Agave fourcroydes or henequen is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae,[ native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is reportedly naturalized in Italy, Madeira,]
Overview
The leaves of Agave fourcroydes yield a fiber also called henequen, which is suitable for rope and twine but not of as high a quality as sisal.
The plant appears as a rosette of sword-shaped leaves meters long, growing out of a thick stem that may reach 1.7 meters (5 ft). The leaves have regularly spaced teeth 3–6 mm long and a terminal spine 2–3 cm long.
Like sisal, A.fourcroydes is a sterile hybrid; the ovaries never produce seeds. The plant does produce bulbils that may be planted, but commercial growers prefer to use the frequent basal shoot, which develop more quickly.
The first person of Spanish descent to document the plant and its usefulness for ropes and other naval utensils was José María Lanz, a Mexican-born engineer in service of the Spanish Navy, who studied henequen in Yucatán in 1783.
In mezcal
Henequen, like other species of agave, is used in the production of mezcal.
Gallery
Image:Henequen.jpg|Henequen farm in Yucatán Peninsula.
File:Henequenharvesting-yucatan-1922.jpg|Henequen being harvested in 1922 for pulp to make paper.
Agave fourcroydes 144-8746.jpg
See also
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Henequen industry in Yucatán
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International Year of Natural Fibres 2009
Further reading
External links
