A plant that blooms once a century opens its flowers in a park in Tokyo

The centuries-old agave plant, which is said to bloom only once a century, has begun to bloom its yellow flowers in Tokyo’s central park. HibiyaWhere it has attracted many Japanese and tourists.

Hundreds of people gathered at this park in the Japanese capital this Wednesday to take part in this rare event after the plant showed signs of flowering on July 14.

“We planned to have lunch nearby and when we saw the news about a flower that blooms every several decades, we wanted to see it,” he told EFE. Ikuo Itō72 years of age, and Nobuko Itō67, a retired couple living Suginamiwest of Tokyo.

It is a variety of yellow agave, also known as pita, which is native to Mexico and to the south of USAAnd which has been distributed on other continents as an ornamental plant due to its long life and its ability to adapt to dry or extreme climates.

For many people passing through this park, the highlight has been watching the long stem that culminates in flowers grow since last May until it now reaches a height of about 8 meters.

“I’ve been watching the plant for a couple of weeks as it has slowly started to flower, so I’ll come back next week and see how it’s progressing,” he says. Yukiko KobayashiRetired at the age of 60 and living in Tokyo, she walks through the park after taking tennis lessons. What’s special to Kobayashi is that “although it’s not a showy flower, it’s a fleeting flower.”

According to park personnel, the plant is over 60 years old, as there are photos of it from 1960, and may now be reaching the end of its life, as agave only blooms once before dying.

This is the reproductive strategy of the plant, whose flowers are usually pollinated by bats, before producing the fruit that contains its seeds. During its life, it also produces a large number of shoots from the root.

Another plant of this type in the same park flowered in July 2019, although its stem reached a much lower height.

“If it were shorter, I could see the flowers more easily, but I have to enlarge the photos to see them, although I appreciate that it blooms little by little so we can enjoy it for a longer time,” says Chiyomi Shimizu, who also retired at age 60 and is living in Tokyo.