plant multi-stemmed (22 stems on the mother plant), 50 cm high, constantly producing vigorous shoots which replace the deflowered stems, erect, spruce, cylindrical, swollen at the top, gray, covered with annular scars, and first covered with scarious phyllodes at the base; leaves, gathered in a rosette at the top of the stem, are clasping-imbricated, short (1 cm wide by12 cm long), linear-lanceolate, acuminate-sharp, with a slender point, canaliculate, covered, in their upper half, with serrated hooked spines; glabrous on both sides, dark green veined above and paler, but not furfuraceous, below; stem, terminal, subsessile, glabrous, bears a compact spike of large, cylindrical, slightly curved flowers, short pedicelled, erect, provided with cowled bracts, acute, veined. flowers: sepals are triangular lanceolate acute, of a magnificent dark saturn red; the petals (6–8 cm long.), exceeding three or four times the calyx in length, are of a similar shade, oblong, lanceolate-obtuse, folded into a tube. stamens & anthers linear-oblong, are prominent, the stigma trifid, lovary free & three locules containing numerous ovules, the capsule tripartite, with septicidal dehiscence, and the seeds, numerous, angular, subtrigonal-truncated, without appendages, are inserted around the septum.Translated by Eric Gouda from: Andre 1870. (protologue) Pepinia aphelandraeflora, Ed. André - Pepinia a fleurs d'aphélandra .