Agave
n.
A genus of plants (order Amaryllidaceæ ) of which the chief species is the maguey or century plant ( Agave Americana ), wrongly called Aloe. It is from ten to seventy years, according to climate, in attaining maturity, when it produces a gigantic flower stem, sometimes forty feet in height, and perishes. The fermented juice is the pulque of the Mexicans; distilled, it yields mescal . A strong thread and a tough paper are made from the leaves, and the wood has many uses.
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