plant terrestrial, acaulescent, rosulate, flowering ca 140 cm tall. leaves ca 130 cm long, strap-shaped, softcoriaceous; foliar sheaths 13–15 cm long, 14–15 cm wide, quadrangular, overlapping and forming a basal tank, green but turning black castaneous due to the detritus filling the tank, glabrous, entire, part of the margins hyaline; blade ca 120 cm long, 14 cm wide at base, 11.2 cm wide at the middle, 4 cm wide near the apex, strap-shaped, not narrowed toward the base, slightly attenuating towards the apex, both surfaces green, slightly and sparsely verrucose, strongly nervate when dry, margins finely serrulate, spines up to 1 mm long, dark castaneous, unevenly distributed, curved, apex 1.5 cm wide, abruptly and shortly acuminate, blackish, acute and distinctly cuspidate, sclerotic, apicule 5 mm long. inflorescence a panicle, fertile part of inflorescence (rachis) 24 cm long; peduncle 54 cm long, 5–6 mm diameter, much shorter than leaves, green, erect, terete, stout, densely white-lanate, internodes 5–9 cm long, alternating sizes, i.e., not decreasing in size toward the apex; peduncle bracts 9–12.5 cm long, 0.5–1 cm wide, long triangular, acute, longer than internodes, rarely shorter than internodes, green, margins finely serrate, white-lepidote on both surfaces, thinly membranaceous, nervate when dry, curved upwards; primary bracts like peduncle bracts but narrower, 2.4–8.2 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, thinly membranaceous, green, whitelepidote both surfaces, margins sparsely serrate, spines ca 1 mm long; spikes 21, polystichous, 3.2–4.9 cm long, 2–2.5 cm wide when flattened, 2.5–3 cm apart, oblong in general shape, forming an acute angle with the rachis, the lower ones much shorter than primary bracts, upper ones twice as long than primary bracts, spikes pedicellate, pedicels 3–5 mm long, terete, white-fl occose. flowers polystichous, 15–21 per spike, 16 mm long, sessile; fl oral bracts 12 mm long, 5.6 mm wide, wide triangular, green, acute then abruptly and long acuminate, margins sinuose, apex lightgreen, white-lepidote both surfaces, nervate, as long or slightly shorter than sepals; sepals 11.4 mm long, 4 mm wide, free, erect, asymmetrical, green, ovate-triangular in general shape; petals 12.5 mm long, 3 mm wide, elliptic, erect, apex incurved, multinerved, green, basally white, membranaceous, with 2 appendages, these ca 3.9–4.2 mm long, located at both sides of the base of the filaments of the stamens, white, 2–3-furcate apically, margins fimbriate. stamens: filament 9 mm long, white, the antipetalous filaments adnate to the middle part of the petals; anther 2.7 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, mucronate, versatile, white, pollen yellow. pistil: ovary 7.5 mm long, 5.8 mm wide, inferior, ovoid, green, slightly white-lepidote at base, ovules obtuse, stigma longer than stamens in anthesis, green, with 3 stigmatic conduplicate (but not spiraled) twisted lobes. fruits 4–4.2 mm long, 2–2.3 mm diameter, ovoid, immature seeds, 0.2- 0.3 mm long, ovoid, orange.Edited from : Ramirez et al. 2010. (protologue) Hohenbergia mesoamericana (Bromeliaceae), first record of the genus for 0Mesoamerica .