An approximately 50-year-old agave plant at Truman State University in Kirksville is entering its final stage, sending up a stalk so tall that maintenance personnel had to remove panels from the greenhouse ceiling so it wouldn’t smash through.

Lisa Hooper, associate biology professor, says the stalk could grow up to 25 feet before branching out and flowering in the next few weeks. It’s the plant’s final show before it dies.

Students first noticed the stalk growing a few weeks ago and it reached the greenhouse roof within weeks.

The Kirksville Daily Express reports (http://bit.ly/1blfR5P) part of the plant will live on, with new plants sprouting from its base. With the right pollinators, typically bats and moths, other plants could pop up.

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Information from: Kirksville (Mo.) Daily Express, http://www.kirksvilledailyexpress.com/