agave

noun

1. tropical American plants with basal rosettes of fibrous sword-shaped leaves and flowers in tall spikes; some cultivated for ornament or for fiber

   noun.plant

   Synonyms american aloe century plant

   Source: WordNet 3.0

2. A genus of plants (order <i>Amaryllidace&aelig;</i>) of which the chief species is the maguey or century plant (<i>A. Americana</i>), wrongly called Aloe. It is from ten to seventy years, according to climate, in attaining maturity, when it produces a gigantic flower stem, sometimes forty feet in height, and perishes. The fermented juice is the <i>pulque</i> of the Mexicans; distilled, it yields <i>mescal</i>. A strong thread and a tough paper are made from the leaves, and the wood has many uses.

   noun

   Source: webster1913