This Week in H’burg is a weekly column featuring photos and fun facts from local photographer Pierre Ratté. Each week we’ll feature a new photo from Ratté along with a fact about the subject matter of the photo.
Agave americana, is also known as the century plant. Contrary to its name, this plant generally lives 20-30 years. Blooming only once towards the end of its life, it sends out shoots to propagate. There are over 250 species of agave. Though these plants look like cacti, they are not. They are succulents, related to the lily family. Some species of agave are used to make mezcal, but only blue agave, Agave tequiliana, is used to produce tequila. In pre-Columbian times in the region of Jalisco, native people made a fermented drink known as ‘pulque.’ In that area, blue agave thrives in red clay soil.
The plants grow about seven feet tall, and at higher altitudes produce a sweet juice. In the 1600s, Hispanics fermented a refined liquor from blue agave, which became known as tequila. The Jalisco region is one of five appellations for tequila. The area around the city of Tequila reportedly grows over 300 million blue agave plants for tequila production, and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Pierre Ratté posts a daily picture on Instagram, Facebook and TodayinHburg.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His book “100 Days Sheltering-In-Place” can be purchased at Levin’s and Copperfield’s bookstores, TodayinHburg.com or Amazon.com.
