Tillandsia flexuosa
Content
Description
Plant acaulescent, flowering 50-95 cm long, with a 20-35 cm tallflexuous-tubular or narrowly funnelform rosette, of 10-20, often twisting and transversely white-banded, leaves, sometimes with offset on the scape of the inflorescence. Leaves stiff-coriaceous, 20-40 cm long, normally shorter than the scape, the outer ones reduced and bladeless, densely appressed-lepidote, usually with transverse bands of extended spreading scales outside; sheaths large, but not very distinct, evenly merging into the blades, ovate, inflated, 5-9 x 2.5-5 cm, often deep purple at the (membranaceous) margins; blades arching and often twisting in one direction, very narrowly triangular, becoming involute toward the apex when dry, 20-30 x 1.8-3.5 cm, attenuate, then (abruptly) pungent. Inflorescence simple or laxly bipinnate of 2-6 distichously arranged branches, 45-88 cm long; scape erect, 23-50 cm long, 2-4 mm in diam., almost entirely glabrous, dark green, for most part covered by bracts; scape bracts erect, chartaceous, elliptic, the lower ones imbricate and with foliaceous blades, the upper ones more apiculate or subacute and somewhat shorter than the internodes, densely appressed-lepidote; axis elongate, wholly exposed, flexuous, at least toward the apex, sharply angled (when dry), for most part glabrous or sparsely lepidote; primary bracts like the upper scape bracts, clasping the branches, much shorter than the peduncle; peduncle 6-10 cm long, sparsely lepidote at one side, with one or two remote bracts; racemes spreading, often ascending, elongated, 8-25 cm long, very laxly and distichously 3-10-flowered, with one sterile bract at the apex; rachis entirely visible, slender, flexuous, sharply angled, subglabrous; floral bracts spreading, clasping the flower, chartaceous, with prominently veined surface (when dry), elliptic, 2-3 cm long, about equaling the internodes, much exceeded by the sepals, membranaceous at the margins, broadly acute or rounded and obscurely apiculate, ecarinate, appressed-lepidote. Flowers spreading, distinctly pedicellate (to 1 cm long); sepals subchartaceous, with prominently veined surface when dry, narrowly elliptic, 2-3 cm long, obtuse, free, ecarinate, sparsely lepidote or glabrous; petals erect, divergent or coiled at the apex, to 4 cm long, acute, purple-rose (or white?); stamens exserted, unequal, exceeded by the pistil (at least the 3 shorter ones), filaments straight, flat, except at the apex, anthers dorsifixed (at 2/5), ca. 3 mm long; ovary ovoid, ca. 5 mm long, style slender, stigmas linear (bristle-like). Capsule slenderly cylindric, to 7 cm long, 2-3 times as long as the floral bracts, evenly tapering toward the apex, then abruptly short-beaked.