Common Names: commonly known as Century plant. See the Century Plant description.
Habitat: dry rocky desert slopes. A. parryi more common in central & northcentral AZ than other agave. A. schottii agave is more common in southern & southeastern AZ.
Flowers: Yellow with a tinge of red in the bud. 6 petals. Flowers grow on masts which can be 18' tall. flowers are in bowl-like clusters & face upward at the end of horizontal branches.
Description: succulent. large rosette of thick fleshy leaves generally ending in a sharp point and with a spiny margin; the stout stem is usually short, the leaves apparently springing from the root. Each rosette is monocarpic and grows slowly to flower only once. During flowering a tall stem or "mast" grows from the center of the leaf rosette & can grow to 14' tall. After development of fruit the original plant dies, but suckers are frequently produced from the base of the stem which become new plants. Source: Wikipedia
Comments: Can be easily confused with A. chrysantha.