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 titanota Merit. Agave titanota Agave titanota, the chalk agave, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is a medium-sized evergreen succulent perennial native to Oaxaca, Mexico. The plant forms a solitary rosette of broad whitish green leaves with variable spines, occasionally producing offsets. Mature plants may produce a flower head from 3m to 6m tall with yellow flowers. As it is monocarpic, this signals the death of the plant. It can tolerate temperatures of , but in practice is best grown in a sheltered spot without severe frosts. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of