Century Plants Bloom

I'm not quite sure what triggers such things, but nearly all century plants in the area bloomed this year. These plants only bloom once every 25 to 50 years (despite their name "century plant") and then die. I guess they have to have some means of coordination so they can cross-pollinate, but I don't know what it is.

The humming birds go wild. I could see around a dozen or so interested in this one pair of blooming plants.

The plant at the bottom of our hill fell over and broke before it could finish blooming. Perhaps a bit of survival of the fittest. The one at the top of our hill was a little behind these, but still pretty much good for cross-pollinization.

Click the link to see the album of various Century plant shots, some with the hummingbirds.