Terrestrial or epiphytic. Stem short, 3.5–5.5 cm diam. Roots dense, upper ones ascending, lower ones descending, whitish to grayish, woolly-pubescent, moderately tapered, ca. 3–12 cm long, 4–5 mm diam. Cataphylls thickly coriaceous, lanceolate, 22–40 cm long, obtuse at apex, medium green, drying medium brown, persisting intact or semi-intact, eventually as coarse linear fibers. Leaves erect-spreading; petioles (3)17–23 cm long, (6)10–15 mm diam., thicker than broad to D-shaped to trapezoidal or C-shaped, sharply to broadly V-sulcate adaxially with the margins raised, sharply 2–9-ribbed abaxially; geniculum conspicuously thicker than petiole, 1–2.5 cm long; sheath 9–13 cm long; blades coriaceous to subcoriaceous, broadly oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic, rounded to obtuse or sometimes acute at apex, acute at base, (46)90–145 cm long, 23–37 cm wide, broadest above the middle, the margins slightly undulate; upper surface matte to semiglossy, dark green, lower surface semiglossy to glossy, paler; midrib broadly convex at base, becoming flat-raised toward the middle and narrowly convex at the apex above, trapezoidal and 3-ribbed at base, becoming acutely angled and then convex toward the apex below; primary lateral veins 14–40 per side, departing midrib at 50–70 degree angle, straight or slightly arcuate to the collective vein, convexly raised above, less conspicuously so below; interprimary veins sometimes present, inconspicuous to almost as conspicuous as primary lateral veins; tertiary veins darker than surface and flat below, moderately indistinct; reticulate veins prominulous above and below (or not visible) on drying; collective vein arising from or near the base, equally as prominent as primary lateral veins, 1–13 mm from margin. Inflorescences erect; peduncle (36)50–85 cm long, (3)5–6 mm diam., 2.5–3(6) times as long as petiole, terete to bluntly or sharply multi-ribbed. Spathe spreading, with the margins curled under, subcoriaceous, medium green, becoming yellowish, oblong-lanceolate, (7)13–20 cm long, 1.3–2 cm wide, broadest near the base, inserted at 30 degree angle on peduncle, shortly acuminate at apex, acute at base. Spadix medium green, sessile or shortly stipitate, cylindroid to long-tapered, erect to curved, (8)12–23 cm long, 5–9 mm diam. near base, 3–4 mm diam. near apex; flowers rhombic, 1.7–2.6 mm long, 1.1–1.9 mm wide, the sides straight to smoothly sigmoid; 6–13 flowers visible in principal spiral, 5–7 in alternate spiral; tepals matte; lateral tepals 1–1.3 mm wide, the inner margins rounded, erose, the outer margins 2-sided; pistils weakly emergent; stigma ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid; anthers tan, 0.5–0.6 mm long, 0.6–0.7 mm wide; thecae oblong, not divaricate; pollen yellow fading to white. Infructescence (immature): spreading(?); spathe reflexed and persistent, green; spadix 22–30 cm long, 1.4 cm diam.; berries light purple; pericarp with raphide cells; seeds unknown.

Type: Ecuador. Chimborazo: along road between Alausi and El Triunfo, 6.9 km W of Huigra, 2°19'S, 79°0'W, 1350 m, Croat 61562 (MO 3420768﷓71, holotype; B, CM, K, NY, QCA, RSA, US, isotypes).

Bolívar: Valle de Tablas: 1200 m, Solis 6075 (MO, F). Chimborazo: Alausi﷓El Triunfo, 6.9 km W of Huigra, 1350 m, 2°19'S, 79°0'W, Croat 61562 (B, CM, K, MO, NY, QCA, RSA, US). Río Chanchan: 5 km N of Huigra, 1650﷓2150 m, Camp 3428 (MO), E﷓3360, E﷓3460 (NY). Napo: Jatun Sacha, 450 m, 01°08'S 77°30'W, Palacios 2694 (CM, MO).