Jalisco the blue agave plant. It is the most famous type of mezcal produced in Mexico, and the only mezcal which is produced industrially with strict standards. The tequila industry supports large scale cultivation of the blue agave, with about 200,000 people employed through it directly or indirectly. It is named after a small town northwest of the city of Guadalajara in the center of where it is produced and the native region of the blue agave. The plant was used in pre-Hispanic times to make a ceremonial drink. The Spanish used the sweet heart of the mature plant, called a
Agave palmeri Agave palmeri Agave palmeri (also known as Palmer's century plant) is an especially large member of the genus "Agave", in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua. The plant is also frequently cultivated as an ornamental in other regions. "Agave palmeri" is the largest Agave species growing in the United States. It produces a basal leaf rosette of fleshy, upright green leaves of up to 120 cm (4 ft) in length, with jagged edges and ending in thick spines of 3–6 cm (1.2–2.4 inches) long. Flowers are pale yellow and green and