Agave americana (sentry plant, "Aonoryuzetsuran")

Japanese name: アオノリュウゼツラン （青竜舌蘭）
Scientific name: Agave americana

[Overview]
An evergreen succulent with a rosette up to 3–4 m across; it is a monocarpic plant that dies after flowering.
It has a very short stem, and the leaves are alternate in a rosette, long linear-lanceolate, 2 m long and 0.3 m wide, fleshy, with a white bloom on the surface and a bluish-green color.
There is a spine 3 cm long at the leaf tip, and spines about 1 cm long line the leaf margins.
In Japan it flowers after around 40 years, raising an erect flower stalk 5–10 m tall and 10 cm across that bears a panicle, with the flowers opening in order from the bottom.
The flowers are yellowish white, and the corolla is 6-lobed with tips that do not curl back.
There are 6 stamens, which protrude from the flower.
The fruit is a capsule.

[History]
A garden cultivar with variegated leaf margins was introduced first and was given the name Ryuzetsuran, so this green-leaved species that arrived later came to be called "Aono"-ryuzetsuran.

[Uses]
Fiber can be obtained from the leaves.
The young flower stalks are eaten, and the sap at this stage is used as a sweetener, for fermented liquor, and as medicine.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, from bulbils formed on the inflorescence, or from offsets formed at the base of the rosette.
It can overwinter outdoors in areas without frost.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, well-ventilated place.
It grows large and needs plenty of space.
It is better kept on the dry side, so rainfall is sufficient.
Apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil from spring to autumn.
When the lower leaves die, cut them off at the base.
Pests and diseases include spider mites and scale insects.

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