Stats

Lifespan: 10-30 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Desert
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Common

About

A dramatic succulent forming a massive rosette of thick, grey-blue-green leaves edged with hooked teeth and tipped with a rigid terminal spine. Despite its name, it flowers not after a century but after 10–30 years, sending up a towering spike up to 9 m tall before the parent rosette dies.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Genus: Agave
Species: Agave americana