gingin said:Also...when you cut the leaves be careful...the "sap" fluid released can be VERY irritating to your skin.
All this time messing with them and I never knew!
I've learned to dodge sap from so many of my plants... Elephant ear especially, and aroid really... Any euphorbia or plant with white latex..
Don't even touch Devils claw plant!
Yuck it's like fly paper that smells like old spit or something.... Never touch castor bean juice, just in case.... Not to mention the natives and invasive species... Poison ivy and most especially poison hemlock... Learned all those the hard way... More than a few times!
Thank god the giant hogweeds not here yet...
I've had agave for years... I guess I've never really gotten into the sap....good to know! Thanks
Btw, I think the main uses of agave are making tequila and mescal, as well as sisal rope, but I know it has many more uses.
The natives really had used for them a lot... Neat stuff!
Needles, fish hooks, fiber... On and on... A sisal rope bridge stood for nearly 500 years by some accounts, I forget the massive length it spanned.... I think it feel in the 1800's
I'm fuzzy on those facts... Please verify them before you quote me!
I supposedly own a form of A. Americana that can reach 12-15 feet, unlikely I'll even see that size here...
I love these plants!
