century plant

American  

noun

1. any New World plant of the genus Agave, requiring many years to mature and blooming once before dying, especially the widely cultivated species A. americana, having leaves in a basal rosette and a tall flower stalk.

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century plant British  

noun

1. Also called: American aloe.  an agave, Agave americana, native to tropical America but naturalized elsewhere, having very large spiny greyish leaves and greenish flowers on a tall fleshy stalk. It blooms only once in its life, after 10 to 30 years (formerly thought to flower after a century)

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Etymology

Origin of century plant

An Americanism dating back to 1755–65

Example Sentences

Once the plant finally flowers, Flournoy will look forward to watching another century plant grow in its place.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2023

Likewise, pennyroyal was known even to the ancient Greeks as a form of birth control; “Harts-horn,” or century plant, was also commonly recommended at the time as part of concoctions for abortions and expelling after-birth.

From Slate • May 5, 2022

The agave, a type of century plant, lives a long life — then blooms once and dies.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2020

In the 19th century, plant breeders found that if they cut witches’ broom from one tree and grafted it to another, the broom would grow and produce seeds.

From New York Times • May 21, 2018

The rabbit zigged one last time around a scruffy boulder, ducked under an ancient century plant and stopped—dead—directly beneath the mare.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen