By Richard Villaroman
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OAKLAND (KPIX) — The life cycle of a massive plant in an Oakland neighborhood is coming to an end, and in death, it is putting on quite a show.
“This big momma here? Yeah, we’re just calling it the agave right now or the giant asparagus,” Brion Spensieri said.
At nearly 27 feet, the name is appropriate for the plant, especially being from the Asparagaceae family
“It is from the family asparagus, that’s why it looks so much like an asparagus,” Spensieri said.
It can take a while for the plant to reach this stage of its life.
“I think it’s at least 30. That’s what our landscaper said when we decided to keep it. But the internet doesn’t always agree on how long it takes for this to happen,” Spensieri explained. “Some say 10 to 30 years, others say up to 40, others say up to 80, the house was made in the 1890s so God knows how long it’s been here, but we love it.”
The plant is now in the part of its life known as the death bloom. The once-in-a-lifetime flowering event will attract pollinators like bats, bees and hummingbirds. And it can drop up to 1,000 seeds and new plants known as pups.
“It’s going to make these gorgeous yellow flowers at the end,” Spensieri said.
The plant’s death bloom has earned it some internet fame on social media after a neighbor posted it on Instagram.
“The algorithm figured it out, and it gave it over a million views. Thousands of people liking it and commenting on it. It just felt really good being part of my community,” Spensieri said.
And there are other ways it could live on.
“People have said, ‘Hey, send me the stock, and I’ll make tequila out of it.’ And I’m like, I don’t know how I’m going to mail that, it’s massive,” Spensieri told KPIX.
More importantly, it will live on in the memories it has created for the Spensieri family and their neighbors.
“It’s cool to think that it came from something like it, and it will make other things like it. And we just can’t wait to pass those on, and we’ll set up a table with all the seeds and pups and give back to the community,” Spensieri said.
Once the agave flowers, a death bloom is inevitable, and nothing can be done to stop it. Typically, it takes around 10 to 15 years for the agave to bloom.
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