I apologize for the lack of posts past several weeks - just crazy busy. I ran across this article by Jonathan DuHamel called "Agave, a plant of many uses" recently and including some portions of it below and a link to entire piece which is a very worthy read. j / itsa
Agaves, sometimes called century plants, are succulents like cacti. Their normal life span is usually between 10 and 30 years, not a century. At the end of their time, they shoot up a stalk which is often quick growing, as much as one foot per day. Agaves make a stalk just once in their lifetime, then die.
Some examples of agave uses include:
Fiber - is extracted from the spiked leaves. By the way, the pulp in some species is acidic enough to cause dermatitis but baking reduces the acidity. The cleaned fibers were used to make clothing, rope, baskets, and brushes. The end spines could be used for needles, and with careful extraction, came with thread attached.
Food - the heart of the plant (imaging a giant artichoke) was roasted yielding a sweet nutritious food that is slightly slimy and tastes like molasses. Cooking is essential because otherwise the heart of the agave is very poisonous. The juice of the agave heart was boiled down into a sweet syrup.
Drink - the juice could also be fermented (by spitting into it) into pulque, a beer-like drink and of course made into tequila or mescal.
Medicine - agave contains polysaccharides which are bactericidal, and saponins and sapogenins that have antibiotic, fungicidal, and antiviral properties.
Building materials - stalks can be used for a variety of building purposes and they make good, light, strong walking sticks.
Read DeHamel's full article explaining agave uses in more detail on Tucson Citizen
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