Agave americana flavored with the very pungent mezcal worm. "Mezcal" and "tequila", although also produced from agave plants, are different from "pulque" in their technique for extracting the sugars from the heart of the plant, and in that they are distilled spirits. In "mezcal" and "tequila" production, the sugars are extracted from the "piñas" (or hearts) by heating them in ovens, rather than by collecting "aguamiel" from the plant's cut stalk. Thus, if one were to distill "pulque", it would not be a form of "mezcal", but rather a different drink. Agave nectar is marketed as a natural form of sugar with
Agave eggersiana Agave eggersiana Agave eggersiana, Eggers' century plant, is an endangered species of spiky plant which grows in the Virgin Islands, in dry, exposed areas. "Agave eggersiana" is a perennial herb known in the wild only from the island of St. Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USFWS 1998a). A small number of plants remain on private land and are threatened by tourist development (USFWS 1998b). Other threats include feral pigs and goats on National Park Service land (USFWS 1998b). Research needs include distribution and abundance, general biology and ecology (USFWS 1998a). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requests that any