The species was first described in 1906;[1] in its genus, it is morphologically most similar to Nolina parryi.

This extremely drought-tolerant plant is native to the deserts and montane regions in the State of Tamaulipas in northern/northeastern Mexico.

It develops a trunk measuring from one to several meters high, making it an arborescent member of its genus.

The bluish-green leaves, with finely toothed margins, are borne in dense rosettes, each with up to several hundred stiff linear (narrow) leaves up to 70 centimeters long.

It is dioecious; upon reaching sexual maturity, its white-flowered inflorescence appears in Spring.