century plant
Slow-blooming agave
Century plant is a type of agave native to Mexico and the American Southwest, named for the belief that it blooms only once every hundred years.
The plant actually flowers after ten to thirty years, then dies.
Its tall flowering stalk can reach twenty feet or more.
The century plant in the garden finally bloomed after decades of waiting.
Distilled agave spirit
- mezcalSmoky agave liquor
- succulentMoist and flavorful
- rosetteCircular ribbon ornament
- AmericanaHeritage artifacts or music
fibers · sisal · Mexico · nectar · ethnobotany · cultivar · horticulture · fleshy
Devoid of water
- xerophyteDrought-tolerant plant species
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- succulentMoist and flavorful
- yuccaSpiny desert plant
saguaro · Sonoran · creosote · chaparral · rocky · sandy · harsh · sunbaked
Plant's complete bloom arrangement
- floweringProducing reproductive structures
- stalkPlant's vertical support
- panicleBranched raceme cluster
- pollinationFlower reproductive transfer
nectar · terminal · towering · dramatic · once · spectacular · bees · bats
Ten-year periods
- slow-growingDeveloping at leisurely pace
- patientAble to wait calmly
- ancientVery old indeed
- enduranceSustained effort capacity
perennial · timeless · venerable · lasting · persistent · resilient · misnomer · twenty-five
Barely adequate
- sharpFine-edged, or astute
- pointedTapering to a tip
- teethEnamel-covered chewing structures
- terminalAt the endpoint
protective · rigid · hooked · dagger-like · serrated · defense · formidable · needle-like
tequila
Distilled agave spirit
Americana · fibers · sisal · Mexico · nectar · ethnobotany · cultivar · horticulture · fleshy · blue-green
arid
Devoid of water
yucca · saguaro · Sonoran · creosote · chaparral · rocky · sandy · harsh · sunbaked · parched
inflorescence
Plant's complete bloom arrangement
- floweringProducing reproductive structures
- stalkPlant's vertical support
- panicleBranched raceme cluster
pollination · nectar · terminal · towering · dramatic · once · spectacular · bees · bats · hummingbirds
decades
Ten-year periods
- slow-growingDeveloping at leisurely pace
- patientAble to wait calmly
- ancientVery old indeed
endurance · perennial · timeless · venerable · lasting · persistent · resilient · misnomer · twenty-five · lifespan
marginal
Barely adequate
terminal · protective · rigid · hooked · dagger-like · serrated · defense · formidable · needle-like · stiff
- desert lifecamel, cactus, scorpion, rattlesnake, sidewinder
- desert plantssaguaro, prickly pear, cholla, agave, barrel cactus
- Bat-Pollinatedbaobab, saguaro, saguaro cactus, agave, blue agave
- drought-tolerant plantscacti, agave, aloe, aloe vera, xerophytes
- xeriscapingxeriscaping, drought tolerant, water conservation, drought resistant, succulent
- Agavesblue agave, sisal