[1] The appearance of Bromelia laciniosa depends on various factors, like season and soil, but will typically look like a squat, yellowish-green, thorny shrub with streaks of purple and pink that run along its leaves and converge with the striking flower of the plant.

Like all bromeliads, the leaves of Bromelia laciniosa are covered with tiny scales that appear to be white and fuzzy; known as trichomes, these epidermal projections (leaf hairs) help the plant efficiently extract moisture from hot and dry climates.

[5] Bromeliads typically grow under trees or in clearings, though Bromelia laciniosa seeds do not germinate in the absence of light, which means that the plant only begins to flower given the right conditions.

[6] The roots of Bromelia laciniosa are thin to facilitate water absorption and reach over a meter deep and 8 inches in diameter; because of this, bromeliads generally have efficient nitrogen uptake.

A significant negative of working with Bromelia laciniosa is that the extraction of its leaves is very laborious; the plant's blades need to be trimmed and packed into bundles to make the pulverizing of its stalks more productive.