century plant

English

Etymology

So named because the plant may live for several decades before producing flowers. Once a plant flowers and produces seeds, it dies.

Noun

century plant (plural century plants)

1. An agave (Agave americana) originally from Mexico but cultivated worldwide.

   Synonyms: American aloe, maguey

2. Other plants in the genus Agave

   Hyponym: Shaw's agave

Translations

Agave americana

• Bulgarian: агава (agava), столетник (bg) (stoletnik)
• Classical Nahuatl: metl m
• Galician: piteira (gl) m
• Spanish: maguey (es) m