plant stemless, flowering 6–11 dm in length. leaves forming a basal rosette 6–10 cm thick, all erect, 25–30 cm long; sheath broad, elliptic, chestnut-brown, passing almost imperceptibly into the blades; blade evenly green, sublorate, 3–4 cm wide. inflorescence: peduncle much surpassing the leaves, decurved; peduncle bracts membranaceous, densely and finely palelepidote, apiculate, much shorter than the internodes and not wholly enfolding the peduncle; fertile part pendulous at maturity, open, once-branched and distichous, 25–55 cm long, 10–20 cm wide; primary bracts not over 25 mm long, narrow, apiculate; spikes linear in outline, 5–12 cm long, about 10 mm wide, with flowers closely erect and barely or not quite imbricate, often long-stipitate and bearing several sterile bracts at the base; rachis somewhat flexuous; floral bracts 7–8 mm long, about equaling the sepals, usually quite nerveless, soon glabrous, ecarinate. flowers: sepals asymmetric, obtuse. fruits cylindric, 18–23 mm long.Edited from : Smith & Downs 1977. Tillandsioideae (Bromeliaceae). in Flora Neotropica.