Pale green, yellow or rarely glaucous gray agave from Baja California which often offsets abundantly. Individual plants reach about 1.5-3 feet wide. Brown eyelets often appear around the spines, which are small to medium in size and tend to be easily detached. Inflorescence is a panicle from 6 to 12 feet tall. This plant grows in desert landscapes from about 27°N to just past 30°N, an area where fogs and ocean breezes often occur. It was eaten by native populations.

This species is closely related to A. deserti (and also placed in the Deserticolae). The two close relatives can be resolved based on size (deserti tends to be larger), leaf color (deserti tends to be more gray-green), spine details (deserti lacks the brown eyelets), and geographical origin (deserti occurs to the north, from 30°N to past 35°N, in BC, CA, AZ, and SO).

Various subspecies of cerulata have been described:

Century Plant (Agave cerulata subsp. cerulata) (mostly yellowish leaves, mostly 6-12 times as long as broad, margins nearly straight or slightly undulate; narrow panicles to 30-40cm wide; widespread over the central part of the species' range);

Agave (Agave cerulata subsp. dentiens) (green to light glaucous gray leaves, mostly 6-12 times as long as broad, margins nearly straight or slightly undulate; wider panicles to 60-80cm wide; from San Esteban Island);

Agave (Agave cerulata subsp. nelsonii) (light gray to glaucous green leaves, mostly 3-6 times as long as broad, margins undulate or nearly straight; found at the northern extent of the species' range near 30°N, plus populations at 29°N; found at higher elevations; previously considered part of deserti); and

Agave (Agave cerulata subsp. subcerulata) (mostly light gray to glaucous green leaves, mostly 3-6 times as long as broad, smaller than the other subspecies, margins crenate; found at the southern extent of the species' range near 27°N near San Ignacio, plus San Marcos Island).

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