plant stemless, 6 to over 10 dm high. leaves rosulate, over 3 dm long, punctulate-lepidote; sheath broadly elliptic, 1 dm long, deep-castaneous; blade ligulate, acute, nearly 4 cm wide at base. inflorescence: peduncle erect, stout; peduncle bracts erect, densely imbricate, ovate, acute, even, obscurely punctulate-lepidote; fertile part dense, 4–6 dm long, very narrow, complanate; primary bracts like the peduncle-bracts, suberect, 3–7 cm long, mostly much shorter than the axillary branches; branches distichous, erect or strongly ascending, simple or the lowest slightly divided; spikes linear, complanate, 5–10 cm long, densely 10–16 flowered; floral bracts erect, densely imbricate, very broadly ovate, broadly acute or obtuse, 13–21 mm long, much exceeding the sepals, ecarinate, even, coriaceous, glabrous. flowers sessile; sepals asymmetric, broadly obovate, truncate, 8 mm long, even coriaceous, sparsely pale-lepidote or glabrous; petals shorter than the sepals, yellow. stamens and pistil included.Edited from : Smith & Downs 1977. Tillandsioideae (Bromeliaceae). in Flora Neotropica.