Agave young flower stalk. Agave nectar (also called agave syrup), a sweetener derived from the sap, is used as an alternative to sugar in cooking, and can be added to breakfast cereals as a binding agent. The sap of "A. americana" and other species is used in Mexico and Mesoamerica to produce "pulque", an alcoholic beverage. The flower shoot is cut out and the sap collected and subsequently fermented. By distillation, a spirit called "mezcal" is prepared; one of the best-known forms of mezcal is tequila. When dried and cut in slices, the flowering stem forms natural razor strops, and the
Agave angustifolia similar to "A. karatto". The "A. vivipara" of Miller (1768) and Smith et al. (2008) seem different, of a much smaller habit and narrower leaves, from the "A. vivipara" of Trelease (1913) and García-Mendoza and Fernando Chiang (2003), of a much larger habit. Agave angustifolia Agave angustifolia (Caribbean agave) is a plant which is native to Mexico and Central America. It is used to make mezcal and also as an ornamental plant, particularly the cultivar 'Marginata'. The "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families" regards "Agave angustifolia" as an illegitimate synonym for "Agave vivipara" L. Other sources maintain them as distinct