Overview
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Orthophytum
Description
Family Bromeliaceae
Herbs or rarely shrubs
, epiphytic, lithophytic, or terrestrial
. Leaves spirally arranged
, usually rosulate, sessile, simple
, veins parallel, base
dilated
, sheathing
, margin
often spinose
serrate or sometimes entire. Inflorescence terminal
or lateral
, scapose
or sessile, a panicle, raceme
, spike, or head
, sometimes reduced to solitary, pseudolateral flowers; bracts usually brightly colored
and conspicuous
. Flowers bisexual
or sometimes functionally unisexual
, 3-merous. Sepals and petals each 3, distinct
, free
or basally connate
; petals often brightly colored, basal margin with a pair of scalelike appendages
. Stamens 6, in 2 whorls of 3; filaments
free, connate, or collectively or individually adnate
to petals; anthers
2-celled, dehiscing by longitudinal
slits. Gynoecium of 3 carpels united
to form a compound
, 3-loculed, superior or very often partly or wholly inferior ovary
; ovules few to usually ± numerous
in each locule; placentation axile
. Style terminal and often 3-parted; stigmas papillose
. Fruit a berry or less often a septicidal
capsule, or seldom compound and fleshy
. Seeds usually winged
or plumose
; endosperm mealy
; embryo small to fairly large.
About 50 genera and 2000--2600 species: mainly tropical
America, except for Pitcairnia feliciana (A. Chevalier) Harms & Mildbraed in tropical W Africa; one species (introduced
) in China.[1]
Physical Description
Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February. • Flower Color: inconspicuous, none
Size/Age/Growth
Size: 6-12" tall.
Biology
Growth
Culture: Space 12-15" apart.
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.
Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High
Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 10b, 11. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Bromelianae
()
- R. Dahlgren Ex Reveal, 1992
- Order:
Poales
()
- Small, 1903
- Family:
Bromeliaceae
()
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons.
- Bromeliad Family
- Genus:
Orthophytum
()
- Specific epithet:
gurkenii
- Hutchison
- Botanical name: - Orthophytum gurkenii Hutchison
- Specific epithet:
gurkenii
- Hutchison
- Genus:
Orthophytum
(
- Family:
Bromeliaceae
(
- Order:
Poales
(
- Superorder:
Bromelianae
(
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 21-Jun-2005
Similar Species
Members of the genus Orthophytum
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 4 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
O. gurkenii (Orthophytum) · O. rubrum (Orthophytum) · O. 'Copper Penny' (Orthophytum) · O. 'Firecracker' (Orthophytum)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Ma Weiliang. 1997. Bromeliaceae. In: Wu Kuo-fang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 13(3): 64--68.
Notes
Contributors
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
- World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Release date: November 27, 2009
- World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5954348
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-256298
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15281868
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:902670-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 877389
Footnotes
- Wei-liang Ma & Bruce Bartholomew "Bromeliaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 18. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
