plant epiphytic, stemless, flowering to 35 cm high with pendant inflorescence. leaves in a subglobose rosette, spreading; sheath conspicuous, orbicular, 9 x 8.5 cm, dark brown lepidote on both sides, pale and glabrous at the base; blade triangular, apex long-attenuate and subulate, 14 x 2.5 cm, densely appressed cinereous lepidote on both sides. inflorescence: peduncle curved, shorter than the leaves, hidden by the leaf sheaths, l0 x 0.4 cm, densely brown lepidote; peduncle bracts erect, densely imbricate; sheath* orbicular, 3.5 x 3 cm, inflated, yellow orange; blade* filiform, 2–3.5 cm long; erect, cinereous; fertile part pendant, once-branched, 16 x 5 cm, with ca 12 polystichously arranged spikes, sparsely white-lepidote, orange red; primary bracts ovate, the upper ones rounded and apiculate, the lower ones long attenuate, 4–4.5 x 2.8 cm, shorter than the branches, nerved, orange red, sparsely gray lepidote abaxially, glabrous abaxially, densely brown lepidote at the base; spikes 8 cm long with a sterile base 7 mm long, no sterile bracts at base, 2.3 cm wide, elliptic, distichous, 5–6 flowered, apex with 3–4 sterile bracts, rachis alate densely brown lepidote; floral bracts obovate, 2.8 x 1.3 cm, strongly nerved, sparsely gray lepidote abaxially, glabrous adaxially, orange-red, rounded and apiculate, tip densely gray lepidote, somewhat cucullate, carinate, with a hyaline margin. flowers subsessile, erect; sepals elliptic, 1.7 x 0.7 cm, apiculate, free, with a hyaline margin, ecarinate, strongly nerved, pale orange, glabrous on both sides, exceeded by the floral bracts; petals linear, 4.2 cm long, 6 mm wide, green, with 2 ligules at the base of 8 mm long. pistil: style slightly exserted. stamens exserted, 4.8 cm long, filament green, anther yellow. fruits and seeds unknown.Edited from : Manzanares & Till 2000b. Vriesea lutheri, a New Species from Ecuador .