Palmer's Century Plant

Description

Agave palmeri (also known as Palmer's century plant) is an especially large member of the genus Agave, in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua. The plant is also frequently cultivated as an ornamental in other regions. Agave palmeri is the largest Agave species growing in the United States. It produces a basal leaf rosette of fleshy, upright green leaves of up to 120 cm (4 ft) in length, with jagged edges and ending in thick spines of 3–6 cm (1.2–2.4 inches) long. Flowers are pale yellow and green and 1.6–2 inches long and grow on branches in the upper third of the flower spike, which can be between up to 5 m (16.5 feet) tall. The plant requires a large pot but is very tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including temperatures of around –10 °C. Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of South America. The genus Agave (from the Ancient Greek αγαυή, agauê) is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes. Many plants in this genus may be considered perennial, because they require several to many years to mature and flower. However, most Agave species are more accurately described as monocarpic rosettes or multiannuals, since each individual rosette flowers only once and then dies; a small number of Agave species are polycarpic. Maguey flowers are considered edible in many indigenous culinary traditions of Mesoamerica. Along with plants from the closely related genera Yucca, Hesperoyucca, and Hesperaloe, various Agave species are popular ornamental plants in hot, dry climates, as they require very little supplemental water to survive. Most Agave species grow very slowly. Some Agave species are known by the common name "century plant". The succulent leaves of most Agave species have sharp marginal teeth, an extremely sharp terminal spine, and are very fibrous inside. The stout stem is usually extremely short, which may make the plant appear as though it is stemless.