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AGAVE (uh-GAH-vee)

A plant grown hot, dry regions used in the making of some alcoholic beverages
Common
clues: Tequila source; Century plant; Desert plant; Mescal source; Plant used to make tequila; Mojave plant
Crossword puzzle frequency: 3 times a year
Video:
Tequila: How It's Made


Agaves are succulent plants of a large botanical genus of the same name, belonging to the family Agavaceae. Chiefly Mexican, they occur also in the southern and western United States and in central and tropical South America. The plants have a large rosette of thick fleshy leaves generally ending in a sharp point and with a spiny margin; the stout stem is usually short, the leaves apparently springing from the root.



Century plant


The most familiar species is Agave americana, a native of tropical America. Common names include Century Plant, Maguey (in Mexico), or American Aloe (it is not, however, closely related to the genus Aloe). The name "Century Plant" refers to the long time the plant takes to flower, although the number of years before flowering occurs depends on the vigor 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.


During the development of the inflorescence there is a rush of sap to the base of the young flowerstalk. In the case of A. americana and other species this is used by the Mexicans to make their national beverage, pulque; the flower shoot is cut out and the sap collected and subsequently fermented. By distillation a spirit called mezcal is prepared; one of the most well-known forms of mezcal is tequila.



This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Agave".