plant flowering to 70 cm high; stem bulbous, covered by the sheaths, 5 cm long, 4 cm in diameter. leaves 6–9 in number, rigid, thick, persistent, rosulate, curved; sheath broadly semilunate, to 2 cm high, 5 cm wide, light brown inside, dark castaneous, lustrous, glabrous outside, the upper margins serrate with short spines; blade oblong-triangular, long attenuate, filiform at the apex, 17–33 cm long, 2.5 cm wide at the base, dark green to purple red, gray lepidote on both surfaces, stronger beneath; margins serrate with strong, retrorse, black, 3–7 mm long spines, covered by white scales, 6–8 mm apart. inflorescence: peduncle erect, 17–22 cm long, 5 mm in diameter, reddish purple, white lepidote; peduncle bracts erect, lanceolate, attenuate, sparsely white lepidote, to 45 mm long, 10 mm wide, dry chartaceous, longer than the internodes; margins entire; fertile part erect, to 30–45 cm long, 3–4 mm in diameter, purplish, white lepidote, simple or with 1–2 branches at the base; branches ascending in 45° angle in relation to the rachis, to 14–16 cm long; primary bracts lanceolate, attenuate, acuminate, to 30–37 mm long, 10 mm wide, chartaceous when dry, sparsely white lepidote; floral bracts lanceolate, chartaceous, long attenuate at the apex, to 12–25 mm long, 10 mm wide, much longer than the pedicels, the basal ones equaling the flowers, sparsely white lepidote outside. flowers: pedicel gray, white lepidote, 4 mm long. flowers ca 120 in number, 25 mm long, spirally arranged, suberect to erect; sepals lanceolate, mucronate, pink, darker at the apex, densely white lepidote outside, 14 mm long, 5 mm wide; petals spathulate, white at the base, very dark purple in the exserted portion, 20 mm long, 9 mm wide, twisted together after anthesis. stamens included, to 13 mm long; filament white; anther 3 mm long, fixed above the middle, dark purple; pollen yellow. pistil: ovary and style 9 mm long; stigma oblong, contorted, dark purple. fruits terminally dehiscent, conic, acute, dark brown, 10–12 mm long; seeds triangular, curved, 1.5–2.5 mm long, narrowly winged.Edited from : Vasquez & Ibisch 2007c. (protologue) Puya pachyphylla sp. nov. (Bromeliaceae) and new synonyms of Puya tuberosa from Bolivia .