From Clovis to Hanford in Central California, the mature succulents known as agave americana are dying. And there is little anyone can do. But this isn’t a case of errant pesticides, disease or insect ...

Seemingly overnight, a Redding gardener said, a rather ordinary-looking plant growing in her yard suddenly developed a bright yellow-tipped, 17-foot-tall flower stalk. The plant sure had never bloomed ...