- A fibre - Century plant - Sisal fibre - A genus of plants (order Amaryllidaceae) of which the chief
species is the maguey or century plant (A. Americana), 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 pulque
of the Mexicans; distilled, it yields mescal. A strong thread and a
tough paper are made from the leaves, and the wood has many uses.