Tillandsia variabilis |
Tillandsia fasciculata |
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leatherleaf airplant, tillandsia cambiante |
cardinal airplant, giant airplant |
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Habit | Plants usually single, rarely clustering, flowering to 40 cm. | Plants clustering, flowering to 65 cm. | ||||||||
Stems | short. |
short. |
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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. |
20–50, many-ranked, erect to spreading, gray to gray-green, 25–50 × 1–2.5 cm, grayish-scaly; sheath dark rust colored toward base, broadly elliptic, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 3–4 cm wide; blade narrowly triangular, tapering evenly from base to apex, stiff, leathery, channeled to involute, apex attenuate. |
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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 or ascending, 10–35 cm, 4–8 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect to spreading, like leaves but gradually smaller; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; spikes erect to spreading, densely palmate to laxly 2(–3)-pinnate, narrowly elliptic, compressed, 5–20 × 1.5–2.5 cm, apex acute; lateral branches 3–15. |
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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. |
10–50, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair connate, lanceolate, to 1/2 keeled, to 4.2 cm, leathery, slightly veined, apex acute, surfaces glabrous to slightly scaly; corolla tubular, petals erect, violet (white), ligulate, 5–6 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. |
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Fruits | to 3 cm. |
to 4 cm. |
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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, red, red-yellow-green, or green, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled, 2–4.8 × 1.2–2 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or slightly scaly toward apex, venation even to slight. |
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Tillandsia variabilis |
Tillandsia fasciculata |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Epiphytic in moist, shaded habitats | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–30 m (0–100 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
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FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
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Discussion | Varieties 7 (3 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia | Bromeliaceae > Tillandsia | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | T. houzeavii, T. valenzuelana | |||||||||
Name authority | Schlechtendal: Linnaea 18:418. (1844) | Swartz: Prodr. 56. (1788) | ||||||||
Web links |