A 40 -year-wait for plant to flower – and then it dies

Key
Question 1

a) False.A plant has flowered for the first time after almost 40 years at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
b) True. . The plant outgrew its conservatory, forcing staff to remove parts of the roof to allow its progress to continue.
c) False. The plant is of the same family as the Agave tequilana, which is used to make the spirit tequila
d) False. … they are an oasis for wildlife, as they are full of pollen and nectar, attracting birds, bees and bats.



Question 2
a) Some years ago, people believed that plants from the Agave plant family only produced flowers once every century. The name ‘century plants’ comes from this time.
b) Sir David Attenborough was making a series of television programmes called Kingdom of Plants 3D at the Botanical Gardens.



Question 3
a) rate b) shortly c) By chance



Question 4
a) If Agaves did not die shortly after flowering, the glorious display would last/ have lasted for a long time.
b) A new series was being filmed by Sir David Attenborough at Kew Gardens and the plant’s progress was recorded.
d) A Kew representative said that they had taken some seeds from the plant and (that) they hoped (that) they would flower some time around the middle of the century.