Agave nickelsiae, formerly known as Agave ferdinandi-regis, is a stunning, small, slow-growing Agave up to 18 inches (45 cm) tall and wide. It forms an open rosette of stout, triangular, blue-green leaves with narrow, longitudinal, white bud imprints that usually form a triangle shape. The margins of the leaves are dark reddish-brown and spineless, terminating at the blunt leaf tip in a stout spine of the same color. The inflorescence is spike shaped, up to 13 feet (4 m) tall, containing many paired flowers of various colors, often with shades of purple-red.