Furcraea foetida (Mauritius Hemp)
Native to Costa Rica, northern South America and parts of the southern Caribbean, this large succulent forms a rosette of long, rigid leaves. Leaf margins may be smooth or carry a few hooked prickles near the base. A tall, branching flower stalk bears drooping, greenish white flowers with six spreading tepals and thickened filament bases. Small plantlets often develop on the stalk and establish new plants when they fall. The flowering rosette dies after blooming. Long cultivated for fiber and as an ornamental, the species has become invasive on RĂ©union and in French Polynesia, where its plantlets can establish dense stands that displace native vegetation. Photographed in Colombia.