Brantley resident finally sees century plant in bloom
Published 12:53 pm Thursday, July 28, 2016
After waiting 20 years to see it bloom, Eva Stringer can now say she is the proud owner of a fully bloomed century plant, which currently stretches 40 feet tall. (Photo by Beth Hyatt)
After watching and waiting for 20 years, Eva Stringer of Brantley finally had the chance to see her century plant bloom.
Agave americana, commonly known as the century plant or American aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Agavaceae, native to Mexico and the United States in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.
Despite the common name “American aloe”, it is not closely related to plants in the genus Aloe.
Stringer first found the plant in her son’s yard, and at first believed it to be an aloe plant.
“When it’s little, it looks like an aloe vera plant and I put it in my flower bed by the carport,” she said.
According to Stringer’s son, the plant is used to make tequila in many parts of the world, and also produces string-like fibers from its needle-sharp thorns that can be used as a needle and thread.
Although it is called the century plant, it typically lives only 10 to 30 years and may reach a total height up to 25–30 feet tall. Stringer and her family believe the plant to be about 40 feet tall currently.
“I had no idea it would get that big. Then the plant itself got up higher than the carport, and I found out it was a century plant,” Stringer said.
