plant acaulescent, propagating by basal offsets, close to the inflorescence offsets, and/or short basal rhizomes. leaves (4-)7–8 per rosette, erect, (10-)17–26 cm long, when blooming forming a flat rosette, basally attenuated but not petiolate; sheath transversely oblong, 9–11 mm long, 15–20 mm wide, membranaceous, abaxially and adaxially coarsely brown-lepidote; blade broadly subelliptic to broadly lanceolate, acute to shortly acuminate, (7-)10–27 cm long, 4.2–5.8 cm wide, very contrasting surfaces, dark green and glabrous adaxially, densely white-lepidote abaxially, very succulent and without apparent middle area or channel when live (although it has a very thick proportion of water tissue when cross sectioned), densely lepidote below, when dry the parallel nerves are evident and numerous, margins slightly undulate, serrate, spines up to 0.5–1.5 mm long, 2 mm apart. inflorescence nidular to rather elongate, 3 to 5 (10) fascicles, lateral ones pulvinate, few flowered (4–7), central one many flowered, few open at the same time. flowers all perfect, 2–2.5 cm long including petals, apparently not fragrant; floral bracts ovate-triangular, acute, with the apical portion very thick, cucullate, 10–12 mm long, 5–8 mm wide, surpassing the midpoint of the sepals but not equaling them, with trichomes in the upper external half, apically minutely serrate; sepals 9–10 mm long, basally connate by 2 mm, covered by trichomes in the upper external half, trinervate, free lobes triangular to lanceolate, acute, acuminate, 7–8 mm long, 3 mm wide, apically carinate in the back, entire; petals very fleshy compared with the rest of the group, broadly obovate, rounded, basally attenuate, obtuse, 15–22 mm long, 6 mm wide, connate for 5–7 mm. stamens with filaments adnate to the petals, those antepetalous are more highly adnate (1 mm higher) up to the area where the petals are free; filament 3 mm long; anther 3 mm long. pistil: style 15 mm long, almost as long as the petals but larger than the stamens; stigma simple-erect, with three stigmatic lobesf connate forming a semicircular surface, diminutely undulate margins; ovary ca 5 mm long, trigonous; epigynous tube 1 mm long; ovules 12–14 per locule. fruits and seeds unknown.Edited from : Ramirez 1996. Systematics, phylogeny and chromosome number evolution in Cryptanthus (Bromeliaceae) .