plant terrestrial or hemi-epiphytic, long-caulescent. leaves persistent, polymorphic, petiolate, some with broad blades, others with narrow blades or completely bladeless with the petioles modified into a spinose-serrate spine; sheath suborbicular, 1–2 cm long, dark castaneous, flocculose, serrate near the apex; petioles 8–12 cm long, serrate with 1–1.5 mm long spines; blade very narrowly lanceolate to broadly elliptic, acuminate, to 25 cm long, 8.5 cm wide, entire, sparsely and coarsely subadpressed lepidote abaxially. inflorescence: peduncle erect, to 55 cm long, rather stout, flocculose but soon glabrous; peduncle bracts errect, serrate, the lowest subfoliaceous and much exceeding the internodes, the upper narrowly lanceolate and lax; fertile part simple, laxly flowered, light green(!dodson); floral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, 1.2–2.2 cm long, the lowest equalling to exceeding the pedicels, the upper floral bracts much shorter. flowers erect to spreading, brown flocculose but nearly glabrous with age; pedicel slender, 1.5–2 cm long; sepals narrowly triangular, attenuate, ca 3 cm long, ecarinate, slightly nerved; petals ca 11 cm long, naked. pistil: ovary almost completely superior. fruits: seeds caudate.Edited from : Luther 1981c. (protologue) Miscellaneous New Taxa of Bromeliaceae (I) .