plant stemless, flowering to 8 dm high. leaves many, 4 dm long, arching-decurved, more or less striped with red-purple toward base; sheath small, elliptic; blade linear-triangular, attenuate, 12–18 mm wide, covered with minute pale appressed scales beneath, subglabrous above. inflorescence: peduncle erect, slender, elongate; peduncle bracts imbricate, the lower subfoliaceous, the upper elliptic, acute; fertile part simple, lanceolate, acute, strongly complanate, dense, to 20-flowered, to 20 cm long and 5 cm wide, glabrous; floral bracts imbricate, elliptic, acute, 40–45 mm long, slightly exceeding the sepals, sharply carinate, subcoriaceous, nerved, green to rose in life. flowers: sepals elliptic, obtuse, usually involute, 35 mm long, ecarinate, coriaceous, nearly even; petal-blades spreading, orbicular, to 4 cm long, deep blue with a white eye at base. stamens deeply included, exceeding the pistil.Edited from : Smith & Downs 1977. Tillandsioideae (Bromeliaceae). in Flora Neotropica.