plant saxicolous, homogamous, long caulescent, propagating by short axillary shoots. leaves coriaceous; sheath inconspicuous; blade very narrowly triangular, densely white lepidote at least abaxially, usually concolorous at anthesis, sometimes the upper ones around the inflorescence turning reddish but not forming a color ring, not narrowed at the base, margins straight, spinulose. inflorescence compound, sessile, corymbose or a compact glomerulate spike, with basal/outer inconspicuously stipitate fascicles; primary bracts foliaceous; basal fascicles 3–9-flowered, flabellate, pulvinate; floral bracts in the fascicles narrowly triangular, thin in texture, about equaling the midpoint of the sepals. flowers sessile, 16–24 mm long, fragrant, diurnal; sepals free, narrowly lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, not pungent, densely white lepidote; petals lanceolate to narrowly obovate, free, 3.5–4 times longer than wide, the blades subspreading-recurved and forming an open, fan blade-like corolla at anthesis, partially exposing the stamens, lilac-rose or white, unappendaged but bearing well developed longitudinal glandular callosities. stamens erect; filament distinctly unequal in length, the antesepalous ones free, the antepetalous ones distinctly shorter than the antesepalous ones, and basally connate with the petals; anther sublinear, distinctly bilobed at the base, not laterally complanate, straight at anthesis, cream; pollen sulcate, oblate, 40–45 μm, reticulate, lumina width of the reticulum decreasing slightly towards the sulcus margins, the sulcus narrow, ornamented with small exine elements predominantly coherent and attached to the sulcus margins, margins weakly defined. pistil: ovary usually clavate; epigynous tube inconspicuous; ovules globose, obtuse, few; stigma simplepatent or simple-erect, rose-lilac or white, distinctly exceeding the anthers, lobes spreading or suberect, longer than wide, but broadened at distal part, margins inconspicuously crenulate, without papillae. fruits baccate, 4–7 × 3.5–6 mm, sepals persistent, as long as the fruit length to 1.2 times longer; seeds 2–3 × 1–2 mm, 3–8 in number.Edited from : Leme et al. 2017b. (protologue) New circumscription of Cryptanthus and new Cryptanthoid genera and subgenera (Bromeliaceae: Bromelioideae) based on neglected morphological traits and molecular phylogeny .