an agave, Agave americana, native to tropical America but naturalized elsewhere, having very large spiny greyish leaves and greenish flowers on a tall fleshy stalk. It blooms only once in its life, after 10 to 30 years (formerly thought to flower after a century)
Also called: American aloe
century plant in American English
US
a tropical American desert agave (Agave americana) having fleshy leaves and a tall stalk that bears greenish flowers only once after10 to 30 years and then dies: mistakenly thought to bloom only once a century