henequen

Henequen (Agave fourcroydes Lem.) is an agave whose leaves yield a fiber also called henequen which is suitable for rope and twine, but not of as high a quality as sisal. Alternative spellings are Henequin and Heniquen. It is the major plantation fiber agave of eastern Mexico, being grown extensively in Yucatán, Veracruz, and southern Tamaulipas. It is also used to make Licor del henequén, a traditional Mexican alcoholic drink.

The plant appears as a rosette of sword-shaped leaves 1.2 to 1.8 meters long, growing out of a thick stem that may reach 1.7 meters (5 ft). The leaves have regularly-spaced teeth 3-6 mm long, and a terminal spine 2-3 cm long.

Like the sisal, A. fourcroydes is a sterile hybrid; the ovaries never produce seeds. The plant does produce bulbils that may be planted, but commercial growers prefer to use the frequent suckers, which develop more quickly.

Gallery

Henequen farm in Yucatán Peninsula.

See also

• Sisal - a closely related agave plant that produces an almost-identical fibre
• International Year of Natural Fibres 2009

References

• Howard Scott Gentry, Agaves of Continental North America (University of Arizona Press, 1982) pp. 573–576

External links

• Henequen-growing Haciendas in the Yucatan