Upright, monocarpic plant to 5 m tall, with trunk to 20 cm in diameter, pith to 6 cm in diameter; stem with a single, densely packed leaf-rosette of 40–110 leaves, with no internode elongation, cloaked with marcescent foliage.. The leaf-rosette secretes copious quantities of a mucilaginous fluid, and this dried mucilage is generally apparent on the base of the upper surface of the leaf.. Lateral branching is initiated below the developing inflorescence, but the plants almost never survive the first reproductive cycle.. Leaf lamina oblanceolate, to 58 by 20 cm.. Inflorescence narrowly paniculate to 220 by 100 cm; capitula horizontal.. Ray florets 16–17, to 23 mm long; disc florets 50–80.
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