Plants densely clustering, flowering to 20--40 cm. Stems short. Leaves 15--30, many-ranked, erect to spreading, gray, 15--40 ´ 0.2--0.5 cm, coarsely appressed-scaly; sheath rust-colored toward base, broadly triangular, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 1--2 cm wide; blade linear-subulate, leathery, margins involute, apex attenuate. Inflorescences: scape conspicuous, erect, 8--15 cm, 2--4 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; spikes erect, simple or palmate, linear, compressed, 2--4 ´ 1 cm, apex acute; simple or lateral branches 1--5. Floral bracts imbricate, erect, uniformly red to rose, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled apically, 1.4--1.7 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex acute, surfaces scaly distally, becoming sparsely scaly toward base, venation slight. Flowers 5--20, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair connate, elliptic, keeled, to 1.5 cm, thin-leathery, veined, apex obtuse, surfaces scaly; corolla tubular, petals erect, violet, ligulate, 3--4.5 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. Fruits 2.5--3 cm.

Flowering spring--summer. Epiphytic on a variety of hosts in swamps and hammocks; 0--60 m; Fla., Ga.; Mexico (Tamaulipas).