Agave vivipara aka Century Plant

Agave vivipara comes from the Caribbean. It belongs to the asparagus family, Asparagaceae. Gardeners know it as Caribbean agave or maguey. They also call it century plant or narrow-leaved century plant. The RHS accepts its name. It gives the Caribbean as its range. PFAF lists Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao within that range. The RHS does not list Britain or Ireland as native homes. Older plant records may use the family name Agavaceae.

Tropical Plants Database calls it an evergreen perennial. This means it lives for years and keeps its leaves. It does not shed them each year. That source gives a height of about 3.3 feet [1 metre]. It gives no spread or range of garden sizes. The supplied records say little about this species' leaves. They do not state leaf colour or spine size. They give no clear facts about stem shape, either. They lack details on this species' flower colour and fruit. The name century plant does not tell us its flowering age.

PFAF places it in tropical and subtropical climates. Its habitat record spans both semi-arid and humid sites. These include places with fairly dry or moist conditions. PFAF gives USDA hardiness zones 10–12. These records give a broad guide to climate. They do not give a full care plan. The species records do not state light or soil needs. They give no firm watering schedule or frost limit. Reports on named cultivars cannot fill these gaps for the species. The supplied records give no clear facts on pests or diseases.

Read claims about food and craft uses with care. PFAF warns that its use reports may concern another species. It found no food-use reports it could assign here with confidence. That warning also covers reports of medical and material uses. These reports do not show which parts people can eat. They do not confirm uses for fibre or hedges. Nor do they confirm use as building materials. PFAF gives a medicinal rating of zero out of five.

PFAF reports no known hazards, but this does not prove safety. The evidence does not show it is safe for people or pets. PFAF also flags a weed risk. It does not say how much the plant spreads. Tropical Plants Database lists the species as vulnerable. The supplied facts give no date for that assessment. They give no criteria for its conservation status. That status and the weed flag concern different issues.