plant stemless, flowering to 50 cm high, thickened bulblike at the base, initially individual, after flowering grows into clumps; bulbous stem to 4 cm thick and 5 cm high covered by the leaf sheaths. leaves: sheath wide-roundish, to 2,5 cm wide, 1,2–1,5 cm high, distinct, underneath dark chestnut brown, in the upper half white star like hairy, upper side glabrous, white at the base, normally bright chestnut brown, edges dense brown spined; blade bent over, lineal, above the sheath 5 mm wide, tapering to a fine, thin, soon drying tip, underneath densely lepidote, upper side becoming glabrous, green, edges with small, prominent, forward pointing, white spines which are 5 mm apart. inflorescence: peduncle to 20 cm long, erect, round, 0,5 cm thick, greenish reddish, densely white flaked; peduncle bracts the basal ones subfoliate with erect sheath and very narrow, bent over blade, the middle and upper ones erect, adjacent to the peduncle, with approximately 2 cm long sheath, with fine white spined edges and filiform, to 2 cm long, spiny blade, inf1orescence 15–17 cm long, to 3,5 cm wide, laxly once-branched, with lax cylindrical, many-flowered, to 7 cm long and at anthesis 3,5 cm thick top spike, and ± 10, short cylinder like, to 2 cm long primary side spike ( the base clearly vestigial); primary side spikes ± 5 at the base, with very short, 2 mm long stem and each with 2–3, polystichous flowers; these are smaller than that of the top spike, including the very short stem only 15 mm long; primary bracts the basal ones similar to the upper peduncle bracts, diverging, longer than the side spikes, the upper ones spreading horizontal, with a long blade as long or a little shorter than the side spikes, pink-color, long acuminate, edges spiny, underneath lepidote flowers of the top spike prefloral dense, at anthesis lax; floral bracts erect to spreading, triangular acuminate, indistinctly carinate, membranous, 8 mm long, pink-colored, lepidote, edges spiny, usually shorter than the sepals. flowers short, (2 mm) stemmed, to 17 mm long; sepals longish triangular, acuminate, 8 mm wide, pink-colored, densely white lepidote; petals narrow tongue shaped, 16 mm long, with short bent over tips, the upper half emerald green, toward the base white, postfloral dark carmine red and twisted. stamens and style enclosed. pistil: style with stigma shorter than the yellow anthers.Translated by Butcher from: Rauh 1985a. (protologue) Bromelienstudien (Mitteilung 16). I. Neue und wenig bekannte Arten aus Peru und anderen Ländern .