The generic name refers to the Greek Agaue which is a proper name meaning the noble or illustrious one. The yellow flowers open from September to May and are carried on a long stalked inflorescence that has a pyramidal arrangement to the flower clusters and produces 18-25 lateral branches. This subspecies has longer, lighter green leaves and a more pyramidal top of the inflorescence than A. shawii spp. Natural History Agaves provided the most accessible and abundant food source on the peninsula during the pre-Columbian period. It is often described as a rather bland staple food.
Cattle eat the flower stalks.