plant nearly stemless, propagating by slender, basal stolons or by basal offsets; stolons 10–12 cm long, 2 mm diameter, covered by amplexicaule, triangular sheaths, 1–2 cm long, 6–8 mm wide, glabrous adaxially, densely lepidote abaxially, margins serrate. leaves ca 14 in an open round rosette; sheath transversely oblong, 1 cm long, 1.4 cm wide, very inconspicuous, densely spinulose, densely white-lepidote toward the apex and abaxially, membranaceous; blade linear-lanceolate, apex recurved, acuminate-caudate, without a distinct centred area, very slightly narrowed at the base, 15–25 cm long, 2–2.5 cm wide, upper and lower sizes greatly contrasting, completely covered beneath by coarse, white scales or sometimes with transversal zones of light brown scales, green and glabrous adaxially or densely coarse white-lepidote only at base, margins distinctly undulate and densely serrulate with spines 0.5–1 mm long, 1–2 mm apart. inflorescence slightly elongate, up to 1 cm long peduncle, or subsessile, many-flowered, ca 3 cm long; primary bracts foliaceous, similar to the leaves in shape, indument, and margins but shorter, 4–5 cm long, 0.7–0.8 mm wide; fascicles ca 6, the basal ones subpulvinate, with 4 to 8 flowers; floral bracts ovate-triangulate to narrowly triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, ca 15 mm long, 7–11 mm wide at base, nearly equaling the sepals, carinate, densely coarse white-lepidote outside and toward the margins, entire. flowers sessile, ca 34 mm long, strongly fragrant, all hermaphrodite; sepals 13 mm long, equally connate by 6 mm, the free lobes subsymmetric, very narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, 7 mm long, ca 2 mm wide, white-lepidote outside and toward the apex, carinate, entire; petals elliptic, rounded, ca 30 mm long, connate by ca 10 mm, ca 9 mm wide, white, distinctly exceeding the stamens but subspreading and exposing them, no calli present. stamens: filament equally adnate to the petals for the length of its tube; anther linear, ca 5 mm long, fixed at 1/3 of its length about the base, base sagittate, apex apiculate. pistil: ovary ca 4 mm long; epigynous tube lacking; ovules ca 20 in each locule, obtuse. fruits unknown.Edited from : Ramirez 1996. Systematics, phylogeny and chromosome number evolution in Cryptanthus (Bromeliaceae) .