Tillandsia tetrantha var. caribaea
Content
Description
Plant acaulescent, flowering to 52 cm long, with a narrow crateriform or subutriculate, 18-40 cm tall rosette of 15 to manycinereous-green leaves. Leaves 17-40(-50) cm long, sometimes about equaling the inflorescence, but normally much exceeded by it; sheaths ample and distinct, more or less abruptly contracted into the blades, chartaceous, ovate or elliptic, inflated-convex, 6.4-9.5 X 4-6(-7.7) cm, with broad membranaceous margins, very densely appressed-lepidote, with minute brown scales, dull brown outside, often dark purple-brown inside; blades suberect or arching, thin-coriaceous (subchartaceous when dry), very narrowly triangular, 10-32(-45) x 1.3-2(-4.5) cm, attenuately acute (or filiform), sparsely or subdensely appressed-lepidote, often less so or subglabrous inside, cinereous-green outside, sometimes irregular purple-spotted. Inflorescence laxly and distichously bipinnate, of 7-13 spikes, 22-46 cm long, erect or pendent, densely ferrugineous-floccose, dull purple or green; scape erect to much curved, 15-32 cm long, 2-4 mm in diam., often partly exposed; scape bracts erect, mostly remote, thin-chartaceous, ovate-lanceolate, the lower ones filiform-caudate, the upper ones more apiculate, much shorter than to slightly exceeding the internodes, (sub)densely appressed-lepidote, dull reddish-brown or cinereous-green; axis often elongate, more or less flexuous, terete; primary bracts as the upper scape bracts, or slightly inflated, spreading or reflexed with the spikes, about equaling to much shorter than the spikes, becoming much smaller upward, and indistinguishable from the floral bracts of the apical spike; spikes short-pedunculate (3-8 mm), spreading to reflexed, sometimes secund, elongate, 1.5-3.6(-5) x 1.2-1.9 cm, very laxly and distichously 2-8(-11)-flowered, with 1-2 sterile bracts at the apex; rachis entirely exposed, slightly flexuous, angled; floral bracts spreading with the flowers, chartaceous, with veined surface when dry, broadly ovate, 5-6 mm long (to 15 mm in apical spike), about equaling the internodes, (much) exceeded by the sepals at anthesis (except in apical spike), apiculate, bluntly carinate (?), densely subappressed-lepidote and often ferrugineous-floccose at the base, dull purple or cinereous-green. Flowers sessile; receptacle obconic, ca. 1.5 mm long, angled; sepals coriaceous, with even surface, asymmetrically obovate, 5-8 mm long, subemarginate and apiculate, free, posterior ones fleshy and bluntly carinate at the base, strongly curved, (densely) ferrugineously floccose or brown tomentose-lepidote (only outside); petals oblong, slightly exceeding the sepals, ca. 7 mm long, blade minute; stamens deeply included, exceeding the pistil by half of the anthers, 4-5 mm long, filaments thin, straight, flat, anthers basifixed, sagittate and apiculate, just over 1 mm long; ovary subglobose, abruptly contracted into the short and thick style, stigmas linear, ca. 0.5 mm long. Capsules (broadly) cylindric, ca. 2.5 cm long, short-beaked.
Distribution
Guayana, Guayana Highland of E. Bolivar present, Hispaniola present, Mt. Roraima present, Southern America: Costa Rica (Costa Rica present); Cuba (Cuba present); Venezuela (Venezuela present ‒ present)
Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, Venezuela. It may be expected in Guayana 8 collections studied from the Guayana Highland of E. Bolivar, Venezuela, including Mt. Roraima, Steyermark 59005 (F).