This succulent grows in the wild here at Grand Canyon National Park and what is unusual is that this agave is near its demise. This Utahensis Agave flowers once, and then it dies. At around 10 or 20 years old, it will produce a single and fast-growing 10-foot flower stalk just before it dies. All images produced by author.
That is the Latin name for the oceanside vegetation called Ice Plant. Ice Plant is an invasive succulent that was imported from South Africa to California during the early 1900s for coastal erosion management.
The plant grows in a thick and dense mat-like way. Its thick succulent stems grow horizontally and curve upwards. Flowers generally appear in late winter to spring and can be yellow, pink, and purple. The ice plant’s fruit appears once the flower dies back and is edible. The fruit is yellow and fleshy when ripe and resembles a fig or spinning top.
