Stop 1: Century Plant (Agave americana)

Common Name: Century Plant 

Scientific Name: Agave americana 

Family Name: Agavaceae 

Duration: Perennial 

Size: Up to about 6 feet tall without the flower stalk (stalk reaching upwards of 30 feet) 

Leaf Arrangement: Rosulate 

Blooming Months: Spring, Summer 

Distribution: AZ, CA, HI, LA, TX 

General Description  

The century plant, Agave americana, is a heavily armed species with strong spines along its edges and a single spine at the tip of the leaf. The leaves grow spirally, giving it the characteristic “rosette” growth pattern. Century plants produce a flowering stalk that can reach upwards of 30 feet in height. They reproduce by seed dispersal from the stalk, or by a process known as “suckering” in which the plant will produce shoots from the parent plant. 

Park Wildlife Ecology/Connections  

Agave americana is a nectar source for insects, birds, and bats. Small wildlife, such as javelinas and rodents, snack on the leaves. The trapdoor giant skipper (Agathymus) butterfly complex utilizes the plant as larval food. The plant can harbor other insect eggs, although these relationships may not always be to the benefit of the agave. Some animals do find the plant to be toxic upon ingestion.  

North American Ethnobotany  

The century plant was used as one of the most important sources of food for the Apache, Comanche, Mohave, Paiute, Papago, Ute, and Yuma people. In times of famine, the plant was essential in the avoidance of starvation for the Pima people. Cooking practices involved pit roasting many aspects of the plant, including the heads, leaves, tubers, flower stalks, roots and fruit. The leaves and flower stalks were also eaten as greens, and juice from the plant would be boiled and used as a syrup by the Pima people. The Papago people used the fibers to make brushes and used the leaves as a component in the weaving material of house frames.