plant terrestrial, very long caulescent to nearly 4 m long with the apex raised ca 1.3 m above the soil (!b; whitman); stem to ca 1 cm in diameter, completely covered by living and dead leaves. leaves to 30 cm long; sheath broadly elliptic, 4 cm long, 3 cm wide, nerved when dry, glabrous above, white lepidote beneath, concolorous with the blades, coarsely serrate toward the blade; blade narrowly triangular, not at all narrowed toward the sheath, more or less glabrous and dark green above, pale lepidote beneath, 1.5 cm wide, channeled, undulate, serrate with 1–3 mm long antrorse spines. inflorescence terminal, compound; primary bracts like the leaves; floral bracts 10–14 mm long, 6–7 mm wide, about equaling the sepals, thin, broadly elliptic, acute, mucronate; entire; densely lepidote with pale, coarse, spreading trichomes. flowers: sepals ca 9 mm long, connate for 3 mm, oblong, acute, thin, the adaxial sepals alate carinate for their entire length, the abaxial sepal carinate near the base, densely pale lepidote; petals incompletely known, basally connate, white and spreading (!b; whitman}. flowers very fragrant (!b; whitman). pistil: ovary slender, 4–4.5 mm long, tricarinate.Edited from : Luther 1990. (protologue) A new Giant Cryptanthus from Espirito Santo, Brazil .