century plant
- noun
- /ˈsɛnʧəri plænt/
- US
:
planta del siglo
- I think it's called the century plant, and it's rare.
- century plant (Agave)
Examples
-
This activity harks back to the sixteenth century, before the introduction of ropes woven from maguey century plant cactus fiber, when steers on the range were struck with a club and pulled to the ground by the tail.
Academic text (1994) -
He recreates, in the magueyes century plants and the nopales cacti, the national spirit in which the Indians become yet another element of the dominating landscape.
Academic text (1993) -
This wonder plant is maguey, also known as agave, or the century plant.
Academic text (2002) -
Big Bend here in April after a wet winter was in thorough bloom: prickly pear, cholla, century plants, scores of others, colors picked from the sunset and the sandstone cliffs and the backs of birds.
Fiction book (2001) -
The tall spikes of flowers on the century plant create a stunning display in the garden.
-
In traditional Mexican culture, the century plant is used to make a popular fermented drink called pulque.
-
Many people grow the century plant for its striking appearance and the unique beauty it brings to landscapes.
Synonyms
1
7.6
A plant from warm parts of the Americas with large pointed leaves in a round shape and tall flower spikes
A large spiky plant that blooms once after many years and then dies
A large plant with thick leaves from the Americas that makes a tall flower stalk and blooms once before dying
A plant from the Americas with thick sword-shaped leaves and a tall flower spike often grown for decoration or fiber
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'century' (one hundred years) with 'plant' in a straightforward modifier+noun pattern, so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a plant associated with a hundred-year lifespan or bloom. Although it is a common name for Agave americana, the meaning is compositionally transparent and predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun century plant comes from a popular idea that this agave lives many years and then sends up one very tall flower, so people called it the century plant because the bloom seemed to take a very long time. That's why the name reminds us of a plant that lives a long time and flowers only once.