chalk agave

A medium-sized, evergreen, succulent plant, which forms a solitary rosette when young, but may produce offsets when mature. Leaves have ferocious-looking, curved and twisting light-brown, marginal spines, the bases of which often fuse along the leaf margins. There is also a long twisting spine at the leaf-tip. The plant is monocarpic and dies after flowering and setting seed. The flowers are yellow and are produced on a spike 3-6m in height