While hiking in the red rock area of Sedona, I spotted these century plants. They are throughout the red rock region in northern Arizona.  They are native in Mexico and the United States, in the states of Arizona and Texas.

A century plant is the common name for Agave Americana, which is a Xerophyte. Xerophytes are plants adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Agaves are spiny succulents which have juicy flesh. The Century Plant base spread is 6-10 feet, near the end of its life, a tall branched stalk with yellow blossoms about 25-30 feet tall shoots up. They usually live between 10-30 years. The plant dies after flowering, but it does produce shoots from the base, which will continue to grown and make more plants. They grow in sunny, dry climates with well drained soil. They are pollinated by insects, bats, and hummingbirds. The fruits that they produce are full of black seeds and the flesh is very sweet.

See more xerophytes…CACTI (part 1), CACTI (part 2), BLOOMING CACTI