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

After a deep dive on the internet, she learned that she had actually planted an agave Americana — commonly called a “century plant” — which is native to Mexico and parts of the United States, specifically Texas.

From Seattle Times

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

From Literature

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

From Los Angeles Times

Although it is known as the century plant, the American agave typically lives 10 to 30 years.

From US News

The thread used in making this lace is spun from the fiber of the leaves of the aloe, a plant resembling somewhat the century plant.

From Project Gutenberg