| 3. | bowstring hemp - grown as a houseplant for its mottled fleshy sword-shaped leaves or as a source of fiberagave, American aloe, century plant - tropical American plants with basal rosettes of fibrous sword-shaped leaves and flowers in tall spikes; some cultivated for ornament or for fiber genus Sansevieria - Old World tropical herbaceous perennial of the agave family; in some classifications considered a genus of Liliaceae bowstring hemp - strong fiber that resembles hemp; obtained from sansevieria and used for e.g. cordage | |