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Plants rarely make it into the news (other than the occasional pot story). But the blooming of an “agave gentryi” is a worthwhile exception.
The 18 feet tall plant in the UC Berkeley Botanical Garderns is of a species that only blooms after an approximately 60-year-long life, then dies. And this plant (now resembling a giant asparagus stalk) is about to bloom.
The agave gentryi bloom is so rare that there is “no good description of the bloom elsewhere”. Some smaller blooms have been vaguely described, but none are of this size.
The 15-year-old plant–which is blooming prematurely–will die after its enormous yellow flower appears.
No doubt your life will be complete regardless of whether you ever see the blooming of an agave gentryi. But Cloggers are well aware of the importance of bragging rights. Who wouldn’t want to tell your friends that you saw the bloom of a plant so rare Wikipedia doesn’t even have a page for it?
Image Source: Stan Shebs
Agave is about to produce a giant bloom [Botanical Garden at Berkeley]
