Tillandsia balbisiana |
Tillandsia pruinosa |
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northern needleleaf, tillandsia de balbis |
fuzzywuzzy airplant |
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Habit | Plants single or clustering, flowering to 75 cm. | Plants usually single, rarely clustering, flowering to 10 cm. |
Stems | short. |
short. |
Leaves | 15–30, many-ranked, reflexed, twisted or contorted, gray, often flushed red, to 65 × 0.6–1.4 cm, appressed-grayish-scaly; sheath conspicuously rust-colored toward base, ovate to elliptic, conspicuously inflated, forming small pseudobulb, 2–4 cm wide; blade linear-triangular, leathery, channeled to involute, apex attenuate. |
5–10, many-ranked, contorted or secund-spreading, gray-green to silver, 6–10 × 0.3–0.5 cm, densely pruinose-scaly, scales coarse; sheath dark chestnut brown within, ovate to elliptic, conspicuously inflated, forming small pseudobulb, 1.5–3 cm wide; blade linear-subulate, semisucculent, margins involute, apex attenuate. |
Inflorescences | scape conspicuous, erect, 8–30 cm, 2–4 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, spreading, recurved and twisted like leaves; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; spikes erect, 2-pinnate, linear, compressed, 2–10 × 1 cm, apex acute; lateral branches 2–10 (rarely simple). |
scape inconspicuous, usually ascending, 1–3 cm, 2–3 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect to spreading, like leaves but gradually smaller; sheath of bracts narrowing abruptly into blade; single spikes, usually ascending, pinnate, broadly elliptic, compressed, 2–3 × 1.2–2.4 cm, apex acute to obtuse. |
Flowers | 5–30, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair connate, lanceolate, keeled, 1.5–2 cm, leathery, apex acute, surfaces glabrous; corolla tubular; petals erect, violet, ligulate, to 3.5 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. |
3–12, conspicuous; sepals free, elliptic, adaxial pair keeled, 1.2–1.8 cm, thin-leathery, veined, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous; corolla tubular; petals erect, blue-violet, ligulate, to 3 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. |
Fruits | to 4 cm. |
to 3.5 cm. |
Floral | bracts imbricate, erect, green to red, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled, 1.5–2 cm, leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex acute, surfaces glabrous to inconspicuously scaly near apex only, venation even to slight. |
bracts imbricate, erect, pink, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), ovate, keeled, 2–2.2 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex broadly acute, surfaces densely scaly, venation even to slight. |
Tillandsia balbisiana |
Tillandsia pruinosa |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Epiphytic on a variety of hosts in open woods, cypress swamps, coastal forest | Epiphytic in shady, humid hammocks |
Elevation | 0–30 m (0–100 ft) | 0–30 m (0–100 ft) |
Distribution |
FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
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FL; Central America; South America; West Indies |
Discussion | In the flora area, Tillandsia pruinosa is infrequent but locally abundant. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia | Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Schultes f.: in J. J. Roemer and J. A. Schultes, Syst. Veg. 7(2):1212. (1830) | Swartz: Flora Indiae Occidentalis 1: 594. (1797) |
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