This century plant bloom is backlit by the glow of the Arizona sun. Pictured here is the mature plant's tall, flowing stalk, averaging 10 to 14 feet in height. This spike, with a cyme of yellowish flowers, can be found in higher elevations in southwestern United States.
The gray-green rosette-shaped plant spends its lifetime preparing to produce this stalk. On average it takes about 25 years (not quite a century) to grow a distinctive stalk. The century plant, also misnamed American Aloe, provided natives with a source for soap, fibers (pita) to make rope and course cloth, and even weapons made from the stalk. Native Americans make a fermented drink called pulque, and can be further distilled into mescal and tequila.