Agave is a genus of succulent in the Asparagacae family. More than 200 species of the plant have been identified. The most famous are A. tequiliana weber, blue variety, and A. angustifolia haw, or espadín. The plant is native to North and Central America but particularly concentrated in Mexico–especially in the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan valley, between the states of Oaxaca and Puelbla, where we find the most biological diversity of any place on the planet. Other states with high concentrations of agave include Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Hidalgo. In Mexico, the plant is often referred to as maguey. Roasted agave can be distilled into mezcal, including regional variations such as tequila, bacanora, and raicilla. Some of the most famous types of agave used in mezcal production are A. maximiliana (which is used in the produciton of raicilla), tobalá, and A. karwinksii, which has many varieties and names including cuixe, bicuixe, madrecuixe blanco, madrecuixe, verde, cirial, largo, rripon, and marteño.
Agave comes from the Greek word for noble and was coined in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, the creator of the taxonomy system that forms the basis that we still use to categorize plants and animals. Agave are frequently conflated with yucca, cactus, sotol, aloe, and other succulents, but are actually genetically distinct.
Humans have used every part of the plant for tools and sustenance. Agave leaves can be dried and used as construction materials like roofing tiles. The pointed tips can be used as spear tips, fishing hooks, and tattoo needles. The fibers can be used for rope. And the heart of the plant, or piña, has long been roasted and eaten or fermented into beer. Indigenous people also fermented the sap of agave to make a drink called pulque, which is still popular in Mexico.
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