Agave

Agave is a genus of succulent, drought-adapted plants native to the arid regions of the Americas, best known for the large rosettes of fleshy, fibrous leaves that most species form, often edged with sharp teeth and finished with a stiff terminal spine. Many species take years or decades to mature and then flower once from a tall central stalk before the rosette dies, which is why some are called century plants. In the kitchen and the drinks cabinet the genus matters for several parts of the plant: the flowers, leaves and roasted stalks or hearts are eaten, and the sap, known in Spanish as aguamiel, is fermented into pulque or distilled into mezcal, including tequila from Agave tequilana. A syrup made from the sap is sold as agave nectar, a sweetener used in place of sugar. Beyond food, species such as the sisal agave supply leaf fibre. This entry covers the whole genus, not one species or one product.