(SHW YOkK 

 BOTANICAL 



The American Botanist 



VOL. XXIX AUGUST, 1923 No. 3 



How deepening bright, li/^e mounting flame doth burn 



The goldenrod upon a thousand hilts! 



This is the autumn's flower and to my soul 



ji token fresh of beauty and of life, 



And life's supreme delight. 



Richard Watson Qilder. 



THE CENTURY PLANT 



By Mrs. O. A. Rudd. 

 'T^ 111-", iicciiiiipanying illustration slmus the species of cen- 

 lury iilaiil that is found growin*^' wiKl in the northern 

 part of Arizona. The blossoms, wliich are reddish-yellow, 

 are very similar U) banana flowers. They have no fragrance 

 but keep perfectly for several weeks. It is the custom here 

 to bring in a blooming specimen from the hills and fasten it 

 to some post down town to give visitors an opportunitv to see 

 this curious plant in bloom. 



In Florida tlic natives claim that tlic plant must l)e a lum- 

 <lred years old to bloom, but in Arizona thev bloom in le.?s 

 lime. TTow old the plant must be T cannot say, l)ut T can say 

 that as soon as the flowers fade the plant begins to die and the 

 huge stem dries out completely. The dead stem is brought to 

 town and sawed into two-inch slices. This makes w(wderful 

 pin-cushions. Needles and pins remain ever bright and sharp 

 in this convenient cushion. 



After the stem dies, a new shoot from the root, which 

 looks like a neighboring plant, grows with renewed vigor. 

 There are often a dozen such plants in a clump on the hillside. 



