century plant: Meaning and Definition of

cen'tury plant"

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. 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.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.