Family: Agavaceae
Species: Agave americana L.
Common name: Agave americana (English: Century plant, Maguey, American aloe) Deutsch: Amerikanische Agave
Etymology
The term derives from the Greek “agaves,” meaning magnificent or admirable. It is probably related to the plant’s appearance during its flowering phase.
Description
This succulent plant can grow up to 8 metres tall and is now found in the wild in almost all regions of the Italian peninsula. It has a thickened woody rhizome. The scape (the flowering axis without leaves, elongated and bearing a flower or an inflorescence at the apex) is erect, up to 10 cm thick, with hardened scales.
The evergreen leaves grow in dense basal rosettes, are rigid, sword-shaped, linear, and bluish-green in colour. They have 1 cm thorns on the edges plus a long apical thorn of about 3 cm. The large panicle inflorescence, measuring 2–5 m, contains yellow tubular flowers. The fruit is a 4–5 cm capsule that, when ripe, opens to reveal shiny, black, crescent-shaped seeds.
It is a very long-lived plant, growing for 10–15 years before flowering only once and then dying. This leaves behind many basal shoots that can produce new plants. Pollination occurs thanks to pollinating insects.
Habitat
It is native to North America.
Notes and Curiosities
Native to North America—likely Mexico—it was introduced to Italy in the 16th century for ornamental purposes and subsequently to the entire Mediterranean basin.
Agave syrup, rich in fructose, is used as a sweetener in cooking. The sweet-tasting heart of the plant is consumed as a vegetable. In medicine, it is used as a laxative and purgative against skin infections and boils. The fresh sap can cause skin irritation and dermatitis. Agave was also used to make vegetable soap and fibres for sewing and weaving ropes, strings, and mats.
From this succulent plant, which grows with intense, primordial energy, people obtain an intoxicating drink called pulque—known since pre-Columbian times—by fermenting its short stem, cut before it sprouts.
Perhaps because of its imposing appearance, it symbolises Security in the language of flowers.
In one of the Heller garden's flowerbeds, directly illuminated by the sun’s rays, the wavy leaves, similar to large tentacles, of the American Agave create a fascinating scenic effect that captivates the spectator. Indeed, the plant’s distinctly geometric shape and sculptural appearance produce an interesting “trait union” between its angular lines and the soft cascade of red tubular flowers belonging to the majestic evergreen Russelia shrub, which serves as its backdrop.