Tillandsia variabilis |
Tillandsia bartramii |
|
---|---|---|
leatherleaf airplant, tillandsia cambiante |
Bartram's airplant, tillandsia de Bartram |
|
Habit | Plants usually single, rarely clustering, flowering to 40 cm. | Plants densely clustering, flowering to 20–40 cm. |
Stems | short. |
short. |
Leaves | 15–20, many-ranked, spreading, gray-green or flushed rose, 12–30 × 1–2 cm, finely appressed-scaly; sheath pale to nearly chestnut brown, ovate, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 2–4 cm wide; blade narrowly triangular, tapering evenly from base to apex, nearly plane to channeled, soft, brittle, margins involute, apex attentuate. |
15–30, many-ranked, erect to spreading, gray, 15–40 × 0.2–0.5 cm, coarsely appressed-scaly; sheath rust-colored toward base, broadly triangular, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 1–2 cm wide; blade linear-subulate, leathery, margins involute, apex attenuate. |
Inflorescences | scape conspicuous, erect or ascending, 3–10 cm, 2–5 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect, blade often hanging, like leaves but gradually smaller; sheath of bracts narrowing abruptly into blade; spikes erect or ascending, never palmate, linear, compressed, 5–20 × 0.8–1.2 cm, apex acute; simple or laxly 2–3 lateral branches. |
scape conspicuous, erect, 8–15 cm, 2–4 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; spikes erect, simple or palmate, linear, compressed, 2–4 × 1 cm, apex acute; simple or lateral branches 1–5. |
Flowers | 5–30, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair connate, oblong, keeled, 1.5–1.8 cm, thin-leathery, slightly veined, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous; corolla tubular, petals erect, lavender-blue, ligulate, to 3 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. |
5–20, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair connate, elliptic, keeled, to 1.5 cm, thin-leathery, veined, apex obtuse, surfaces scaly; corolla tubular, petals erect, violet, ligulate, 3–4.5 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. |
Fruits | to 3 cm. |
2.5–3 cm. |
Floral | bracts laxly imbricate, erect, green, red, or purple, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled toward apex, 1.8–2 × 0.6–0.9 cm, leathery, base visible in fruit, apex acute, surfaces glabrous. |
bracts imbricate, erect, uniformly red to rose, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled apically, 1.4–1.7 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex acute, surfaces scaly distally, becoming sparsely scaly toward base, venation slight. |
Tillandsia variabilis |
Tillandsia bartramii |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–fall. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Epiphytic in moist, shaded habitats | Epiphytic on a variety of hosts in swamps and hammocks |
Elevation | 0–30 m (0–100 ft) | 0–60 m (0–200 ft) |
Distribution |
FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
|
FL; GA; Mexico (Tamaulipas)
|
Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia | Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | T. houzeavii, T. valenzuelana | |
Name authority | Schlechtendal: Linnaea 18:418. (1844) | Elliott |
Web links |