Tillandsia balbisiana Schult.f.

  • Authority

    Smith, Lyman B. & Downs, Robert J. 1977. Tillandsioideae (Bromeliaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 14 (2): 663-1492. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Bromeliaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Tillandsia balbisiana Schult.f.

  • Type

    Type. Bertero s n (TO nv), Jamaica.

  • Synonyms

    Tillandsia tenuifolia L., Tillandsia cubensis Gand., Tillandsia polystachya J.F.Gmel., Platystachys digitata Beer, Tillandsia urbaniana Wittm.

  • Description

    Description - Plant flowering 13-65 cm high. Leaves many in a dense bulbous rosette, often exceeding the inflorescence if extended but typically recurved, densely and minutely pale-appressed-lepidote throughout, often purple-margined; sheaths ovate, large, inflated, forming an ovoid or ellipsoid pseudobulb to 12 cm long, pale-ferruginous toward the base; blades abruptly spreading or recurved from the apices of the sheaths, linear-triangular, filiform-attenuate, 1 cm wide at the base, usually involute for their entire length. Scape erect or ascending, slender, subglabrous; scape-bracts erect, imbricate, elliptic with long, linear, spreading or reflexed blades, inflated. Inflorescence densely pinnate or subdigitate or rarely simple and distichous-flowered, slenderly fusiform or subcylindric, dense, to 2 dm long; primary bracts like the upper scape-bracts, at least their sheaths shorter than the axillary spikes; spikes sessile, strict, linear, acute, 3-12 cm long, 1 cm wide at anthesis, complanate. Floral bracts erect, imbricate, ovate, obtuse and apiculate but often appearing acute in drying, 15-22 mm long, exceeding the sepals, coriaceous, even or slightly nerved toward apex, glabrous or obscurely lepidote, ecarinate, often bright red; flowers erect; pedicels very short. Sepals lanceolate, acute, coriaceous, even, glabrous, connate posteriorly; petals tubular-erect, ligulate, obtuse, 30-45 mm long, violet; stamens and pistil exserted. Capsule slenderly cylindric, acute, 4 cm long.

  • Distribution

    Epiphytic in forest, from near sea level to 1500 m alt, Florida, West Indies and Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.

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