- Furcraea foetida
-
Furcraea foetida 
Scientific classification 
Kingdom: Plantae clade: Angiosperms clade: Monocots Order: Asparagales Family: Asparagaceae Subfamily: Agavoideae Genus: Furcraea Species: F. foetida Binomial name Furcraea foetida
(L.) Haw.Furcraea foetida (Giant Cabuya, Green-aloe or Mauritius-hemp) is a species of flowering plant native to the Caribbean and northern South America.
Description
Furcraea foetida is an evergreen perennial subshrub, stemless or with a short stem up to 1 m tall. The leaves are sword-shaped, 1-1.8 m long and 10-15 cm broad at their widest point, narrowing to 6-7 cm broad at the leaf base, and to a sharp spine tip at the apex; the margins are entire or with a few hooked spines. The flowers are greenish to creamy white, 4 cm long, and strongly scented; they are produced on a large inflorescence up to 7.5 m tall.
- Cultivation
The plant is cultivated in subtropical and tropical regions for products and as an ornamental plant for gardens. Its leaves are used to produce a natural fiber similar to sisal.
References
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Furcraea foetida
- Huxley, A. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
This Asparagales article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
