Abstract
Agave sisalana is a monocotyledon and a member of the family Agavaceae which comprises 20 genera. The genus Agave contains 300 species which are native to North or South America and are plants of the tropics and subtropics. A few species are grown commercially and, from these, the greater part of the world’s hard fibre is obtained; the most important species is A. sisalana. The fibre is obtained from the leaves which grow to a length of about 2 m and have a width of some 150 mm. The leaves, which arise from the bole of the plant in a close rosette, are triangular in cross section, but become thinner and more flattened towards the tip which generally bears a terminal spine; some varieties also have lateral spines.
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© 1982 D. M. Catling and J. E. Grayson
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Catling, D., Grayson, J. (1982). Sisal. In: Identification of Vegetable Fibres. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8070-2_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8070-2_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-011-8072-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-8070-2
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