Stems indistinct. Leaves usually 30--40 or more, in a massive basal rosette, oblanceolate, 1--2 m × 15--20 cm, fleshy, margin spiny, apex recurved and tipped with a dark brown spine 1.5--2.5 cm. Panicle many branched, 6--12 m, usually bearing few bulblets after anthesis. Perianth greenish yellow; tube ca. 1.2 cm; lobes 2.5--3 cm. Stamens ca. 2 × as long as perianth. Capsule oblong, ca. 5 cm.

The leaves are used medicinally and as a source of fiber.

Widely cultivated. Naturalized in S China [native to tropical America].