Say aloe to my little friend

Ruthellen Rubin has had an aloe plant in her front yard for about 15 years — or so she thought. 

Recently, the thing, which is about three feet in diameter, sprouted an asparagus-like growth from the middle. It now towers about eight feet over the yard and is so eye-catching that people Rubin doesn't recognize have stopped  to snap a photo of it. Rubin was baffled to the point of calling Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. It's actually an agave, plant records keeper Shawn McCourt said. 

"He gave me a really good explanation of the phenomenon," Rubin said. "It’s a death spear, it shoots up this spear and flowers grow off it and then the whole thing drops dead."

So Rubin will have a pretty flower on her newly discovered agave plant, but then the whole thing will die. Luckily, some plant babies will be left behind, so the cycle continues.