leaves 15–20 in a lax rosette; sheath large, broadly ovate-elliptic, glabrous be¬neath, lepidote above with minute strongly appressed dark brown scales; blade re¬curved, ligulate, acute and then acuminate in a slender apex, narrowed toward base, green, subglabrous, lustrous beneath, laxly serrate with curved antrorse spines 0.5–1 mm long. inflorescence: peduncle evident; peduncle bracts foliaceous; fertile part raised above the ro¬sette; primary bracts 3–5, recurved, red for 3/4 their length; floral bracts broadly ellip¬tic, apiculate, entire, nearly equaling the sepals. flowers 45 mm long; sepals acuminate, glabrous; petals white.Edited from : Smith & Downs 1979. Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae) in Flora Neotropica.