Rare giant Asparagacea spotted in Murchison

RARE GLIMPSE… Proud gardener, John Ferguson and his incredible, flowering Agave plant. Photo: Katelyn Morse.
RARE GLIMPSE… Proud gardener, John Ferguson and his incredible, flowering Agave plant. Photo: Katelyn Morse.
RARE GLIMPSE… Proud gardener, John Ferguson and his incredible, flowering Agave plant. Photo: Katelyn Morse.
RARE GLIMPSE… Proud gardener, John Ferguson and his incredible, flowering Agave plant. Photo: Katelyn Morse.

JOHN Ferguson called to report that a giant cactus had sprouted and flowered in his backyard. We drove out to the Murchison property and sure enough there she was – a giant beanpole thrusting upwards to the heavens about 20 feet high, with beautiful yellow flowers cascading down its stem.

We all stood in awe, eyes squinting in the summer sun as John informed us that he actually had no idea what kind of unique plant we were looking at. But wow, what a spectacularly stunning beast she is.

Turns out it’s not a cactus at all, but in fact a type of asparagus: agave Americana, to be exact. Also known as the ‘century plant,’ these incredible species of flowering plant looks a lot like a succulent or aloe, but belongs firmly to the Asparagacea family. Despite its nickname, these plants don’t flower once in a century, but randomly at any point from five to 30 years, dependent on variables like soil, weather and water.

John excitedly explains the story of the Agave’s inception. John said, “I planted this about five years ago and at the time she was a little bub, no more than 10cm tall.

“I watched and admired it throughout the years until one day the sprout just shot up out of nowhere. I thought that the sprout was it, but then these beautiful flowers just started cascading from the top, downwards.”

The Agave is an especially hardy plant and the flowering is a spectacularly morbid rarity. Sadly, once the plant flowers, it begins slowly dying. The stem will break and come tumbling to the ground, likely startling John and his neighbours in the process, and then the rest of the plant will slowly wither away.

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