Species
+

Agave sisalana Perrine

Agave, Hemp Plant, Kitani, Maguey de Sisal

Climate known 54 photographs Cactus or succulent
Add one to my plants Sow seed

Every figure on this page is derived from public data by a stated rule and says its source; nothing here is written by a person or a model, except the Wikipedia passage, which is quoted and marked as such. How it is made.

Summary

Sisal is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff leaf fiber used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fiber is traditionally used for rope and twine, and has many other uses, including cloth, footwear, hats, bags, carpets, geotextiles, and dartboards. It is also used as fiber reinforcements for composite fiberglass, rubber, and concrete products. More on Wikipedia ›

The opening of Wikipedia, “Sisal”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written. Kept separate from everything derived here.

About the genus · Agave

Agave is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves.

Text from Wikipedia, “Agave”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written.

Family
Asparagaceae
Described by
Perrine
Native to
Mexico Southeast
Wild records
23 in range· 13 open

At a glance

Warmest month
32°C
May, mean day; nights 24 °C (CHELSA)
Rain
1049mm/yr
11 wet months · peak Sep 186 mm (CHELSA)
Light
25–43DLI
mol/m²/day, winter to summer, open sky (CHELSA shortwave)
In short condensed by rule from the cultivation cards · not written by a person
Grouped as a cactus or succulent by the genus Agave, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). Rain rule: a summer growing season, June to October in the northern hemisphere (June to October at the habitat, northern). Habitat rain 1049 mm a year, wettest September at 186 mm, driest March at 24 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere). Open sky over the habitat: 25 to 43 mol/m²/day. Cold floor 14.4 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).
Each sentence is one card's own one-line form, written by the same rule as the card (Its year, Rain, Light, Temperature); the note cannot say what a card does not. Months are given for the northern hemisphere (set your site in Settings to change this), and the habitat's own alongside. The cards · the figures.

Also known as Agave amaniensis Trel. & Nowell; Agave rigida subsp. sisalana (Perrine) Engelm.; Agave rigida var. sisalana (Perrine) Engelm.; Agave segurae D.Guillot & P.Van der Meer; Agave sisalana f. armata (Trel.) Trel. and 3 more.

Cultivation

Grouped as a cactus or succulent by the genus Agave, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). The table holds no figure for this group, which spans too much for one minimum; the cold floor is the habitat's alone, and no prose comes from the table.

Its year Rain rule: a summer growing season, June to October in the northern hemisphere (June to October at the habitat, northern).

This species’ habitat figures, and what two fixed rules read from them.

The rain rule reads a summer growing season: 70% of the year's rain (774 mm of 1049 mm) falls in June to October, warmer than the year (wet-season mean 27.3 °C against a yearly mean of 25.9 °C). Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere; shifted six months for a southern-hemisphere collection: December to April.

Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the envelope cells: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve gives a season to reverse. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain Habitat rain 1049 mm a year, wettest September at 186 mm, driest March at 24 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

1049 mm a year at the habitat, 774 mm of it June to October. Wettest month September at 186 mm, driest March at 24 mm. Across the envelope cells the year's total runs 743 mm to 1630 mm (10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year) (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the envelope cells. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light Open sky over the habitat: 25 to 43 mol/m²/day.

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Open sky over the habitat: 25 to 43 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 24, the highest 90th-percentile month 44).

CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Warmth and air Cold floor 14.4 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell is 14.4 °C, the absolute minimum 11.3 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 40.0 °C. Monthly means: coldest night 19.0 °C in January (across the envelope cells 14.1 °C to 21.0 °C), warmest day 31.9 °C in May (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). Cold floor: 14.4 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell (NASA POWER).

NASA POWER daily minima and maxima 1981–2024 at the typical cell, lapse-corrected to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA. The cold floor is the figure named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 57 to 65% across the year (monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the envelope cells.

The figures the cards read from are in Climate below, and where they came from in Natural habitat.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat climate through the yearMean day from 27 °C in Jan to 32 °C in May; mean night from 19 °C in Jan to 24 °C in Jun. The cold quarter, Dec to Feb, is the three months around the coldest night. 1049 mm of rain a year, most in Sep. The bands show the 10th to 90th percentile across 18 habitat cells. Over 44 years at the typical cell the absolute minimum was 11.3 °C and the 99th-percentile day 40.0 °C; neither is dated to a month. Beneath: daily light integral and relative humidity through the year, each on its own scale.10°15°20°25°30°35°40°45°40.0° 99th-percentile day (undated)11.3° lowest night in 44 yrs (undated)°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400mm rainDLI 25–43RH 57–65 %JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain 10th–90th percentile across 18 habitat cells cold quarter: the three months around the coldest night extremes over 44 years at the typical cell, marked at the edge: undated DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C27 / 23–2928 / 25–3030 / 27–3331 / 28–3532 / 28–3631 / 26–3431 / 26–3431 / 26–3430 / 25–3329 / 25–3128 / 24–3027 / 24–29
Night °C19 / 14–2120 / 15–2121 / 16–2223 / 17–2424 / 18–2524 / 18–2624 / 18–2624 / 18–2624 / 18–2623 / 17–2521 / 16–2320 / 15–22
Rain mm32 / 11–6927 / 12–3724 / 12–4329 / 20–5479 / 42–157173 / 116–326156 / 98–235158 / 97–290186 / 129–322101 / 86–17945 / 34–10039 / 18–68
DLI27 / 25–3232 / 30–3638 / 35–4043 / 39–4341 / 38–4439 / 33–4241 / 35–4339 / 35–4234 / 31–3731 / 28–3228 / 26–3025 / 24–30
RH %59 / 58–6459 / 57–6257 / 55–6057 / 54–6160 / 56–6364 / 60–6764 / 60–6765 / 61–6765 / 64–6963 / 62–6961 / 60–6761 / 59–65

Each figure is the median across the 18 grid cells holding the 23 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. Extremes and elevation were read at the typical cell 1377:1811 (21.125, -89.425). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 11.3 °C, 1st-percentile night 14.4 °C, 99th-percentile day 40.0 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Envelope: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 18 distinct grid cells holding the 23 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1377:1811 (its coldest month's mean night nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 21.00_-89.375, lapse-corrected -4 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 7 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across every in-range record's cell, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeMexico Southeast· introduced: Baleares, Sardegna, Spain, Albania, Italy, Sicilia, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Canary Is., Cape Verde, Madeira, Benin, Gambia, The, Guinea, Senegal, Burundi, Central African Republic, Gulf of Guinea Is., Rwanda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Swaziland, Northern Provinces, Ascension, St.Helena, Aldabra, Mauritius, Mozambique Channel Is., Madagascar, Réunion, Seychelles, China South-Central, China Southeast, Nansei-shoto, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Andaman Is., Cambodia, Myanmar, South China Sea, Thailand, Solomon Is., Queensland, Fiji, Gilbert Is., Nauru, Line Is., Caroline Is., Marianas, Marshall Is., Hawaii, Florida, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Is., Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Is. AB Ant, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Turks-Caicos Is., Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is., Colombia, Ecuador
Kew's description“succulent perennial” · “seasonally dry tropical”· quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Map marker21.033, -89.633 · in the densest population, 15 records (65% of those in range)
Evidence usedThe map marker and the climate envelope rest on all 23 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 13 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 12 km away. 710 records outside the range (gardens, roadsides, misidentifications) ignored.
The map markerthe map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 23 in-range records; it decides nothing.

Photographs

Agave sisalanaAgave sisalanaAgave sisalanaAgave sisalanaAgave sisalanaAgave sisalanaAgave sisalanaAgave sisalana

Photographs: no rights reserved · CC0 (7); (c) Kevin Faccenda, some rights reserved (CC BY).

Photographs: iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons did not answer when this page was built; what is shown came from the sources that did.

Papers naming this species

Works whose title or abstract names Agave sisalana, most cited first, from OpenAlex (CC0). A mention, not a cultivation source: nothing on this page is drawn from them.

Designing payments for environmental services in theory and practice: An overview of the issues
Stefanie Engel, Stefano Pagiola, Sven Wunder (2008) · Ecological Economics
Native Cellulose: Structure, Characterization and Thermal Properties
Matheus Poletto, Heitor Luiz Ornaghi, Ademir J. Zattera (2014) · Materials
Natural Fibers as Sustainable and Renewable Resource for Development of Eco-Friendly Composites: A Comprehensive Review
Yashas Gowda Thyavihalli Girijappa, Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa, Jyotishkumar Parameswaranpillai, Suchart Siengchin (2019) · Frontiers in Materials
Lignin biosynthesis and its integration into metabolism
Ruben Vanholme, Barbara De Meester, John Ralph, Wout Boerjan (2019) · Current Opinion in Biotechnology
Recent Advances in Characterization of Lignin Polymer by Solution-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Methodology
Jia‐Long Wen, Shaolong Sun, Bailiang Xue, Run‐Cang Sun (2013) · Materials
Lignin–carbohydrate complexes: properties, applications, analyses, and methods of extraction: a review
Dmitry Tarasov, Mathew Leitch, Pedram Fatehi (2018) · Biotechnology for Biofuels
Extraction and characterization of nanocellulose structures from raw cotton linter
J. P. S. Morais, Morsyleide de Freitas Rosa, Mén de Sá Moreira de Souza Filho, Lidyane Dias Nascimento (2012) · Carbohydrate Polymers
Physiological Responses to Drought, Salinity, and Heat Stress in Plants: A Review
Tiago Benedito dos Santos, Alessandra Ferreira Ribas, Sílvia Graciele Hülse de Souza, Ilara Gabriela Frasson Budzinski (2022) · Stresses
Applications of Natural Fibers and Its Composites: An Overview
M. R. Sanjay, G. R. Arpitha, L. Laxmana Naik, K. Gopalakrishna (2016) · Natural Resources
Experimental investigation of various vegetable fibers as sorbent materials for oil spills
T.R. Annunciado, T. H. D. Sydenstricker, Sandro Campos Amico (2005) · Marine Pollution Bulletin
Sustainable Fiber‐Reinforced Composites: A Review
Saptarshi Maiti, Md. Rashedul Islam, Mohammad Abbas Uddin, Shaila Afroj (2022) · Advanced Sustainable Systems
The effect of fiber morphology on the tensile strength of natural fibers
Maria Ernestina Alves Fidelis, Thatiana Vitorino Castro Pereira, Otávio da Fonseca Martins Gomes, Flávio de Andrade Silva (2013) · Journal of Materials Research and Technology

Similar habitat climate the 6 species whose habitat climate is nearest this one's: mean day and night, month by month, and rain on a log scale, in calendar order, so a habitat with the same seasons six months out is far, not near. Nothing else counts: not range, not family.

Other Agave 252 in the reference

History & registers

Where this page came from built 2026-09-20 · dossier v2 · node
gbif.species answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.synonyms answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.vernacular answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
wcvp.distribution answered
gbif.occurrences answeredGBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.3h4zam
climate answered
wikidata answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
wikipedia answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.taxon not askedcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive)
inat.photos.wild answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.photos.cultivated nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
commons not askedcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
gbif.media answered
openalex answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped

Every upstream is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, or refused. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 70 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.