CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) --A certain "late bloomer" at the Garfield Park Conservatory has just started showing some flowers.
Floriculturalist at the Garfield Park Conservatory Ray Jorgensen says the Agave Colorata, or Mescal Ceniza, has been growing rapidly since November.
Found in the conservatory's desert room, the plant is one of the less common agaves and known widely for its sweetness.
"Agaves are much appreciated; they have been forever. I think they're, through history, one of the most appreciated plants," Jorgensen said.
"They're foodstuffs, so you can make flower out of the seeds. You cook the fat part of the base of the trees; that all has a lot of sugar content."
The Mescal Ceniza is known widely for its uses in food and drink.
He said many say agaves typically take about 15 years to start flowering, but the Mescal Ceniza is just starting to bloom.
"This has been here for 25 years, and it was at least 5 years old, so it's gotta be 30 years old, which is twice the age it's supposed to be when it flowers," Jorgensen explained.
"It's taken that much longer for it to get the energy, what have you, to put up a flower spud."
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