agave

agave
    n 1: tropical American plants with basal rosettes of fibrous
         sword-shaped leaves and flowers in tall spikes; some
         cultivated for ornament or for fiber [syn: {agave},
         {century plant}, {American aloe}]
    

Agave \A*ga"ve\ ([.a]*g[=a]"v[-e]), prop. n. [L. Agave, prop.
   name, fr. Gr. 'agayh`, fem. of 'agayo`s illustrious, noble.]
   (Bot.)
   A genus of plants (order {Amaryllidaceae}) of which the chief
   species is the maguey or century plant ({Agave Americana}),
   wrongly called Aloe. It takes from ten to seventy years,
   according to climate, to attain maturity, when it produces a
   gigantic flower stem, sometimes forty feet in height, and
   perishes. The juice has purgative and diuretic properties.
   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.
   [1913 Webster]