Huaco and amole: A survey of the uses ofManfreda andProchnyanthes

Abstract

In the New World the family Agavaceae has yielded many plants used by the native people and even some that have found broader worldwide use. In the portion of the family related to Agave, three genera have been especially valuable. The genus Agave itself has been the subject of many papers about the fiber, food, and drink that the plants provide. The past and present uses of the second genus, Polianthes, were described by Trueblood (1973). That genus of 14 species includes the tuberose, which was an ornamental and medicinal plant of the Aztecs and is now valuable as a cut flower and perfume crop. The third genus, Manfreda, with 23 species, has also had economic value and has been employed in several different capacities. It is the purpose of this paper to detail those uses and thus to help complete the account of Agave and its relatives. Prochnyanthes, a fourth, monospecific genus figures in the story as well, and since it is closely related to Manfreda and Polianthes, it will also be included. Manfreda, like Agave, is native throughout Mexico, and it extends northward into Texas and the southeastern United States and southward into Honduras (Fig. 1 ). Proehnyanthes is within the western portion of the Manfreda range ( Fig. 1 ). It should not be surprising that since these are similar plants in the same range some of the uses are similar. Plants of Manfreda and Prochnyanthes are