| any New World plant of the genus Agave, requiring many years to mature and blooming once before dying, esp. the widely cultivated species A. americana, having leaves in a basal rosette and a tall flower stalk. |
a·ga·ve  (ə-gä'vē, ə-gā'-)  n. Any of numerous plants of the genus Agave, native to hot, dry regions of the New World and having basal rosettes of tough, sword-shaped, often spiny-margined leaves. Agaves are grown for ornament, fiber, and food. Also called century plant. [New Latin Agavē, genus name, from Greek agauē, feminine of agauos, noble.] |
| century plant n. See agave. |