plant somewhat caulescent, with an erect stem of 20–25 cm in length covered by leaf-sheaths, propagating by basal, suberect stolons; stolons not studied but the new rosettes are produced at more than 5 cm apart, producing colonies with separate rosettes. leaves ca 15,40–50 cm long, suberect to spreading, equally and subdensely distributed along the stem; sheath subovate, ca 4–5 cm long, ca 3.5 cm wide, moderately corrugate, green, subglabrous adaxially, very densely and coarsely dark brown-lepidote beneath, spinulose towards the apex, spines 0.5 mm long, 1 mm apart; blade very narrowly lanceolate , slightly narrowed at the base but not petiolate, apex acuminate-caudate, ca 45 cm long, 2.5–4 cm wide, channeled, glabrous and dark green adaxially, strongly cross-banded beneath by the alternations of dark brown and white weaving crossbars formed by coarse scales, margins weakly undulate and densely serrate, with 1–1.5 mm long, antrorse spines, 2–4 mm apart. inflorescence rather elongate, many-flowered, ca 4 cm long; primary bracts foliaceous, similar in shape, indument, and margins of the foliar blades, but shorter, 25–30 cm long, 2–2.3 cm wide; fascicles ca 6, the basal ones pulvinate, ca 2.5 cm long (without petals), ca 2 cm wide, with 10 to 15 flowers; floral bracts ovate-triangulate, acute and apiculate, 15–20 mm long, 8–10 mm wide, surpassing the midpoint of the sepals but not equaling them, densely serrulate towards apex, lepidote, nerved. flowers sessile, ca 23 mm long (without the petals); sepals ca 15 ftim long, the adaxial ones carinate, equally connate for 5–6 mm, the free lobes sublinear-lanceolate, acute and apiculate, 9–10 mm long, ca 3 mm wide, lepidote, entire; petals known from fragments, basally connate. stamens: filament adnate to the petals for at least 4 mm; anther linear, ca 6 mm long, fixed at 1/3 of its length about the base, base sagittate, apex mucronate; epigynous tube very shallow. pistil: ovary ca 7 mm long.Edited from : Ramirez 1996. Systematics, phylogeny and chromosome number evolution in Cryptanthus (Bromeliaceae) .