plant growing in groups, stemless, flowering to 30 cm high. leaves numerous, forming a funnel-rosette to 20 cm high and 15 cm wide; sheath ± distinct, long-oval, to 3–4,5 cm high and 2–2,5 cm wide, bleached, occasionally upper side somewhat violet, on both sides appressed scattered lepidote, therefore appearing green; blade very soft, narrow-triangular, above the sheath 1,5 cm wide, 13–15 cm long, long-attenuate, bent over in the upper part, upper side lax, underneath densely scaled; scales with brown centre. inflorescence once-branched, erect to slightly bent over; peduncle thin, 3 mm thick, greenish reddish; glabrous; peduncle bracts the basal ones subfoliate, the upper ones with long, vermilion sheath and green bent over blade; inflorescence* rachis angular, glabrous, straight, reddish green; primary bracts the basal ones similar to the upper peduncle bracts, the upper ones wide-oval, long acuminate, pale carmine red, upper side scattered appressed lepidote, underneath glabrous, only lepidote towards the tip, shorter than the spike; spikes with short stem and sloping peduncle bract, longish-lanceolate, 4–5 cm long, 1 cm wide, acuminate, complanate, 6 to 10- flowered; spikes* rachis green, flattened on the side, glabrous, at anthesis not visible; floral bracts densely imbricate, carinate, longish ovate, acuminate, 1,5 cm long, 0,8 cm wide, green, smooth, glabrous, only at the tip weakly lepidote, partly waxy scurf, longer than the sepals. flowers: sepals narrow lanceolate, the adaxial pair carinate, ? connate, bleached geeen, 14 mm lang; petals narrow tongue shaped, acuminate, dark-violet, with short bent over platte, the bottom white. stamens and style enclosed, filament plicate, stigma spreading, white, papillose.Edited from : Rauh 1988a. (protologue) Bromelienstudien (Mitteilung 20). I. Neue und wenig bekannte Arten aus Peru und anderen Ländern .