Although the name of agave has a blue word, it does not belong to Orchidaceae, but belongs to Agave family, native to tropical America. Agave leaves are solid and evergreen, which is very ornamental.
When I was a child, there was a kind of agave on the hillside near my home. It looks a bit like aloe, but it is taller and stronger than aloe. Because there are a row of hard spines on both sides of the wide leaves of agave, every time I pass by, I stay at a respectful distance from others and don't dare to get too close to avoid being scratched accidentally.
In the eyes of children, agave has hard thorns and never blooms. Tequila is not beautiful at all.
Actually, tequila will still open. Agave and epiphyllum belong to tropical plants. Some people think that epiphyllum is rare, mainly because it blooms in the middle of the night, so there are naturally not many people watching it. In contrast, the flowers of agave are even rarer.
According to folklore, agave will not bloom until 100 years old, so it is called "century plant". In fact, agave can bloom three times in 100.
With so few flowers and such a long interval, it is no wonder that some people think that agave never blooms.
Anyway, agave is a long-lived plant. Now that I think about it, the spikes of agave are probably to protect themselves from infringement.
The day when the agave flowers wither is the time when the mother plant dies. Fortunately, agave is full of vitality, and its lateral branches will continue to flourish.
Although tequila rarely blooms and looks ordinary, it is full of treasures.
There are more than 100 varieties of agave, and different varieties have different utilization values. Some can be made into turf carpets, which are wear-resistant and sun-resistant. Some can make ropes, leisure shoes and baskets from the fibers in leaves, and dried leaves can also be used as fuel. Some agave also have high medicinal value and can be used for anti-inflammation.
As early as 17 in the 1920s, Mexicans knew how to ferment agave juice into tequila. Tequila is called the national wine of Mexico, which shows the popularity of tequila.
People living in the city seldom see agave except visiting botanical gardens, but aloe vera is very common. However, aloe and Pogostemon Pogostemonis are similar in appearance, but they belong to different families. Aloe belongs to Liliaceae.
By the way, my aloe has been planted for ten years before it blooms, and then once a year. It has blossomed three times so far, and each time it is amazing. Although I have never seen the flowers of agave, I think they are as beautiful as aloe.
There are many varieties of agave, and the appearance differences between different varieties are not small. This agave plant in the picture was seen in a park I often go to. I always thought it was an ordinary foliage grass. I searched the picture and found that it is Mauritian hemp in Phnom Penh, also belonging to agave family, and it is native to Mauritius, Africa.
It is not advisable to judge a person by his appearance, and it is even more undesirable to judge a person by his appearance alone. Under the ordinary appearance of people and plants, there may be unique, ordinary, extraordinary and unknown inner beauty.
Everything is spiritual and beautiful.