Plant: Perennial, scapose, rosette herb; Rosettes generally single, 4-13 dm tall, 7-13 dm broad, open Leaves: numerous, 35-92 cm long, 3.5-19 cm wide, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, widest near middle, acuminate to long-acuminate, ascending to spreading, rigid, somewhat concave towards apex, thick and convex towards base, light glaucous green, pale green to deep green, often with reddish-maroon tinge, the margins straight or somewhat undulate; teeth mostly uniform, slender, firmly attached, mostly reflexed or porrect, the larger teeth 4-6 mm long, closely set, 5-12 mm apart, dark brown or reddish brown, to pruinose gray; interstitial teeth 4-6 on upper - of leaf; terminal spine 3-6 cm long, strong, acicular, openly grooved above base, red-brown or brown to gray, decurrent to first (or second) teeth Inflorescence: with scape (1.75-)4.2-6.5(-7.2) m high, broadly paniculate, of (8-)11-26(-32) lateral horizontal branchlets in upper - of flowering stalk, the longer ones 6-38 cm long, the stalk thick, glaucous-green or purple-maroon Flowers: in congested umbels, reddish in bud, durable, 46-64 mm long, erect, cylindric-urceolate, with a strong musky-sour fragrance at anthesis; tepals persistently erect, clasping the filaments, leathery, cream, pale yellow, light green or pinkish-maroon, becoming darker towards tip, unequal, the outer ones 12-18 mm long, 6-11 mm wide, the inner ones (6.5-)9-14 mm long, 9-14 mm wide; filaments 40-58 mm long, inserted at 2 levels, 5-9 mm and 4-8 mm above base of tube, cream, light yellow or pinkish, with pink or maroon blush, especially towards apex, the anthers 11-25 mm long, yellow; ovary 18-36 mm long, stout, thickish, with slightly constricted neck 0.5-4(-6) mm long, angled to roundish, light to medium green, the style 39-62 mm long when stigma is receptive, cream or light yellow, usually with maroon blush; floral tube 10-18 mm long, 10-26 mm wide, slightly bulging at base of tepals, cream or light to medium green, sometimes with maroon blush Fruit: capsules, 3.5-6 cm long, 1.8-2 cm wide, linear-oblong to oblong or pyriform, short and broadly stipitate, short- to long- apiculate; SEEDS 5-7 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, thin, black Misc: Open hills and slopes of oak woodland and grassland; 1000-1950 m (3300-6400 ft); Jun-Oct REFERENCES: Hodgson, Wendy. 1999. Agavaceae. Ariz. – Nev. Acad. Sci. 32(1).