It is an arborescent monocot growing up to 7 metres (23 ft) high, with fissured bark on a trunk topped with leaf rosettes.

This species is endemic to Baja California Sur in Mexico, where it grows only in the highest reaches of the Sierra de la Laguna.

[3] This species was first discovered to Western science by Lyman Belding, a naturalist who made several ornithological expeditions to the Sierra de la Laguna.

Brandegee noted that a local species of wasp frequently nested in the plant, which almost ended his attempts to gather fruit on a precarious cliff-side specimen.

[3] This species is endemic to the Sierra de la Laguna, a mountain range in the Cape region of Baja California Sur, Mexico.

It is predominantly found on the steep slopes and cliffs of the local oak and pine forests, growing in association with Quercus tuberculata, Q. devia, Q. arizonica and Arbutus peninsularis.