Tillandsia recurvata |
Tillandsia paucifolia |
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|---|---|---|
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ballmoss, small ballmoss, tillandsia recta o heno pequeño |
potbelly airplant |
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| Habit | Plants in dense spheric clusters, flowering to 15 cm diam. | Plants single or clustering, flowering to 15 cm. |
| Stems | short. |
short. |
| Leaves | 4–10, 2-ranked, recurving, gray, 6–12 × 0.2–0.3 cm, densely pruinose-scaly; sheath pale, elliptic, not inflated, not forming pseudobulb, 4–8 mm wide; blade subulate, terete distally, succulent, margins involute to nearly tubular, apex acute to attenuate. |
5–10, many-ranked, recurved to twisted, silvery gray, to 12 × 0.3–0.6 cm, grayish-scaly; sheath nearly chestnut brown within, ovate, conspicuously inflated, forming small pseudobulb, 1.5–3.5 cm wide; blade narrowly triangular, semisucculent, margins involute, apex obtuse to nearly acute. |
| Inflorescences | scape conspicuous, erect, 2–5 cm, ± 1 mm diam.; bracts 1–2, widely spaced, erect, inconspicuous, nearly foliaceous; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; spikes ascending, subpalmate, elliptic, compressed, 8–15 ´ 4–6 mm, apex acute; lateral branches absent. |
scape short and conspicous, erect or ascending, 1–6 cm, 2–3 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect to spreading, like leaves but gradually smaller; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; single spikes, or with 2–4 lateral spikes, usually ascending, pinnate, linear to narrowly elliptic, compressed, 2–7 × 0.6–1 cm, apex acute to obtuse. |
| Flowers | usually 2, conspicuous; sepals free, lanceolate, not keeled, 6–8 mm, thin, veined, apex acute, surfaces glabrous; corolla tubular; petals spreading toward apex, violet, elliptic, 0.7–1 cm; stamens included; stigma included, simple-erect. |
2–15, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair short connate, lanceolate, keeled, to 2 cm, thin-leathery to papery, veined, apex acute, surfaces sparsely scaly; corolla tubular; petals erect, lavender-blue, ligulate, to 4 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. |
| Fruits | to 3 cm. |
to 4 cm. |
| Floral | bracts laxly imbricate, erect, green, tinged purple, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), narrowly elliptic, not keeled, 0.8–1 cm, thin-leathery, apex acute, surfaces densely grayish-scaly, venation even to slight. |
bracts imbricate, erect, pale pink, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, not keeled, 2–3 cm, thin-leathery, base visible at anthesis, apex broadly acute to obtuse, surfaces densely grayish-scaly. |
Tillandsia recurvata |
Tillandsia paucifolia |
|
| Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering spring–summer. |
| Habitat | Epiphytic to occasionally among or on rocks (Arizona, Texas), usually in bright exposed habitats | Epiphytic in bright exposed habitats |
| Elevation | 0–1500 m [0–4900 ft] | 0–30 m [0–100 ft] |
| Distribution |
AZ; FL; GA; LA; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
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FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies |
| Discussion | The leaf blade of Tillandsia paucifolia is often shorter than the leaf sheath. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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| Parent taxa | ||
| Sibling taxa | ||
| Synonyms | Renealmia recurvata, Diaphoranthema recurvata | |
| Name authority | (Linnaeus) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl., ed. 2 1: 410. (1762) | Baker: Gard. Chron. ser. 2, 10:748. (1878) |
| Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
| Web links | ||