plant epiphytic or saxicolous, propagating by slender stolons 10–15 x 0.3–0.4 cm leaves ca 10, suberect, subchartaceous, usually slightly obtusely carinate toward base, forming at base a subtubular rosette. leaves: sheath inconspicuous, oblong-elliptic to sublinear, 9–15 x 3.5–5.5 cm, subdensely and inconspicuously pale-lepidote, greenish to wine colored inside; blade subdensely and very inconspicuously white lepidote mainly abaxially, green to reddish, finely nerved, entire, not narrowed toward base, the outer ones usually narrowly sublinear-lanceolate, 20–40 x 1.5–3 cm, attenuate-caudate to acuminate-caudate, the inner ones usually linear, 13–30 x 3–3.7 cm, subacute to rounded and distinctly apiculate, apiculus 0.5–0.7 cm long, peduncle erect, 13–17 cm long, 0.2–0.4 cm in diameter, whitish to pale green, sparsely whitelanate to glabrescent; peduncle bracts lanceolate, acuminate, submembranaceous, pale-green, 23–45 x 8–12 mm, inconspicuously white lanate at base, glabrescent toward apex, entire, nerved, erect and exceeding the internodes but in part exposing the peduncle, the upper ones suberect, not involucrate. inflorescence subcylindrical-capitate, simple, distinctly elongate, slightly surpassing the leaf-sheaths, but distinctly shorter than the leaves, ca 60 mm long (including the petals), ca 20 mm in diameter, rachis 23 mm in diameter, green, sparsely white-lanate, internodes 3–5 mm long; floral bracts narrowly ovate-lanceolate, acuminate-caudate, 10–25 x 4–6 mm, ecarinate, membranaceous, entire, greenish, inconspicuously white lanate toward apex, erect, the basal ones about equaling the sepals, the upper ones about equaling the ovary. flowers 11–17, 35–36 mm long, densely and polystichously arranged at anthesis, very slightly fragrant, subsessile, suberect; sepals strongly asymmetrical, bearing a large rounded membranaceous lateral wing, 12 x 4.5–5 mm, apex slenderly filiform mucronulate, mucro 2–2.5 mm long, connate at base for 3–4 mm, entire, ecarinate, dark green, sparsely white-lanate at anthesis; petals subspatulate, acute, 22–25 x 4–5 mm, free, spreading to slightly recurved near the apex at anthesis, whitish toward base, the apical half rose-lilac, naked but bearing 2 conspicuous longitudinal callosities along the filaments with irregular fingerlike ornamentations at apex. stamens: filament the antepetalous ones adnate to the petals for 6–10 mm, the antesepalous free; anther narrowly elliptic, 2.5–3.5 mm long, fixed about 1/3 of its length above the base, base sagittate, apex distinctly apiculate-caudate. pistil: stigma sub cylindrical, 4–5 mm long, ca 1.5 mm in diameter, conduplicate-spiral, rose-lilac, blades shortly fimbriate; ovary suboblong, subterete, ca 11 mm long, 4–5 mm in diameter, sparsely white-lanate at anthesis, dark green, epigynous tube narrowly funnelform, 3–4 mm long; placentation apical; ovules subobtuse. fruits unknown.Edited from : Journ. Brom. Soc. 53(2) 62-65. (2003)