plant propagating vegetatively by short, stout stolons; stolons 15–20 cm long, 5–12 mm diameter, slightly hanging, sometimes slightly horizontal, covered by apically spiny, green sheaths, usually distichous on a round stolons. leaves 6–12 per rosette; sheath 9 cm long, about equaling the blades, ample, strongly inflated and forming a subglobose, narrow mouthed rosette, dark red-purple, densely appressed-lepidote on both sides; blade abruptly spreading, plane, triangular, acute, 10–15 cm long, 25–50 mm wide, thick-coriaceous but pliable, subdensely punctulate on both sides, laxly serrate with antrorse and retrorse spines 1 mm long. inflorescence simple or compound, 7- 10 branched, 8–10-flowered each branch, 1 cm in diameter; inner leaves purple, usually as long as the leaves or shorter; primary bracts elliptic, acute, surpassing the sepals; floral bracts wide triangular, carinate, 17 mm long, 5 mm wide. flowers subpedicellate, 20 mm long; sepals free, green, ovate, acute, 11 mm long, 3 mm wide, carinate, apically lepidote; petals white, erect, 11 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, triangular, apically attenuate; petals* scales ligulate, apically fimbriate, surpassing the stamens. stamens in two series; anther apically acute, 1.5 mm long. pistil: ovary 7 mm long, subtriangular, angulate; stigma simple- erect, with three lobes erect and apically undulate; placentation apical; ovules few, pedunculate. fruits 6–9 seeded, with the sepals violet; seeds caudate, 3.5 mm long, 1 mm wide.Edited from : Ramirez 1991. Systematic Revision of Neoregelia subgenus Hylaeaicum (Bromeliaceae) .