plant flowering to 40 cm high, leaves ca 20, rosulate, ligulate, both sides dense and appressed white lepidote, forming an obconic utriculum at the base. leaves: sheath ovate, 9 cm long, 6 cm wide, both sides light purple, blade linear-lancelate, 28–30 cm long, 3.5 cm maximum width, both sides green, the tip narrow, finishing with a sharp dark purple spine, the edges armed with dark purple spines, 1 mm long, 5 mm apart, peduncle erect, 23 cm long, 4 mm diam., while living green with lax white lepidote, internodes 3 cm long, peduncle bracts appressed, lanceolate, serrate, green, white lepidote on outside, inside glabrous, almost clasping the stem, a little longer or equalling the internodes. inflorescence erect, pyramidal, 12 cm long, once-branched at base, simple towards the top with an erect rachis, when living cylindrical, green, laxly white lepidote, primary bracts similar to the peduncle bracts but ending with an almost pungent spine and smaller than the upper ones but all exceed conspicuously the sterile bases of the branches; floral bracts triangular, 2 mm long, mucron 1 mm long, not at all enveloping the base of the ovary. flowers 15 mm long, sessile, polystichous and diverging, sepals almost asymmetric, connate for 1/3, yellow, glabrous, ending with a pungent spine at the tip, 5 mm long without the mucron, petals white, blade oblong-lanceolate, tip acute, with a pair of appendages at the base, anther 4 mm long, the base blunt sagittate, tip acuminate, ovary glabrous, smooth,yellow, 4 mm long, epigynous tube 1 mm long, ovules few, obtuse.Edited from : Bradea. .