plant acaulis, offsets with very short thick stem, perennial epiphyte or rarely saxicolous from south america leaves very long, upper ones 60–75 cm and more, inferior ones a little smaller at 55 cm, ligulate, channelled, recurved spreading, gradually becoming acute with leathery wide edges, with long undulating slender spine, teethe very short, erect, red, 1/2 mm long, 2–3 mm apart, bright green on upper side with very sparing white scurfy scales, the underneath with very wide pallid cross bands, veins very numerous subelevated. inflorescence: peduncle recurving, pendulous, half as long as the upper leaves; peduncle bracts very long, becoming white, enfolding, 4–5 in total, barely rolled inwards, internodes visible (but very short), green with white scurfy scales; primary bracts large, ovate lanceolate, acuminate, concave, very delightful rose and very slender, white scurfy scales, very dense veins, 13 cm long. flowers 22–23, perhaps beyond nearly totally sessile without bracts (or rather unclearly pedicellate, running down the base of the calyx to the rachis), 9 cm long, green, including the ovary before anthesis; rachis strongly white scurfy scaled (touch lasting a short while, fingerlike, spotted, not solid like the other members of the same genus) sepals blue at the extreme tip, very short subsegments just as having a ring, very short segments ovate oblong, obtuse, fleshy, unequal, subimbricate; petals linear for half its length, a little wide towards the tip, obtuse, at first erect to rolled inwards, but quickly bent all the way to the externme bottom nearly spiral , several times rolled up recurved, green, very glabrous, on inside at base a pair of small denticulate scales. stamens very long, extended, slender, equally convergent bundles, never spreading, anthers very long, filiform, about the length of the style, style equally robust, 3-sided, stigma lobes 3, linear lanceolate, flat, fringed edges, subspreading ovary sessile or subsessile, inferior, trilocular, strongly rounded three angled, 9 lumpy ribs, very dense, very short, snowy tomentose felt, contracting below the sepals, dehiscing with a lateral split.Edited from : Ill Hort. 11: sub pl. 421.. (1864)