2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
American agave (Agave americana) is a perennial herb that should be classified in the agave family.
The leaves of this plant are quite large, they will be linear-lanceolate in shape, they taper towards the top, and then collect in a basal rosette, while there can be up to thirty leaves in the rosette. The length of the plant can even be two meters, the widest part can be twenty-five centimeters. The leaves are colored in the following tones: green, gray-green or gray-blue. There are thorns along the edges of the leaves. This plant can even live up to fifteen years. As for the differences between species, they lie in the very color of the leaves.
This plant belongs to monocarp: it will bloom and bear fruit only once in its life. This usually occurs in the fifteenth year of life, after which the American agave will die. Depending on the conditions, the plant can live even up to thirty years. In the last year of life, an arrow will grow from a leaf outlet, and panicle inflorescences will appear on it, on which there will be a huge number of yellowish and funnel-shaped flowers. The flowers can be up to ten centimeters long, and the flowering itself will continue for two to three weeks.
Actually, this plant can be compared with aloe: the similarity will be in the appearance and chemical composition. However, the American agave does not have a stem. Reproduction takes place by means of seeds, cuttings and root suckers.
Like all succulents, American agave has a love of light. Watering should be done quite rarely: no more than once a week. As for the winter period, at this time, in no case should the soil be overmoistened. During the dormant period, agave will need a temperature of eight to ten degrees Celsius.
The genus of agave itself includes more than four hundred different species that are found naturally on the islands of the Caribbean, as well as in America, both Central and South. In indoor conditions, dwarf forms of this beautiful plant are grown. American agave naturally grows in Mexico.
Useful properties of American agave
Preparations based on American agave are expectorant, anti-inflammatory, disinfecting, analgesic, diuretic, and antiseptic.
Mexican scientists conducted research, during which it was found that the plant contains a polymer called the carbohydrate inulin, which is effective in trying to reduce body weight. In China, substances were obtained under the names dynodrine and anordrin, which are contraceptives. The main advantage is that they should be taken once or twice a month. In folk medicine, the plant was widely used as a remedy for rheumatism, as well as as a treatment for the bites of especially poisonous snakes.
For treatment, fresh plant juice and its leaves are used, but the plant should be no more than three years old. American agave juice contains about ten percent sugar, so the juice can be consumed even in its pure form. Flower shoots of the plant are also used for food.
For liver diseases, powder from a leaf that has been previously dried, crushed, and then sieved should be used. For stomach diseases, the following infusion is recommended: one part of wormwood is taken, which includes a glass of boiling water and ten grams of raw materials, as well as five parts of the plant itself. The resulting infusion is used on a spoon three times a day.
For the treatment of abscesses and boils, as well as inflammation of the sciatic nerve, it is recommended to apply split agave leaves with their American inside.
As for the care and cultivation, the American agave needs the same as the rest of the plants of this genus.
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