plant to 30 cm high. leaves not at all forming a bulbose rosette, to 20 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, gradually tapering to a subulate but softly recurved tip, dense grey pruinose lepidote, peduncle erect, graceful, much exceeding the leaves, covered by peduncle bracts peduncle bracts sheaths, dense, chartaceous, becoming dense appressed lepidote, the blades thick filiform clearly bow recurved inflorescence, almost many flowered, lax, with to 9 equal or the upper ones a little smaller spikes, pinnately inserted making a once-branched panicle, to12 cm long, 9 cm diam primary bracts erect, lepidote on the back, all bladelike, much shorter than the spikes, spikes fan like, to 12 flowered, at least the lower ones clearly pedunculate, spreading, lanceolate, both sides short acute, to 4.5 cm long, 1.1 cm wide, outer face a little convex floral bracts very densely imbricate, rigid, the back lightly and grey lepidote, shiny glabrous, sufficiently carinate, the top towards the tip a little incurved, short acute, to 1.5 cm long, much exceeding the sepals. flowers erect, to1.7 cm long, sepals adaxial pair high connate, on the back very sparsely lepidote, leathery, smooth, triangular-lanceolate, becoming acute, to 1.1 cm long petals white, up to 5 mm longer than the sepals, exceeding the stamens.Edited from : Mez 1935. (protologue) Bromeliaceae (part 1-4) in Engler, A. (ed) Das Pflanzenreich.