Native Plants
Plant Database
Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.
Agave deserti
Agave deserti Engelm.
Desert Agave, Desert Century Plant, Century Plant
Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family)
Synonym(s):
USDA Symbol: AGDE
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
Desert century-plant’s succulent, sword-like, blue-green leaves with sharp, marginal teeth and a stiff, terminal spine form a basal clump 2 ft. high and up to 6 ft. wide. When the plants are 8-20 years old they send up a sturdy, 6-9 ft., flowering stalk bearing large, mounded clusters of pale yellow, tubular flowers. After setting fruit, the entire plant dies. The dried seed capsules remain conspicuous for many months.
The Century Plant is a member of the agave family (family Agavaceae). Agaves are stout plants with woody stems or stem-bases, often tall, even tree-like, the long and narrow leaves crowded in rosettes at ends of stems or branches, a stout rapidly growing flower stalk arising from the rosette. Century Plants do not take a century to flower, but it may take them several decades to store enough food reserves to supply the rapidly growing stalk and mature the seeds. Then the rosette, often representing the entire plant, dies.
From the Image Gallery
No images of this plant
Plant Characteristics
Duration: PerennialHabit: Cactus/Succulent
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 2 feet tall by 6 feet wide when not flowering. Flower stalk up to about 9 feet tall.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: YellowBloom Time: Jun
Distribution
USA: AZ , CANative Distribution: AZ, s. CA & Mex.
Native Habitat: Washes; dry, rocky slopes below 5000 ft.
Growing Conditions
Water Use: LowLight Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil Description: Dry, rocky soils.
Conditions Comments: Century plant produces offsets freely. It is one of the most drought tolerant of the Agave species.
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
|
California Giant-Skipper (Agathymus stephensi)  Larval Host |
Propagation
Description: Sow seed or use offsets.Seed Treatment: No treatment.
Commercially Avail: yes
From the National Organizations Directory
According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:Santa Barbara Botanic Garden - Santa Barbara, CA
Bibliography
Bibref 1186 - Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2005) Covell, C.V., Jr.Bibref 1185 - Field Guide to Western Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides) (1999) Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright
Bibref 995 - Native Landscaping from El Paso to L.A. (2000) Wasowski, S. and A. Wasowski
Bibref 1218 - Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources (2006) Anderson, M. Kat
Search More Titles in Bibliography
Additional resources
USDA: Find Agave deserti in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Agave deserti in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Agave deserti
Metadata
Record Modified: 2009-02-20Research By: TWC Staff