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 delamateri Agave delamateri Agave delamateri is a species of plant in the agave subfamily, Agavoideae. It is known by the common names Tonto Basin agave and Rick's agave. It is endemic to central Arizona in the United States. It is generally found on gravelly soils in desert scrub and sometimes pinyon-juniper woodland, often near Mogollon or Salado archaeological sites. "Agave delamateri" is an acaulescent (trunkless) species forming rosettes up to 100 cm (40 inches) in diameter. Leaves are up to 70 cm (28 inches) long, with a waxy coat giving them a bluish-green appearance. Leaves are well-armed, with teeth along the