The Agaves, A Remarkable Group of Useful Plants

Excerpts: Among the many strange and interesting plants found in the Mexican wonderland by Cortez and his followers were those forming the group variously known to-day as Century-plants. Agaves, or Magueys, one of the most remarkable groups of the plant world. Humboldt considered the Agaves, next to maize and potatoes, the most useful of the natural products of tropical America. They are placed by botanists in the genus Agave of the Amaryllidaceae, a family closely related to the lilies.