Furcraea foetida, Mauritius-hemp, Green-aloe

Furcraea foetida (L.) Haw.
Family: Asparagaceae
Synonyms: Agave bulbosa K.Koch, Agave commelyni Salm-Dyck, Agave foetida L., Agave gigantea (Vent.) D.Dietr., Agave madagascariensis (Haw.) Salm-Dyck, Aloe foetida (L.) Crantz, Fourcroya gigantea (Vent.) Hook., Funium pi Hierum Willemet, Furcraea atroviridis Jacobi & Goeff., Furcraea barillettii Jacobi, Furcraea commelyni (Salm-Dyck) Kunth,  Furcraea gigantea Vent., Furcraea madagascariensis Haw., Furcraea viridis Hemsl., Furcraea watsoniana Sander,  Furcraea gigantea var. mediopicta Trel.

English: Mauritius-hemp, Giant Cabuya, Green-aloe
Finnish: Mauritiuksenhamppu
French: Sissal
Portuguese: piteira gigante

Description: Stem short; ± 1 m. Leaves large up to 156 x 7-9 cm, crowded, broadly oblanceolate, almost flat, undulate, somewhat roughened beneath, entire. Inflorescence large, paniculate, scape c. 6-12 m. Flowers pale yellow to green-white, fragrant, tubular, perianth segments 6, spreading; stamens included, filaments short, thick below.

Uses: Root:  Mixed  with  gin  and  used  for  back  pain.  In  Surinam,  an  infusion  with  sweet  oil  is drunk for treating syphilis. Leaf: Decoction for a febrifuge. Leaves are used in a preparation with molasses or honey for children's obstinate colds. Leaves are used as a fish poison by the Guyana Patamona.  Macerated  young  leaves  are  used  as  a  shampoo  by  the  Guyana  Patamona.  Squashed young leaves are used as a soap by the Guyana Patamona.  [Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana)]

7 Published articles of Furcraea foetida
1. Be warned! Invasive succulent, Furcraea foetida (Mauritius hemp) on the loose!
Lalla, R.
SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY  Volume: 79   Pages: 232-232   Published: MAR 2012

2. AGAVACEAE FURCRAEA FOETIDA: AN INVADING ALIEN IN SOUTH AFRICA
Crouch, N. R.; Smith, G. F.
BOTHALIA  Volume: 41   Issue: 1   Pages: 196-199   Published: MAY 2011

3. Steroidal Glycosides from Furcraea foetida and Their Cytotoxic Activity
Yokosuka, Akihito; Sano, Tomoe; Hashimoto, Ken; et al.
CHEMICAL & PHARMACEUTICAL BULLETIN  Volume: 57   Issue: 10   Pages: 1161-1166   Published: OCT 2009

4. Furcraea foetida (L.) Haw. flowering in the garden of botanical survey of India, western circle, Pune
Datar, Mandar N.; Prasad, V. P.
Phytotaxonomy  Volume: 6   Pages: 126-127   Published: 2006

5. Some new observations in Furcraea foetida L
Nadaf, A. B.; Shukla, S. R.; Krishnan, S.
Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany  Volume: 25   Issue: 2   Pages: 275-278   Published: 2001

6. A new bioactive steroidal saponin, furcreastatin, from the plant Furcraea foetida
Itabashi, M; Segawa, K; Ikeda, Y; et al.
CARBOHYDRATE RESEARCH  Volume: 323   Issue: 1-4   Pages: 57-62   Published: JAN 12 2000

7. A NOTE ON FURCRAEA-FOETIDA AGAVACEAE FROM NORTHERN INDIA
BOSE R B
Bulletin of the Botanical Society of Bengal  Volume: 29   Issue: 2   Pages: 147-150   Published: 1971.