Species wait 40 years to flower ... and die

After nearly 40 years, the Agave franzosinii plant was the first to flower at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew (England).

Before flowering, the Agave franzosinii plant grew 4 times faster than normal. Every week, the tree grows to nearly 0.9 meters tall until it is as tall as a house.

Plants grow so fast that staff at the Botanical Garden have to abandon part of the glass roof to keep it growing. However, only a short time after the flowers bloom, the tree dies.

Agave franzosinii plant flowers at a greenhouse in Kew (England)

This plant is found naturally in Mexico. Here, the flowering process of the tree is even longer.

Agave franzosinii tree in Kew may be more than 40 years old. The tree was added to the botanical collection here in 1973, but at that time, it was not stated whether it was just a seed, or a young plant. Initially, the plant was potted, then moved to the Princess of Wales greenhouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1989.

Lara Jewitt, the greenhouse custodian, said: 'I knew the tree was about to grow out because before the development process began, the plants were not looking good. That is because the tree has put all the energy into development. '

'This is the largest tree and takes the most time to produce the flowers I have seen'.

This plant is in the same family as the Agave tequilana - a plant used to store tequila. Agave franzosinii tree is called 'century tree species' because scientists previously thought it took 100 years for this plant to flower once.

Before the tree died, the staff at Kew obtained seeds and seeded them. Maybe someday in the middle of the century, this plant will bloom again.