Plantae > Tracheophyta > Liliopsida > Asparagales > Asparagaceae > Agave > Agave sisalana
 

Agave sisalana (sisal hemp)

Synonyms: Agave amaniensis; Agave rigida sisalana; Agave segurae; Agave sisalana armata

Wikipedia Abstract

Sisal (Agave sisalana) is an agave that yields a stiff fibre traditionally used in making twine, rope and also dartboards. The term may refer either to the plant or the fibre, depending on context. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as sisal hemp because hemp was for centuries a major source for fibre, so other fibres were sometimes named after it.
View Wikipedia Record: Agave sisalana

Invasive Species

Agave sisalana is a member of the Agavaceae family and is native to Mexico. It is known primarily for its fibre production, and is grown commercially worldwide for the fibre industry. It is a large and fast-propagating plant, which can cause problems in areas where it is invasive as it can exclude and outcompete native plant species. A. sisalana is invasive in Australia, Madagascar, South Africa, the United States and on multiple islands in the Pacific.
View ISSG Record: Agave sisalana

Attributes

Allergen Potential [1]  Medium-Low
Leaf Type [2]  Evergreen
Lifespan [3]  Perennial
Structure [2]  Shrub

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Map Climate Land Use
Canaveral National Seashore II 9090 Florida, United States
Everglades and Dry Tortugas Biosphere Reserve   Florida, United States  

Prey / Diet

Lepidosaphes beckii (citrus mussel scale)[4]

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Mangifera indica (mango)1

Predators

Aonidiella orientalis (Oriental Scale)[4]
Aonidiella simplex[4]
Aspidiotus nerii (ivy scale)[5]
Chrysomphalus pallens <Unverified Name>[4]
Coccus longulus (long brown scale)[4]
Ctenoplusia limbirena (Scar Bank Gem)[5]
Dysmicoccus brevipes (pineapple mealybug)[4]
Dysmicoccus neobrevipes (annona mealybug)[4]
Hemiberlesia lataniae (latania scale)[5]
Lepidosaphes tapleyi (guava long scale)[4]
Neoselenaspidus silvaticus[4]
Opuntiaspis javanensis[4]
Ovaticoccus agavium (agave ovaticoccin)[4]
Parasaissetia nigra (nigra scale)[5]
Phenacoccus sisalanus <Unverified Name>[4]
Pinnaspis strachani (lesser snow scale)[4]
Saissetia miranda (mexican black scale)[4]

Distribution

Mexico (Chiapas); Mexico (Chiapas), widely cultivated elsewere;

External References

USDA Plant Profile

Photos

Citations

Species recognized by Govaerts R., 06-Jan-2005, WCSP: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families in Catalog of Life 2011
Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Derived from Allergy-Free Gardening OPALS™, Thomas Leo Ogren (2000) ♦ 2Kattge, J. et al. (2011b) TRY - a global database of plant traits Global Change Biology 17:2905-2935 ♦ 3USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture ♦ 4Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009 ♦ 5Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
Invasive Status provided by Global Invasive Species Database Downloaded on 10 May 2011.
Protected Areas provided by Biological Inventories of the World's Protected Areas in cooperation between the Information Center for the Environment at the University of California, Davis and numerous collaborators.
Images provided by Google Image Search
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Weather provided by NOAA METAR Data Access