Agave plants are native to the southwestern United States and Mexico as well as tropical South America. They are succulents with a large rosette of thick, fleshy leaves that end in a sharp point and have a spiny edge. The agave is a perennial plant, but each rosette flowers once and then dies. Don't worry, though, small suckers form at the base and become new rosettes. Agaves are not actually cacti. They aren't related to cacti or aloe (which they look very similar to). They are actually in the succulent family.