Agave sisalana
System : Terrestrial
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Plantae
Magnoliophyta
Liliopsida
Liliales
Agavaceae
  • General
  • Distribution
  • Impact
  • Management
  • Bibliography
  • Contact
Common name
agave (English), te robu (English, Kiribati), garingboom (Afrikaans), sisal agave (English), mescal (English), hemp-plant (English), Maguey de Sisal (Spanish), century plant (English), te rob' (English, Kiribati), malina (English, Hawaii), ndali (English, Fiji), natali (English, Fiji), dali (English, Fiji), sisal hemp (English), sisal (English)
Synonym
Agave rigida , var. sisalana (Perrine) Engelm.
Similar species
Summary
Agave sisalana is a member of the Agavaceae family and is native to Mexico. It is known primarily for its fibre production, and is grown commercially worldwide for the fibre industry. It is a large and fast-propagating plant, which can cause problems in areas where it is invasive as it can exclude and outcompete native plant species. A. sisalana is invasive in Australia, Madagascar, South Africa, the United States and on multiple islands in the Pacific.
Uses
Agave sisalana is used a source of fiber and it is used as an ornamental plant. Parts of the plant are used as medicine.

Principal source:

Compiler: IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) with support from the Overseas Territories Environmental Programme (OTEP) project XOT603, a joint project with the Cayman Islands Government - Department of Environment

Review:

Publication date: 2010-06-08

Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2025) Species profile: Agave sisalana. Downloaded from http://iucngisd.org/gisd/speciesname/Agave+sisalana on 15-01-2025.

Countries (or multi-country features) with distribution records for Agave sisalana
Informations on Agave sisalana has been recorded for the following locations. Click on the name for additional informations.
Lorem Ipsum
Location Status Invasiveness Occurrence Source
Details of Agave sisalana in information
Status
Invasiveness
Arrival date
Occurrence
Source
Introduction
Species notes for this location
Location note
Management notes for this location
Impact
Mechanism:
Outcome:
Ecosystem services:
Impact information
Red List assessed species 0:
Locations
MADAGASCAR
Mechanism
[1] Competition
Outcomes
[1] Environmental Ecosystem - Habitat
  • [1] Reduction in native biodiversity
[1] Environmental Species - Population
  • [1] Reduces/inhibits the growth of other species
Management information
Locations
AUSTRALIA
UNITED STATES
Management Category
Prevention
Control
Bibliography
17 references found for Agave sisalana

Management information
Brown, K., 2002. Agave sisalana Perrine. Wildland Weeds Summer 2002
Summary: Available from: http://www.se-eppc.org/wildlandweeds/pdf/Summer2002-Brown-pp18-21.pdf [Accessed 26 July 2010]
IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)., 2010. A Compilation of Information Sources for Conservation Managers.
Summary: This compilation of information sources can be sorted on keywords for example: Baits & Lures, Non Target Species, Eradication, Monitoring, Risk Assessment, Weeds, Herbicides etc. This compilation is at present in Excel format, this will be web-enabled as a searchable database shortly. This version of the database has been developed by the IUCN SSC ISSG as part of an Overseas Territories Environmental Programme funded project XOT603 in partnership with the Cayman Islands Government - Department of Environment. The compilation is a work under progress, the ISSG will manage, maintain and enhance the database with current and newly published information, reports, journal articles etc.
Tunison, J. Timothy and Nicholas G. Zimmer, 1992. Success in controlling localised alien plants in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Summary: Available from: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/book/1992_chap/23.pdf [Accessed 26 July 2010]
World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), 2006. National list of naturalised invasive and potentially invasive garden plants
Summary: Available from: http://wwf.org.au/publications/ListInvasivePlants/ [Accessed 26 July 2010]
General information
Badano, Ernesto I.; Pugnaire, Francisco I., 2004. Invasion of Agave species (Agavaceae) in south-east Spain: invader demographic parameters and impacts on native species. Diversity & Distributions. 10(5-6). September 2004. 493-500.
Duffey, Eric. 1964. The Terrestrial Ecology of Ascension Island, The Journal of Applied Ecology 1 (2): 219-251.
Summary: Images
Available from: http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/Duffey_1964_JAppEcol.pdf [Accessed 25 October 2009]
Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW), 2007. Agave sisalana (Agavaceae)
Summary: Available from: http://www.hear.org/gcw/species/agave_sisalana/ [Accessed 26 July 2010]
Gray, Alan; Tara Pelembe and Stedson Stroud, 2005. The conservation of the endemic vascular flora of Ascension Island and threats from alien species Oryx Vol 39 No 4 October 2005
Summary: Available from: http://www.ascensionconservation.org.ac/pdf/13-G-Gray-Pelembe-Stroud.pdf [Accessed 3 April 2010]
Hartemink, A. E.; Van Kekem, A. J., 1994. Nutrient depletion in Ferralsols under hybrid sisal cultivation in Tanzania. Soil Use & Management. 10(3). 1994. 103-107.
Hartemink, Alfred E.; Osborne, J. F.; Kips, P. A., 1996. Soil fertility decline and fallow effects in Ferralsols and Acrisols of sisal plantations in Tanzania. Experimental Agriculture. 32(2). 1996. 173-184.
Hartemink, Alfred E.; Wienk, Jan F., 1995. Sisal production and soil fertility decline in Tanzania. Outlook on Agriculture. 24(2). 1995. 91-96.
Long, Emma; Racey, Paul A., 2007. An exotic plantation crop as a keystone resource for an endemic megachiropteran, Pteropus rufus, in Madagascar. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 23(Part 4). JUL 2007. 397-407
Ortiz, Daniel Guillot; van der Meerz, Piet, 2006. A new potential invasive taxa to the flora iberica: Agave sisalana var. armata Trel. Studia Botanica. 25 2006. 139-141.
Porembski, S., 2000. The invasibility of tropical granite outcrops (�inselbergs�) by exotic weeds. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 83:131-137, 2000
Summary: Available from: http://www.rswa.org.au/content/work/journals/PDF/83(3)/v83(3)porembski.pdf [Accessed 26 July 2010]
USDA-ARCS, 2010. Agave sisalana Perrine sisal hemp. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 27 September 2010). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Summary: Available from: http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?mode=sciname&keywordquery=Agave%20sisalana [Accessed 26 July 2010]
USDA-ARS, 2010. Taxon: Agave sisalana Perrine. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
Summary: Available from: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?1735 [Accessed 26 July 2010]
Varnham, K 2006. Non-native species in UK Overseas Territories: a review JNCC Report No. 372
Summary: Available from: http://www.caymanbiodiversity.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jncc372_web.pdf [Accessed 9 April 2010]
Contact
The following 0 contacts offer information an advice on Agave sisalana
Agave sisalana
agave, te robu, garingboom, sisal agave, mescal, hemp-plant, Maguey de Sisal, century plant, te rob', malina, ndali, natali, dali, sisal hemp, sisal
Date assessed
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Recommended citation
(2025). Agave sisalana. IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT).