Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
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.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 10–12
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 6.1–7.8
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 5.9 ft
- Mature spread
- 5.9 ft
- Plant spacing
- 2.6–3.9 ft
- Root type
- Fibrous-deep
- Spread pattern
- Root
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
African Blue Basil
Ocimum kilimandscharicum
African Blue Basil is a sterile hybrid between camphor basil and the purple-leaved Dark Opal basil, propagated from cuttings rather than seed…
Shrub · USDA 10–11
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
American Beautyberry is an arching deciduous shrub of rich woods, moist thickets and swamp edges across the southeastern and south-central…
Shrub · USDA 6–10
Annatto
Bixa orellana
Annatto is a small tropical evergreen tree or shrub grown for the red-orange dye pigment bixin coating its seeds - the source of the food…
Shrub · USDA 10–12
Barbados Cherry
Malpighia emarginata
Barbados Cherry is an evergreen shrub that produces a small, bright red cherry-like fruit eaten fresh or cooked into juice, sauce, jelly, jam…
Shrub · USDA 9–11
Cactus Pad
Opuntia ficus-indica
Cactus pad, or nopal, is a paddle cactus grown for two crops off one plant: pads sliced and cooked like green beans, and a sweet, gelatinous…
Shrub · USDA 8–11
Calliandra
Calliandra houstoniana
Calliandra is a fast-growing, thornless, nitrogen-fixing shrub from Central America, grown throughout the humid tropics as a fodder hedge…
Shrub · USDA 10–12
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference