leaves over 1 m long; sheath inner ones erect, tubular-involute, elongate; blade ligulate, broadly obtuse, minutely apiculate, laxly and minutely spinulose-serrate, becoming almost entire toward the apex, 5 cm wide, channeled, light green, concolorous, densely and coarsely pale-appressed-lepidote below. inflorescence: peduncle erect, slender, less than a third as long as the leaves; peduncle bracts erect, slightly exceeding the internodes, lanceolate, acuminate into a weak mucro, entire or with a few minute teeth toward the apex, membranaceous; fertile part simple, densely spicate, cylindric, 7 cm iong, about 16 flowered; floral bracts spreading to reflexed, triangular, acuminate, subpungent, much shorter than the fruiting ovary, entire, the lower ones broad. flowers sessile; sepals strongly asymmetric, suborbicular, very short-connate, 6 mm long without the mucro; petals 13 mm long, bearing 2 fimbriate scales. stamens included; anther oblong, 5 mm long; pollen biporate. pistil: ovary globose, 7 mm long; placentae apical.Edited from : Smith & Downs 1979. Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae) in Flora Neotropica.