Agave fourcroydes

Agave fourcroydes or henequen is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Mexico and Guatemala.

The leaves of Agave fourcroydes yield a fiber also called henequen, which is suitable for rope and twine but not of as high a quality as sisal.

It is the major plantation fiber agave of eastern Mexico, being grown extensively in Yucatán, Veracruz, and Tamaulipas.

It is also used to make licor del henequén, a traditional Mexican alcoholic drink.

The first person of Spanish descent to document the plant and its usefulness for ropes and other naval utensils was José María Lanz, a Mexican-born engineer in service of the Spanish Navy, who studied henequen in Yucatán in 1783.