plant propagating by stout scaly stolons. leaves about 10 in an ellipsoid rosette, reddish, concolorous, densely cinereous-lepidote on all exposed surfaces, the outer ones reduced to short ovate acute sheaths, the inner to 25 cm long; sheath elliptic, 14 cm long, distinctly exceeding the blades; blade varying from (outer) triangular with a thick involute terminal cusp to ligulate, broadly acute and apiculate, 27 mm wide, laxly serrulate with spreading spines 0.5 mm long. inflorescence: peduncle 7 cm long; peduncle bracts imbricate, the upper ones short-involucrate about the inflorescence, elliptic, entire, membrana¬ceous, subdensely brown-lepidote; fertile part simple, few-flowered; floral bracts ovate, acute, about equaling the pedicels. flowers: pedicel slender, distinct, to 23 mm long; sepals slightly asymmetric, oblong, acute, 26 mm long, very short-connate, mem¬branaceous, sparsely lepidote; petals acute, ca 4 cm long, white with blue apices (! hatschbach).Edited from : Smith & Downs 1979. (protologue) Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae) in Flora Neotropica.