Tillandsia compacta
Content
Description
Plant acaulescent, with a broad funnelform, 30-50 cm tall (flowering scarcely taller) rosette of about 20lustrous leaves. Leaves thin, 27-43 cm long, about equaling the scape or inflorescence, (sub)densely and minutely appressed-lepidote throughout; sheaths ample, merging into the blades, oblong, 14-19 x 5.2-7.5 cm, with narrow membranaceous margins, often dark purple at least inside; blades slightly arching, ligulate, 12-20 x 2.3-4 cm, rounded and triangular-subacute or obtuse, apiculate, often purple-spotted or -mottled outside. Inflorescence bipinnate of 6-15 polystichously arranged spikes, 25-48 cm long, dense at least toward the apex, fertile part ovoid to cylindric and (sub)pendent; scape curved or suberect, 16-29 cm long, 3-5 mm in diam., glabrous, densely covered by bracts; scape bracts erect, densely imbricate, chartaceous (dry), ovate to lanceolate, attenuate or rounded, apiculate, much exceeding the internodes, minutely lepidote, but soon glabrous toward the base, pale-green to orange; axis sometimes exposed in lower part, mostly curved or very short, slightly flexuous, angled; primary bracts erect or slightly divergent with the spikes, thin coriaceous, ovate, attenuate or rounded and apiculate, the lower ones often about equaling the spikes, the upper ones shorter, minutely lepidote toward the apex, orange-yellow; spikes sessile, ovate to lanceolate, complanate, 3.3-5.5 x 1-1.6 cm, acutish, densely and distichously 3-8-flowered, with 1-2 reduced sterile bracts at the base and apex; rachis hidden at anthesis, scarcely flexuous, quadrangular, glabrous; floral bracts erect, densely imbricate, coriaceous, often with faintly veined surface toward the apex, broadly ovate, 1.6-2.2 cm long, 4-7 times as long as the internodes, much exceeding the sepals, with membranaceous margins, rounded and apiculate, carinate, incurved, only sparsely and minutely lepidote at the apex and margins, orange-yellow. Flowers contiguous to the rachis and each other, sessile; sepals coriaceous, with finely veined surface when dry, oblong, 1.3-1.6 cm long, obtuse, posterior ones more than half connate, carinate, glabrous on both sides; petals lanceolate, ca. 2-2.5 cm long, lavender, rounded; stamens included, equal in length, exceeding the pistil by half of the anthers at maturity, filaments straight, flat, membranaceous, anthers basifixed, sagittate with long basal lobes, 3-4.5 mm long; ovary slenderly ellipsoid, ca. 5 mm long, contracted into the slender style, stigmas linear, ca. 1 mm long. Capsule slenderly cylindric (subprismatic), 2.2-3 cm long, abruptly constricted, distinctly beaked.