leaves numerous, rosulate, minutely appressed-lepidote on both surfaces, to ca 1.5 m long but usually less than 1 m long, 2–6 cm wide; sheath conspicuous or inconspicuous, mostly wider than the blade, elliptic-ovate, entire except at the apex; blade ligulate, the margins armed with dark, curved spinules 1–1.5 mm long, which become smaller closer to the apex apex obtuse to acute or acuminate, apiculate, minutely spinulose or entire. inflorescence: peduncle erect, ascending or usually arching, 2–5 mm thick, covered with lanate or floccose creamy-white indumentum at least when young; bracteoles erect, chartaceous, striate, lanate-glabrescent, spinulose, imbricate, lanceolate, attenuate to acuminate, pungent; fertile part thyrsoid, erect to arching, open, lowest internodes ca 2.5 cm long, shorter toward apex, exceeding or shorter than the leaves, 15–30 cm long, sparsely or densely whitish cream-lanate or floccose throughout, the axis 2–3 mm thick; bracteoles like the peduncle ones but spreading and entire, the lower ones exceeding the spikes, shortening toward the apex of the inflorescence spicate branches subglobose, ovoid or subcylindric, strobilate, densely- flowered; 2–6 x 1.5–2 cm, those toward the apex of the inflorescence smaller and sessile; bracts 1-l.7 cm long, equaling or exceeding the sepals, subspreading, subcoriaceous, ovate, striate, abruptly tong-acuminate for ca half or more of its length, pungent. flowers: sepals strongly asymmetric, ovate to deltoid-sagittate, keeled, mucronate, 5- 10 mm long; petals linear- lanceolate, acute, ca 11 mm long. fruits pyriform, striate, glabrescent; slightly two-winged, ca 1.2 cm long; seeds 2–2.5 mm long, purplish.Edited from : Cedeno-Maldonado 2005. Bromeliaceae in Acevedo-Rodriguez, P. & M.T.Strong (eds.), Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.