaf spines, tea and tincture from the leaves and the roots, and soap from the sap (Bye 1993; Miller & Taube 1993; Prescott 1843). Agave was used extensively by Mesoamerican cultures such as the Aztecs for religious and medicinal purposes as well as for furnishing many goods used in daily life (Bye, 1993).The Aztecs (Mexica) considered agave and pulque (an alcoholic beverage derived from it) to be sacred (Miller and Taube 1993).
The plants were introduced to Europe in the 16thcentury as a result of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Another result was the development of tequila. The first tequila factory was established by Don Pedro Sanches de Tagle, Marquis of Altamira in 1600 (Mohr 1993), but it was not until 1758 that Jose Antonio Cuervo, began agave cultivation and became the first licensed manufacturer of tequila (Valensuela Zapata & Nabhan 2003). Spirits derived from Agave were popular throughout the colonial period and became an important source of colonial tax revenue, but they did not achieve popularity outside of Mexico until the 1980s (Dalton 2005;Valensuela Zapata & Nabhan 2003 Morh 1999).
Agave plants became widespread outside of their native range in the 19thcentury when they became as popular ornamental garden plantsin Europe and the United States (Morh 1999).Agave are now cultivated in North America, South America, Africa and Europe for ornamental and commercial reasons. Commonly cultivated species include: Agave shrevi, Agave americana, Agave attenuate, and Agave tequilana (Zdeněk & Kunte 2005).
All four of the major parts of the agave can be eaten: flowers, leaves, stalks or basal rosettes and sap (Davidson 1999). The plants bloom every 8 to 12 years and each plant may produce several pounds of edible flowers. During inflorescence sap collects in the base of the flower stalk(Davidson 1999). The stalks the flowers grow on can be roasted and pulverized to extract the sap. Leaves can also be collected for eating in winter and spring when the plant is rich with sap. Species are grown for commercial sap production include: Agave tequilana, Agave salmiana and Agave Americana (Morales Areli et al. 2008).
Agave Sap
Agave sap is rich in carbohydrates such as inulin, sucrose and fructose and also contains small amounts of amino acids and vitamins (Morales Areli et al. 2008). It is collected from many species but particularly A. tequilana, A.atrovirens, A. potatorum, and A. americana. The sap is commonly called “aguamiel” (honey water), “agave syrup,” and “agave nectar.” Although it has traditionally been harvested to make pulque or mezcal it can also be drunk on its own or used as a sweetening agent(Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994a). The sap, which is thinner and sweeter than honey, is produced as a commercial sweetener that can be added to mass produced cereals or sold in individual bottles to be used in home-cooking (Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994a; Mohr 1993).
Pulque
Pulque is an alcoholic beverage that was religiously and economically significant in Mesoamerica in the pre-Columbian economy (Miller and Taube 1993). It is made by fermenting agave sap. Pulque was closely restricted under Aztec rule but it was secularized after the Conquest of Mexico by the Spanish and became widely consumed throughout the colonial period (Miller and Taube 1993).
Pulque can be made from many agave species: A. teometl Zucc., A weberi Cels., A. altísima Jacobi, A compilata Trel., A. gracillispina Englem., A. malliflia Trel., A. quitifera Trel., A. crassispina Trel., A. mapisaga Trel., A Americana L., A. salmiana Otto., and Salm A. atrovirens (Morales Areli et al. 2008). A key distinguishing feature between pulque and tequila is that pulque can be made from many different species of agave while tequila must be made from Agave tequilana var. azul to qualify as tequila (Miller and Taube 1993).
Mezcal (& Tequila)
Mezcal is a drink made from the cooked heart of certain agave plants. Because all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila, many different species of mezcal may be made into agave.
Tequila is a variety of mezcal made from Agave tequilana var. azul, commonly known as Blue agave. Blue agave is made into tequila by cooking the sap out of the stems which is then fermented and distilled into liquor. Production is limited to 5 Mexican states with most of the production taking place in Jalisco, Mexico (Dalton 2005).
Biofuel Feed Stock Potential
It has been found in 14 different studies that 2 species of agave greatly exceed the yields of other biofuel feed stocks including corn, soybeans, sorghum and wheat. Agave is set apart from these crops because of its “high water use efficiency and ability to survive between rain falls (Davis et al. 2011).” Davis et al. suggest that abandoned agave farms in Mexico in Africa that had previously produced material for the natural fiber market could be converted into bioenergy cropland and that the biomass of agave could be co-harvested with sap in tequila production without additional land demands (Davis et al. 2011).
Products derived from Agave were used throughout southeastern Mesoamerica in Pre-Columbian times and owe their Spanish common names to the tradition of use by indigenous peoples (Miller and Taube 1993). In Central and South America all plants of the genus are commonly called Maguey, which is derived from the Taino language name (Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994a;Miller & Taube 1993). The Nahuatl name for Agave, metl, is less common but also used colloquially (Miller & Taube 1993).
Products that have traditionally been derived from the plant include: string from fiber in the leaves, needles and pins from the leaf spines, tea and tincture from the leaves and the roots, and soap from the sap (Bye 1993; Miller & Taube 1993; Prescott 1843). The leaves could be pounded into paste to make paper; or, alternatively, the membrane covering the leaves could be removed as a sheet to use as paper or for cooking (William H. Prescott 1843; Miller & Tuabe 1993). Fibers in the leaves of several species in Mexico, the West Indies and Southern Europe continue to be harvested today to produces sisal hemp or false sisal hemp (Franck 2012).
Agave products were used extensively by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures for religious and medicinal purposes as well as for furnishing goods used in everyday life (Bye, 1993). For instance, thorns from the plants were made into pins and needles used in leather embroidery and ritual bloodletting, and leaf fibers were woven into cloth (Mohr 1999; Miller and Taube 1993). The most important product was pulque which was used for religious ceremonies and public occasions (Miller and Taube 1993).
Pulque
Pulque was economically significant in pre-ColumbianMesoamericaeconomies (Miller and Taube 1993). It was a ritual drink offered to the gods that was the prerogative of priests and nobles when celebrating victories and priests and victims during ritual sacrifice (De Barrios 1980). It was permitted among common people only if they were elders or pregnant women (De Barrios 1980). Common people were permitted to drink it at certain festivals but only in small amounts (Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994b).
The Aztecs (Mexica) considered agave and pulque to be sacred (Miller and Taube 1993). In the pantheon of Aztec gods, Mayahuel is the divine embodiment of agave and is one of a system of maternal and fertility goddesses (Bye 1993; Miller & Taube 1993). It was said that her milk fed 400 rabbits which were the source of drunkenness in the world. Mayahuel’s milk is symbolic of pulque, which is a milky-white alcoholic beverage made by fermenting Agave sap (Miller and Taube 1993).
Pulque was closely restricted to certain classes of people and certain occasions under Aztec rule but it was secularized after the Conquest of Mexico by the Spanish and became widely consumed throughout the colonial period along with mezcals such as tequila (Miller and Taube 1993). It is still made and sold in Mexico today but has sharply declined in economic importance due to the rise in popularity of beer which has largely replaced its consumption (Mohr 1999).
Traditional Medicine
Pulque is thought to have many medicinal properties that make it effective against gastrointestinal disorders, loss of appetite, general weakness, and kidney problems (Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994b).
Traditional medical recipes of the Aztecs are recorded in the “Indorum medicinalibus Libellusde herbis” also known as the “Codex de la Cruz-Badiano” (Byland 2000). According to the Codex, pulque with ground deer antlers could be taken as a remedy for pityriasis while a mixture of pulque, tuna, salt, nochtli and octli could supposedly promote lactation, treat parasitic infections, stomach inflammation and cure infertility of the womb (Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994b).
In his “Historia general de las cosas en de la Nueva España” Bernardino de Sahagún also noted maguey had beneficial medicinal properties. He advised that those who relapsed in disease take pulque by mouth mixed with a ground pod of pepper and ground pumpkin seeds.He wrote that if one took it two or three times a day and went to the bathroom they would become healthy (Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994b).
Among the Mazahua people of Mexico, it is traditional for the women to drink the pulque while breast feeding to increase the flow and improve the quality of their milk (Mata Pizón, & Zolla 1994b). Indigenous people of the Mesquital Valley in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico have a similar custom of weaning their children by dipping a finger in pulque and letting their children suck on it (Mata Pizón, & Zolla 1994b).
Other agave products, such as leaf tea or tincture have a tradition of being taken orally for constipation, excessive gas, and as a diuretic. Root tea and tincture are taken for arthritic joints. Agave sap, alone or with salt, continues to be used to wash infected wounds and is taken orally for diverse renal-urinary problems (Mata Pizón & Zolla 1994a).
Agave (/əˈɡɑːvi/; also UK: /əˈɡeɪvi/;[3] Anglo-Hispanic, also US: /əˈɡɑːveɪ/)[4] is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves.[5] Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes.
Many plants in this genus may be considered perennial, because they require several to many years to mature and flower.[5][6] However, most Agave species are more accurately described as monocarpic rosettes or multiannuals, since each individual rosette flowers only once and then dies; a small number of Agave species are polycarpic.[5][6] Maguey flowers are eaten in many indigenous culinary traditions of Mesoamerica.
Along with plants from the closely related genera Yucca, Hesperoyucca, and Hesperaloe, various Agave species are popular ornamental plants in hot, dry climates, as they require very little supplemental water to survive.[6] Most Agave species grow very slowly.[5] Some Agave species are known by the common name "century plant".[7]
The succulent leaves of most Agave species have sharp marginal teeth, an extremely sharp terminal spine, and are very fibrous inside.[6] The stout stem is usually extremely short, which may make the plant appear as though it is stemless.
Agave rosettes are mostly monocarpic, though some species are polycarpic.[5]: 30 During flowering, a tall stem or "mast" ("quiote" in Mexico), which can grow to be 12 metres (40 feet) high,[8] grows apically from the center of the rosette and bears a large number of short, tubular flowers and sometimes vegetatively produced bulbils (a form of asexual reproduction). After pollination/fertilization and subsequent fruit development, in monocarpic species, the original rosette dies. However, throughout the lifetime of many Agave species, rhizomatous suckers develop above the roots at the base of the rosette.[5]: 30 These suckers go on to form new plants after the original rosette desiccates and dies.[5] Not all agaves produce suckers throughout their lifetimes; some species rarely or never produce suckers, while others may only develop suckers after final maturation with inflorescence.[5] Some varieties can live for 60 years before flowering.[8]
Agaves can be confused with cacti, aloes, or stonecrops, but although these plants all share similar morphological adaptations to arid environments (e.g. succulence), each group belongs to a different plant family and probably experienced convergent evolution.[9] Further, cactus (Cactaceae) and stonecrop (Crassulaceae) lineages are eudicots, while aloes (Asphodelaceae) and agaves (Asparagaceae) are monocots.
The agave root system, consisting of a network of shallow rhizomes, allows the agave to efficiently capture moisture from rain, condensation, and dew. In addition to growing from seeds, most agaves produce 'pups' – young plants from runners. Agave vilmoriniana (the octopus agave) produces hundreds of pups on its bloom stalk. Agave leaves store the plant's water and are crucial to its continued existence. The coated leaf surface prevents evaporation. The leaves also have sharp, spiked edges. The spikes discourage predators from eating the plant or using it as a source of water and are so tough that ancient peoples used them for sewing needles. The sap is acidic. Some agaves bloom at a height up to 9 m (30 ft) so that they are far out of reach to animals that might attack them. Smaller species, such as Agave lechuguilla, have smaller bloom stalks.
The genus name Agave come from the Ancient Greek αγαυή agauê from ἀγαυός agauós meaning "illustrious, noble"[10][11] having to do with very tall flower spikes found on its many species.[12]
The genus Agave was erected by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, initially with four species. The first listed was Agave americana, now the type species.[2] In the Cronquist system and others, Agave was placed in the family Liliaceae, but phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences later showed it did not belong there.[13] In the APG II system, Agave was placed in the segregated family Agavaceae.[14] When this system was superseded by the APG III system in 2009, the Agavaceae were subsumed into the expanded family Asparagaceae, and Agave was treated as one of 18 genera in the subfamily Agavoideae,[15] a position retained in the APG IV system of 2016.[16]
Agaves and close relatives have long presented significant taxonomic difficulty. These difficulties could be due to the relatively young evolutionary age of the group (major diversification events of the group most likely occurred 8–10 million years ago), ease of hybridization between species (and even genera), incomplete lineage sorting, and long generation times.[17] Within a species, morphological variations can be considerable, especially in cultivation; a number of named species may actually just be variants of original wild-type species that horticulturalists bred to appear unique in cultivation.
Molecular phylogenetic analyses from 1996 onwards repeatedly showed that the previously separate genera Manfreda, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes were embedded in Agave, as traditionally circumscribed, making Agave paraphyletic.[18][13][19] These genera are now combined with Agave to form Agave sensu lato, which contains about 252 species total. Traditionally, the genus Agave was circumscribed to be composed of about 166 species.[19]
In some of the older classifications, Agave was divided into two subgenera, Agave and Littaea, based on the form of the inflorescence. These two subgenera are probably not monophyletic.[13] A 2019 classification uses three subgenera:[20]
Hybrids between species in Agave subg. Manfreda and other species were given the nothogenus name ×Mangave when Manfreda was recognized as a separate genus.[21]
Some commonly grown species include Agave americana,[22] A. angustifolia, A. attenuata, A. murpheyi, A. palmeri, A. parryi, A. parviflora, A. tequilana, A. victoriae-reginae, and A. vilmoriniana.[23]
One of the most familiar species is A. americana, a native of tropical America. Common names include century plant, maguey (in Mexico), or American aloe (though not related to the genus Aloe). The name "century plant" refers to the long time the plant takes to flower. The number of years before flowering occurs depends on the vigor of the individual plant, 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.
A. americana, century plant, was introduced into southern Europe about the middle of the 16th century and is now naturalized as well as widely cultivated as an ornamental, as it is in the Americas. In the variegated forms, the leaf has a white or yellow marginal or central stripe. As the leaves unfold from the center of the rosette, the impression of the marginal spines is conspicuous on the still erect younger leaves. The plant is reported being hardy to -9.5 to -6.5 °C or Zone 8b 15-20f.[24][25] Being succulents, they tend to rot if kept too wet. In areas such as America's Pacific Northwest, they might be hardy for cold winter temperatures, but need protection from winter rain. They mature very slowly and die after flowering but are easily propagated by the offsets from the base of the stem.
A. americana (a blue variety) occurs in abundance in the Karoo, and arid highland regions of South Africa. Introduced by the British settlers in 1820, the plant was originally cultivated and used as emergency feed for livestock.[26] Today, it is used mainly for the production of syrup and sugar.
A. attenuata is a native of central Mexico and is uncommon in its natural habitat. Unlike most species of agave, A. attenuata has a curved flower spike from which it derives one of its numerous common names – the foxtail agave. It is also commonly grown as a garden plant. Unlike many agaves, A. attenuata has no teeth or terminal spines, making it an ideal plant for areas adjacent to footpaths. Like all agaves, it is a succulent and requires little water or maintenance once established.
Agave azul (blue agave) is used in the production of tequila. It is native to the Caribbean as well as many regions of Mexico like Colima, Nayarit, Jalisco and more. In 2001, the Mexican government and European Union agreed upon the classification of tequila and its categories. All 100% blue agave tequila must be made from the A. tequilana 'Weber's Blue' agave plant, to rigorous specifications and only in certain Mexican states. Blue agave is significantly different from other types of agave because it is higher in fructose and much sweeter compared to the rest. It is also the primary source for agave syrup, a nectary sweetener made for consumption.
Agave species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including Batrachedra striolata, which has been recorded on A. shawii.
Some species contain components in their juice which can cause dermatitis for some people.[27]
The ethnobotany of the agave was described by William H. Prescott in 1843:[28]
But the miracle of nature was the great Mexican aloe, or maguey, whose clustering pyramids of flowers, towering above their dark coronals of leaves, were seen sprinkled over many a broad acre of the table-land. As we have already noticed its bruised leaves afforded a paste from which paper was manufactured, its juice was fermented into an intoxicating beverage, pulque, of which the natives, to this day, are extremely fond; its leaves further supplied an impenetrable thatch for the more humble dwellings; thread, of which coarse stuffs were made, and strong cords, were drawn from its tough and twisted fibers; pins and needles were made from the thorns at the extremity of its leaves; and the root, when properly cooked, was converted into a palatable and nutritious food. The agave, in short, was meat, drink, clothing, and writing materials for the Aztec! Surely, never did Nature enclose in so compact a form so many of the elements of human comfort and civilization!
The four major edible parts of the agave are the flowers, the leaves, the stalks or basal rosettes, and the sap (in Spanish: aguamiel, meaning "honey water").[29] The sap of some species can also be used as soap.[27]
Each agave plant produces several pounds of edible flowers during its final season. The stalks, which are ready during the summer, before the blossom, weigh several pounds each. Roasted, they are sweet and can be chewed to extract the sap or aguamiel, like sugarcane. When dried out, the stalks can be used to make didgeridoos. The leaves may be collected in winter and spring, when the plants are rich in sap, for eating. The leaves of several species also yield fiber, for instance, A. sisalana, the sisal hemp, and A. decipiens, the false sisal hemp. A. americana is the source of pita fiber, and is used as a fiber plant in Mexico, the West Indies, and southern Europe.
The agave, especially A. murpheyi, was a major food source for the prehistoric indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. The Hohokam of southern Arizona cultivated large areas of agave.[30]
The Navajo similarly found many uses for the agave plant. A beverage is squeezed from the baked fibers, and the heads can be baked or boiled, pounded into flat sheets, sun dried, and stored for future use. The baked, dried heads are also boiled and made into an edible paste, eaten whole, or made into soup. The leaves are eaten boiled, and the young, tender flowering stalks and shoots are roasted and eaten as well. The fibers are used to make rope, the leaves are used to line baking pits, and the sharp-pointed leaf tips are used to make basketry awls.[31]
During the development of the inflorescence, sap rushes to the base of the young flower stalk. Agave syrup (commonly called agave nectar), a sweetener derived from the sap, is used as an alternative to sugar in cooking, and can be added to breakfast cereals as a binding agent.[32] The agave sweetener is marketed as natural and diabetic-friendly, without spiking blood sugar levels.[33] However, extracts from agave leaves are under preliminary research for their potential use as food additives.[34]
The sap of A. americana and other species is used in Mexico and Mesoamerica to produce pulque, an alcoholic beverage. The flower shoot is cut out and the sap collected and subsequently fermented. By distillation, a spirit called mezcal is prepared; one of the best-known forms of mezcal is tequila. A. tequilana or A. tequilana var. azul is used in the production of tequila.[5] A. angustifolia is widely used in the production of mezcal and pulque, though at least 10 other Agave species are also known to be used for this.[5]
Agave can be used as the raw material for industrial production of fructans as a prebiotic dietary fiber.[34][35] Agave contains fructooligosaccharides, which are naturally occurring oligosaccharides that support safely subjecting peanut-allergic people to allergen immunotherapy.[36] Resulting from its natural habitat in stressful environments, agave is under preliminary research for its potential use in germplasm conservation and in biotechnology to better anticipate the economic effects of global climate change.[37] It may also have use as a bioethanol or bioenergy feedstock.[38][39]
Agave americana var. americana
Variegated Century Plant -- Agave americana 'Marginata'
Agave americana 'Marginata'
Agave americana cv. 'Mediopicta Alba'
Agave angustifolia 'Marginata'
_with_inflorescence_at_Secunderabad,_AP_W_IMG_6676.jpg)
Agave angustifolia (flowering)
Agave bracteosa (spider agave)
Agave inaequidens ssp. barrancensis
Agave parrasana (syn. Agave wislizeni subsp. parrasana)
Agave potatorum cv. 'Kichiokan'
Agave salmiana var. ferox
Agave schidigera cv. 'Durango Delight'
Agave sisalana (sisal)
Agave sisalana (flowers)
Agave tequilana 'Weber's Azul' (tequila agave)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) Agave (/əˈɡɑːvi/; also UK: /əˈɡeɪvi/; Anglo-Hispanic, also US: /əˈɡɑːveɪ/) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes.
Many plants in this genus may be considered perennial, because they require several to many years to mature and flower. However, most Agave species are more accurately described as monocarpic rosettes or multiannuals, since each individual rosette flowers only once and then dies; a small number of Agave species are polycarpic. Maguey flowers are eaten in many indigenous culinary traditions of Mesoamerica.
Along with plants from the closely related genera Yucca, Hesperoyucca, and Hesperaloe, various Agave species are popular ornamental plants in hot, dry climates, as they require very little supplemental water to survive. Most Agave species grow very slowly. Some Agave species are known by the common name "century plant".
