leaves ensiform, much shorter than the peduncle. inflorescence a panicle with short dense branches; floral bracts lanceolate, ½ in long. flowers: pedicel floccose, ¼ in long; sepals lanceolate, ¾ in long; petals blue, twisting up spirally, ca 1.5 in long, twice as long as the sepals; upper flowers of racemes abortive.Edited from : Baker 1889. (protologue) Handbook of the Bromeliaceae .