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P7 Agave

This is an Agarve (Agave americana), otherwise known as a century plant because the roset of leaves at the base grows for years (not really a century) before the spectacular flower spike soars anything up to eight metres. After it blooms, the whole plant dies, and the flower spike lies ont he ground for some time before it rots. There are quite a lot of Agave americana on the island, but it took me a while to find one with a plain background.

The local name is Pitera. A friend told me that the centre of the spike is extremely light, and when he was a child they used to use them as swimming aids because they're so boyant.

Some years ago I saw a dried flower spike sprayed gold and used as a Christmas tree. It looked rather odd to my English eyes, but once I got over the shock I thought it looked great.

Fuji Velvia slide film, and Yashica 230 camera

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