stalk , which was what I was seeing . She also conveyed that she did not know why this happens . The question of what causes the production of additional carbohydrates in a seemingly dying plant to produce a new panicle remains unanswered .
In addition to the Alpine roadside phenomenon , I observed on September 4th , another Agave americana in Marfa , Texas , approximately 24 miles west from Alpine at the intersection of Hwy 90 and South Dean Street . This agave had multiple paniculate flower stalks coming from the dying rosette and spent tall original stalk . The smaller panicles were anywhere from 10 inches to 62 inches in height and were twelve in number ! They were in different stages of development , suggesting they arose at different times . Some were small and dead , not having come to flower . The large one ( pictured ) went to full bloom and produced seeds . This plant also had vibrant , green leaves mixed among the dying leaves of the original rosette , although they were not as large as the dying leaves of the original plant . I took photographs and monitored this plant also . On a later visit , October 14th , I counted sixteen panicles in different stages of development . It was determined that the secondary leaves were still green just like the original plant had been .
Both the agaves at the roadside near Alpine and the one in Marfa are Agave americana , which is an introduced species as noted above . They were surely planted after local construction work was completed at their respective locations .
In examining a 2020 research article ( Evolutionary ecology of agave : distribution patterns , phylogeny , and coevolution ( an homage to Howard S . Gentry )), recommended to me by Ms . Hodgson , I found references of this phenomenon with my agaves . Not putting up a second panicle , but where the rosette continues to exist after producing the initial flowering stalk . It seems that in a study in the Valley of Metztitlán in the state of Hidalgo , Mexico , with agave striata , the rosette did not die after producing an inflorescence . In these agaves , “ After the first reproductive event , the axillary buds flower , and the rest of the buds ( and the plant ) survive .” Interestingly , the A . striata has the highest diversity of floral visitors that can include bats , moths , perching birds , bees and hummingbirds .
I found our local agave anomalies extremely interesting as I had never experienced it in my plant studies . The most thought-provoking questions remain , of course : how and why . The “ why ” is best addressed with Ms . Hodgson ’ s quote that they just “ want to spread their pollen and get fertilized any way they can ”— reproduction being the basis of regeneration of the species . The “ how ” is still a curious and fascinating question . Acknowledgments :
I would like to thank Dr . A . Michael Powell of Sul Ross State University and Wendy Hodgson of the Desert Botanic Garden in Arizona for their contributions , interest and support for me in writing this article . �
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