plant saxiculous or rupicolous, stemless, 3–5 cm long, 18–28 cm in diameter, propagating by short basal rhizomes. leaves 13–18 in number, suberect to nearly spreading, forming a lax, open round rosette; sheath suborbicular, 1.5 x 1.7 cm, densely and coarsely white-lepidote toward the apex, densely spinulose toward apex, greenish; blade narrowly triangular, long acuminate, 9–15 x 0.9–1.1 cm, green except for the dark red margins, coriaceous or nearly so, nerved mainly abaxially, canaliculate, adaxially subdensely to densely white-lepidote, trichomes to obscuring leaf color, abaxially densely and coarsely white-lepidote, trichomes obscuring leaf color, margins with spines acicular, dark red, 0.5–1.5 mm long, 2–7 mm apart, the basal ones spreading densely arranged ca 2–3 mm apart, the upper ones strongly antrorse-uncinate, subdensely to laxly arranged 5–7 mm apart. inflorescence distinctly once-branched, with 14 to 20 flowers; primary bracts foliaceous; fascicles the basal ones 2 to 4-flowered, flabellate, complanate, 7–10 mm wide, basal peduncle ca 3 x 3 mm; floral bracts ovate-triangular, acuminate, ca 9 x 4 mm, membranaceous, greenish except for the hyaline margins, obscurely and irregularly spinulose toward apex, spines uncinate, carinate, nerved, sparsely and coarsely white-lepidote toward apex to glabrescent, slightly exceeding the ovary. flowers 24–26 mm long (with extended petals), sessile or nearly so with a inconspicuous pedicel ca 1 mm long, fragrant; sepals narrowly ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 8–10 x 2 mm, subequally connate at base for 3–4 mm, entire, sparsely to subdensely and coarsely white-lepidote, green; petals spatulate, apex acute to obtuse and slightly if at all cucullate, 20–21 x 6–7 mm, very narrow toward base, connate at base for 1–2 mm in a common tube with the filaments and style, suberect at anthesis, distinctly exceeding the stamens, white, without callosities. stamens: filament ca 13 mm long, adnate for 1–2 mm to the common tube with petals and style; anther 2–3 mm long, fixed near the base, base sagittate, apex apiculate; pollen narrowly ellipsoid, sulcate, exine irregularly microreticulate, appearing corrugate, muri thickened. pistil: stigma conduplicate, white, stylar lobes terete, suberect to subspreading, ca 2 mm long, linear, apex obtuse, at apex margins inconspicuously papillose; ovary ca 4 x 2.5 mm, trigonous, greenish; epigynous lacking; placentation apical; ovules obtuse. fruits unknown; paratype minas gerais; tiradentes, serra de sao jose, jul; 2001, b; r; silva s; n., fl; cult; e; leme 5240 (hb); serra de sao jose, vertente sul, caminho dos escravos, ca 1,200 m elev., 23 july 2003, e; leme 5825 (hb); sao joao del rey divisa com tiradentes, serra de sao jose, ca 700 m elev., 30 nov; 2003, e; leme 6117 & r; leme (hb).Edited from : Leme 2007c. (protologue) Three Subtle new Cryptanthus Species from Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil .