A desert plant that gets a huge asparagus-looking flowering stalk, the century plant is a botanical curiosity. This plant, also called agave, commands attention simply by its three to five foot in diameter size. I photographed this agave out at the Desert Museum near Tucson this week.
The leaves are edged with spikes and grow from the center of the plant in a rosette fashion. When the flower stalk appears, it grows fast and high. The stalk shown in the photo was at least twelve feet tall and will probably get taller yet. Notice the dates (you can read the dates of 10/24, 11/28 and 12/12) on the pole beside the flower stalk that indicate the rate of growth.
Photographed at the Desert Museum, this placard explains that the blossom stalk indicates that the plant is at the end of its life. These plants are fun to watch and even more exciting to photograph as the stalk develops and the blossoms appear.
Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler
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