This is known as a Century Plant. Its name is Havard Agave and believe it or not, it is a member of the Asparagus Family! This species lives for 8 to 30 years before blooming, setting seed and dying. It is astounding looking, right? When I mentioned to the woman at the reception desk that I had photographed it, she said "You are looking at a skeleton." That had never occurred to me even though I could see that the plant was dead, as you can see. The leaves at the bottom are all brown and hanging down.
What's really wonderful is that the National Park Service doesn't knock it down and take it away - they leave it to decompose on its own, as a lesson about the life of this plant.
And look how beautiful and complex the top of the plant is! I would love to see one of these in bloom sometime. In fact, I think I will go look up photos online of one of these in bloom.
4 comments:
Beautiful photo of the plant against the blue sky and mountains. It is wonderful that the Park Service leaves the tree continue as Mother Nature intended. I wonder if the flower pods drop any seeds to begin a new life. Joan
Now I have to look up information about the Century Plant. It is very strange looking. I’m glad that the Park Service leaves it alone to continue its normal cycle. Betsey
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