As its name implies, its leaves show darker transversal bands. It is also a plant without a stalk, its leaves form a rosette with its margins heavily serrated on white. The epidermis is blue-gray or light-gray and is very rough (Figures 6 and 7).
This species is bigger than Agave pelona and A. schottii, as it can grow up to 1.5 meters in diameter and 90 cm tall and the flowering stalk could be 3 meters in height. The same as A. pelona, its populations show individuals of different ages (Figure 8) and its main reproductive way seems to be by means of seeds and rarely by vegetative ways.

It could be found in the lower and medium parts of the sierras, below 700 meters above sea level or slightly higher than this. A. zebra prefers medium to highly rocky terrains, instead of alluvial plains. Occasionally it could be found together with A. pelona in the high parts of the sierras.

This plant is commonly called “maguey” and apparently was formerly used to make several beverages similar to the actual tequila made after the blue agave. Several locally made alcoholic drinks like the sotol, mescal, bacanora and some other were made after this plant.