plant with thick, short rhizome, flowering to 80 cm high. leaves homomorphous, persistent, densely 3 sided arranged; rosette base therefore sharply triangular,( also that of the offset) ( fig; 6), up to now no pitcairnia is known like this 2 sided is p; altensteinii, link, klotsch & otto, lemaire; offsets with lower leaves beginning; these are long-triangular acuminate, reddish green (fig; 6 n), gradually flowing into foliage leaves; leaves* of a flowering rosette sheaths distinct, ± 3 cm high, at the base 5 cm wide, thin, enclosing the stem, gradually to 20 cm long, above a strongly channelled (almost plicate) petiole; blade to 80 cm long, in the middle to 5 cm wide, lanceolate, long acuminate, corrugated, (wash board), grooved,( fig; 7, right), particularly underneath – mid nerve a little protruding -, edge entire, ( not toothed), upperside dark green, almost glabrous, underneath grey green, ± densely lepidote; scales strongly asymmetric. inflorescence: peduncle erect, to 1 cm thick, green, scattered lepidote, densely enclosed by the peduncle bracts, basal ones subfoliate, the upper ones lanceolate acuminate, but longer than the internodes, underneath narrow and densely ribbed; all foliage leaves in shining light show weak hieroglyphic cross-lines; inf1orescence simple raceme, dense many flowered, cylindric, apical acuminate, to 15 cm long, at the base to 6 cm wide (fig; 7, right); all flowers, including young buds, bent downwards (hanging), postfloral arranged on the rachis; rachis angular grooved, reddish brown, weakly lepidote; floral bracts,( except the basal ones), shorter than the to 10 mm long, bent pedicels, lanceolate-acuminate, glabrous, green; pedice1s reddish brown, glabrous, also the base of the flower glabrous. flowers: sepals lanceolate, 10–12 mm long, blunt, subcarinate, glabrous, reddish, greenish at the top and indistinctly verrucose. flowers radial, cinnabar red; petals to 4,5 cm long, blunt, but short tipped, slightly apart. stamens: anther therefore only a little visible. pistil: style with the long, erect stigma lobes shorter than the anthers; ovary 2/3 superior; ovules short caudate; var; reflexiflora (fig; 7, left,) leaves spirally arranged, to 2,8 cm wide; floral bracts 2 cm long, that exceeds the lepidote pedicels; petals* to 4,5 cm long; floral bracts* shorter than the 1 cm long, glabrous pedicels.Edited from : Rauh & Gross 1991. (protologue) Bromelienstudien (Mitteilung 22). I. Neue und wenig bekannte Arten aus Peru und anderen Ländern .