This is an elegant variegated form of the smooth-margined species so important commercially and widely grown in the tropics for its fiber (see cover of the November-December, 2001 issue of the Cactus and Succulent Journal). A pentaploid, largely sterile hybrid, its precise origin is uncertain. The name is derived from the port of Sisal in the state of Yucatán, Mexico, from which it was originally exported; however, the plant appears not to be native to the Yucatán peninsula. If the plant is given free root-run, it forms 6-7-foot rosettes with straight, mostly milky green leaves with blue-green margins. Occasionally a leaf will be further ornamented with a stripe of bright yellow. Rooted bulbils of HBG 77098. $5.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 74 (2), March - April, 2002