Epiphytic or terrestrial; stem to ca. 60 cm long, 1.5–4 cm diam.; roots dense, ascending, pale greenish, conspicuously pubescent, short to moderately elongate, bluntly pointed at apex, 2–5 mm diam.; cataphylls membranous, lanceolate, unribbed, 2.5–12 cm long, acute at apex with a subapical apiculum, green, drying light brown with dense raphides, persisting semi-intact, eventually deciduous. Leaves erect to spreading; petioles (5.5)9–14 cm long, 4–10 mm diam., acutely D-shaped to C-shaped, broadly convex adaxially with the margins sharply raised and slightly turned inward, 5–10-ribbed abaxially, the surface somewhat pale-speckled; geniculum slightly thicker and paler than petiole, fissured transversely with age, 1–2 cm long; blades subcoriaceous (very thin on drying), broadly oblanceolate-elliptic to oblanceolate, acute to shortly acuminate at apex (the acumen weakly inrolled), narrowly acute to acute to narrowly rounded at base, (38)50–112 cm long, (10)15–26.5 cm wide, broadest at or above the middle, the margins broadly and shallowly undulate; upper surface glossy to semiglossy, medium green (B & K yellow-green 4/10), lower surface semiglossy; both surfaces drying semiglossy to weakly glossy, dark green to yellow-green; midrib broadly convex to obtusely flat-raised and obscurely sulcate above, higher than broad and bluntly 3–5-ribbed at base, becoming prominently convexly raised toward the apex below; primary lateral veins (13)18–26 per side, departing midrib at 55–75 degree angle, straight (sometimes weakly arcuate) to the collective vein, prominently convex above and below; tertiary veins weakly visible when fresh below, prominulous when dried; collective vein arising from near the base, weakly sunken above, weakly raised below, drying weakly raised above and below, less prominent than primary lateral veins, 3–10 mm from margin. Inflorescences erect to erect-spreading; peduncle 34–48 cm long, ca. 4 mm diam., 3.3–4.2 times as long as petiole, drying blackish brown, terete; spathe spreading-recurled, subcoriaceous, green, oblong-elliptic, 13.5–15 cm long, 3 cm wide, acute at apex; stipe 5.5–7 cm long in front, 5.3–6 cm long in back; spadix dark violet-purple, blackish when dried, weakly tapered, more or less erect, curved, 8.5–10 cm long, 6–8 mm diam. near base, 4–5 mm diam. near apex; flowers square to rhombic, 1.5–2 mm long, 1.2–1.9 mm wide, the sides more or less straight; (5)6–9 flowers visible in principal spiral, (8)9–12 in alternate spiral; tepals matte; lateral tepals 1.3–1.5 mm wide, the inner margins straight to concave, the outer margins 2-sided; pistils weakly exserted; stigma slit-like, ca. 0.3–0.4 mm long; anthers ca. 0.4–0.5 mm long, (0.4)0.5–0.6 mm wide; thecae oblong, not divaricate. Infructescence with spathe withered; spadix 17.5 cm long, ca. 1.2 cm diam.; berries (rehydrated) oblong, apparently rounded at apex, ca. 4.6–5 mm long, 3–3.2 mm diam.; seeds 2 per berry, yellow-brown with darker punctations, oblong-ovoid to somewhat broadly ellipsoid, slightly flattened laterally, 2.9–3.5 mm long, 2–2.3 mm diam., 0.9–1.5 mm thick.

Type: Ecuador.Guayas: Río Chimbo, 0.9 km E of junction to El Triunfo at edge of General Elizalde (Bucay), 2°12'S, 79°05'W, 510 m, Croat 61597 (MO 3422020﷓24, holotype; AAU, B, BM, CAS, CM, GH, K, NY, QCA, RSA, SEL, US, isotypes).

Guayas: Río Chimbo: Bucay--Río Bamba, Bucay, 510 m, 2°15'S, 79°05'W, Croat 50912 (MO); 900 m E of junction to El Triunfo at edge of General Elizalde (Bucay), Los Ríos, border of Bolívar & Chimborazo provinces, 510 m, 2°12'S, 79°5'W, Croat 61597 (AAU, B, BM, CAS, CM, GH, K, MO, NY, QCA, RSA, SEL, US). Cotopaxi: 2 km N of Pucuyacu near bridge over Río San Francisco, 690 m, 0°41'S, 79°06'W, Croat 57082 (MO).