Plant saxicolous, short caulescent, 17-19 cm high, propagating by slender stolons ca. 10 cm long, ca. 0:5 cm in diameter.
Leaves subdensely arranged, recurved.
Sheaths inconspicuous.
Blades narrowly-triangular, attenuate-caudate, 10-15 cm long, ca. 2.5 cm wide at base, strongly coriaceous, distinctly channeled with upright margins, completely covered by a thick layer of white trichomes on both sides, margins densely spinose, spines narrowly triangular, complanate, nearly straight to slightly retrorse, densely white-lepidote except for the yellowish apical portion, ca. 3 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide at base.
Scape 6-7 cm long, ca. 1 cm in diameter, densely white-lanate, green, sulcate,
Scape bracts foliaceous but slightly reduced in size toward apex, almost completely covering the scape.
Inflorescence subcorymbose, densely bipinnate, ellipsoid, erect, 5-6 cm long, ca. 2 cm in diameter.
Primary bracts foliaceous to subfoliaceous, the basal ones distinctly exceeding the fascicles but gradually reduced in length toward the inflorescence apex, bearing a broadly ovate-triangular base, densely spinose, spines 1.5-2 mm long, blades long caudate, laxly spinulose to subentire, the upper primary bracts equaling to slightly exceeding the fascicles.
Fascicles ca. 5 in number, polystichously and densely disposed, erect, nearly sessile, narrowly flabellate, complanate, ca. 4 cm long (excluding the petals), ca. 1.5 cm wide, 2 to 3-flowered.
Floral bracts those of the fascicles triangular, acuminate, densely spinulose toward apex, spines irregularly curved, less than 0.5 mm, strongly carinate, equaling the middle of the sepals, greenish-hyaline toward base and orange at apex, nerved, membranaceous, sparsely white-lepidote, 22-23 x 12 mm, those of the simple apical part of the inflorescence broadly ovate, long apiculate, apiculous pungent, densely spinulose, spines irregularly curved, ca. 1 mm long, ecarinate, about equaling 3/4 of the sepal length, suberect, densely white-lepidote mainly abaxially, nerved, coriaceous toward apex, ca. 30 x 20 mm.
Flowers ca. 45 mm long (including the petals), sessile, densely arranged, odorless.
Sepals narrowly lanceolate, apex acuminate, ca. 30 x 6 mm, free, entire, reddish-orange toward the apex, submembranaceous, glabrous, carinate, the posterior ones with keels decurrent on the ovary.
Petals sublinear-spatulate, strongly obtuse-cucullate, ca. 36 x 5 mm, free, erect at anthesis, greenish-yellow, bearing 2 densely fimbriate appendages ca. 8 mm above the base, as well as 2 conspicuous longitudinal callosities which nearly equal the anthers.
Filaments ca. 26 mm long, terete, the antepetalous ones adnate to the petals for ca. 20 mm, the antesepalous ones free.
Anthers ca. 3 mm long, base obtuse and apex acute, fixed near the middle.
Stigma simple-erect, ca. 2.5 mm in diameter, blades densely papillose, recurved.
Ovary ca. 9 mm long, trigonous; epigynous tube ca. 1.5 mm long; placentation apical; ovules obtuse.

Due to its small size and its white colored leaves, contrasting with the reddish-orange sepals and the greenish-yellow petals, O. eddie-estevesii is one of the most attractive species of the scapose complex of the genus. It is related to O. mello-barretoi, differing by its leaves very densely white-lepidote and densely spinose, sepals distinctly longer, reddish orange colored, and glabrous, besides the longer petals.
Orthophytum eddie-estevesii was found growing in an open area at 1,300 m in grasslands on rocky soils (campos rupestres) of the inland mountains of Minas Gerais State.
The new species is a tribute to its collector, Eddie Esteves Pereira, from Goiania, Goias State in Brazil. Esteves is responsible for the introduction of many rare and new bromeliad species mainly from the neglected Cerrado vegetation in Central Brazil. During the collection of this new species, Esteves was accompanied by, and had the valuable assistance of Pierre J. Braun, from Kuln-Kerpen, Germany.