Plant · P-967

Henequen

Agave fourcroydes

Henequen is a large evergreen agave native to the Yucatan and neighboring parts of Central America, grown commercially for a coarse leaf fibre used in rope, net, floor covering and agricultural binder twine. It is a sterile hybrid that never sets viable seed, propagating instead from basal suckers and bulbils, and like other agaves it flowers once after many years and then dies. It has almost no food use, but its roots contain saponins that have served as a soap substitute.