plant epiphytic, flowering ca 70 cm tall, propagating by basal short shoots. leaves ca 15 in number, rosulate, suberect-arcuate, coriaceous, forming at base a broadly funnelform rosette; sheath broadly elliptic, 12–13 x 10 cm, densely and minutely white-lepidote, adaxially dark purple toward the apex, adaxially pale green; blade linear, 20– 30 x 7.3–8 cm, green except for the nigrescente basal and apical margins and the apex, distinctly nerved mainly toward the apex, abaxially densely white-lepidote, adaxially subdensely and inconspicuously white-lepidote, inconspicuously if at all narrowed toward base, apex angulose, acute and distinctly cuspidate, nearly black, margins densely toothed, teeth 1–1.5 mm long, 1–5 mm apart, triangular, nigrescent, prevailing antrorse; inflorescence. inflorescence: peduncle erect, ca 35 cm long, ca 0.6 cm in diameter, sparsely white-lanate to glabrescent, purplish-green, about equalling the leaves; peduncle bracts narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, 50–55 x 13– 15 mm, purplish, papyraceous, nerved, inconspicuously toothed near the apex to entire, sparsely white-lanate to glabrescent, erect, equalling to slightly exceeding the internodes; fertile part (fertile part) paniculate, laxly once-branched (side branches of 1st order), suberect, ca 27 cm long, ca 17 cm in diameter at base, rachis 3– 6 mm in diameter, terete or nearly so, straight, sparsely white-lanate to glabrous, purplish-green; primary bracts the basal ones resembling the upper peduncle bracts, gradually smaller toward the inflorescence apex, long acuminate, entire, thin in texture, spreading with the branches, sparsely white-lanate, distinctly exceeding the stipes, 2–4.5 x 0.4–1.1 cm, the upper ones resembling the floral bracts, long caudate; primary branches the lateral ones ca 7 in number, spreading or nearly so, 6–10 cm long, ca 2.5 cm in diameter, 24–40-flowered, bearing at apex an inconspicous coma of sterile bracts, stipes ebracteate, slightly complanate, 5–10 x 3–4 mm, greenish, sparsely lepidote, rachis straight, 2–3 mm in diameter, green, glabrescent, sulcate, the terminal branch ca 10 cm long, suberect, ca 45-flowered; floral bracts 5–12 mm long, with a broadly ovate base, 3–5 x 2–3 mm, nerved, lilac, ecarinate, and a long acuminate to caudate, toothed, pale castaneous apex, 2–7 mm long, slightly shorter to slightly exceeding the ovary. flowers sessile, 17–19 mm long (with petals extended), slightly fragrant, subspreading, subdensely disposed, subevenly arranged to slightly verticillate; sepals strongly asymmetrical with the lateral membranous wing rounded and surpassing the midnerve but shorter than the apical mucro, 7–7.5 x 5 mm including the ca 1.5 mm long, castaneous apical mucro, connate at base for ca 1.5 mm, lilac-white except for the purplish apex, ecarinate, glabrous; petals lanceolate, long acuminate, ca 12 x 3 mm, free, purple, strongly recurved toward the apex at anthesis, bearing 2 longitudinal callosities ca 6 mm long from the base, with irregularly digitate apex. stamens: filament terete, ca 8.5 mm long, white, the antesepalous ones free, the antepetalous adnate to the petals for ca 5 mm; anther 2–2.5 mm long, dorsifixed at the middle, base obtuse, apex distinctly apiculate; pollen broadly ellipsoid, biporate, pores small, exine minutely reticulate, lumina polygonal, muri thickened. pistil: stigma conduplicate-spiral, ellipsoid, blades ca 1.5 mm long, green, subentire to shortly lacerate; ovary ca 5 x 4 mm, lilac-white, glabrescent; epigynous tube ca 1.5 mm long; placentation apical; ovules obtuse. fruits unknown.Edited from : Leme & Scharf 2011. (protologue) Two new species from the Atlantic forest of Northeastern Brazil .