Tillandsia turneri var. orientalis
Content
Description
Plant acaulescent, flowering 18-40 cm long, with a very narrow-crateriform, 18-35 cm tall rosette of 20-30cinereous leaves. Leaves 13-30 cm long, about equaling or shorter than the scape; sheaths large and distinct, evenly contracted into the blades, chartaceous, elliptic, 4.5-17 x 3-8.5 cm, very densely appressed-lepidote, with dark-brown centered scales, pale-brown to ferrugineous in upper part; blades erect, thin-coriaceous, narrowly triangular, 8.3-18 x 1.5-4 cm, attenuately acute, very densely appressed-lepidote, cinereous. Inflorescence (sub-) erect, (sub-)densely and bipinnately compound of a few to 10 polystichously arranged branches, or rarely simple, fertile part ovoid; scape 10-30 cm long, 2-3 mm in diam., glabrous, densely concealed by bracts and leaves; scape bracts erect, the lower ones foliaceous, the upper ones more ovate-lanceolate, many times longer than the internodes, densely and cinereously lepidote, sparsely so near the base; axis hidden or partly visible below, nearly straight, subterete, angled when dry, glabrous; primary bracts (sub-) erect or the lower ones slightly spreading with the branches, subchartaceous, elliptic, the lower ones caudate and exceeding or equaling the spikes, the upper ones more apiculatemostly shorter or equaling the spikes, (sparsely) lepidote at least at the apex, deep red or orange; spikes very short-pedunculate (ca. 5 mm), oblong, complanate, 3-5 x 1-1.2 cm, acutish, densely and distichously 3-4-flowered, with a few sterile bracts at the apex; rachis hidden (exposed when dry), slightly flexuous, angled, glabrous; floral bracts densely imbricate, thin-coriaceous, with finely veined surface when dry, elliptic1.3-1.9 cm long, the lower ones larger than the upper, 2-3 times as long as the internodes, exceeding or about equaling the sepals, (obscurely) apiculate, carinate and often strongly curved, glabrous. Flowers short-pedicellate (ca. 2 mm) or subsessile; sepals thin-coriaceous, with even surface, oblong, 12-15 mm long, broadly obtuse, posterior ones more than half to 2/3 connate, carinate, slightly curved, glabrous, sparsely brown-lepidote inside; petals erect, slenderly ligulate, ca. 2 cm long, with elliptic blade, incurved at the apex, rounded, violet; stamens just included, all ca. 1.8 cm long, just exceeding the pistil, filaments slender, straight (?), flat, anthers dorsifixed, sagittate, ca. 2.5 mm long; ovary broadly subcylindric, evenly tapering or contracted into the slender style, stigmas long, linear. Capsules cylindric, 2.5-3.5 cm longabout twice as long as the bracts, apiculate.
Distribution
E. Venezuela present, Guyana present, Southern America
E. Venezuela, Guyana and adjacent Brazil. 17 collections studied.