Tillandsia utriculata

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

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]

Genus Tillandsia

Herbs, usually epiphytic, stemless to long caulescent . Leaves mostly many-ranked, rosulate, or occasionally 2-ranked and / or laxly arranged; blade linear to triangular or ligulate , margins entire, trichomes usually conspicuous . Inflorescences central, 1--many-flowered, 2-ranked; floral bracts mostly broad, conspicuous, rachis covered or exposed at anthesis . Flowers bisexual ; sepals distinct or adaxial pair connate , usually symmetric ; petals distinct; stamens included or exserted, filaments free ; ovary superior. Capsules cylindric , dehiscent . Seeds with basal, white, plumose appendage .

Species ca. 550 (13 species and 2 described natural hybrids in the flora ) : widespread in the Neotropics.[2]

Physical Description

Habitat

Epiphytic on a variety of hosts, often in bright exposed habitats , usually abundant; 0--30 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,986 meters (0 to 6,516 feet).[4]

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Platystachys utriculata (L.) Beer • Vriesea Utriculata

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 21-Jun-2005

Similar Species

Members of the genus Tillandsia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 59 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

T. aeranthos (Air Plant) · T. albertiana x stricta (Air Plant) · T. araujei (Air Plant) · T. ariza-juliae (Dominican Airplant) · T. baileyi (Reflexed Airplant) · T. balbisiana (Balbis Air Plant) · T. bartramii (Bartram's Airplant) · T. bergeri (Air Plant) · T. brachycaulos (Airplant) · T. brachycaulos x caput-medusae (Medusa´s Head) · T. brachycaulos x schiedeana (Giant Air Plant) · T. bulbosa (Air Plant) · T. bulbosa 'Giant Belize Form' (Air Plant) · T. cacticola (Tillandsia) · T. cyanea 'Josée' (Pink Quill 'jos) · T. cyanea 'Pink Quill' (Air Plant) · T. dyeriana (Tillandsia) · T. fasciculata (Cardinal Air Plant) · T. fasciculata Sw. var. clavispica Mez (Giant Airplant) · T. fasciculata var. clavispica (Giant Airplant) · T. fasciculata var. densispica (Giant Airplant) · T. fasciculata var. fasciculata (Giant Airplant) · T. fasciculata var. venosispica (Giant Airplant) · T. festucoides (Fescue Airplant) · T. flexuosa (Banded Wild-Pine) · T. floridana (Florida Airplant) · T. fuchsii var. gracilis (Air Plant) · T. funebris (Air Plant) · T. funkiana (Air Plant) · T. insularis (Spanish Moss) · T. ionantha (Blushing Bride) · T. ionantha 'Druid' (Air Plant) · T. ionantha 'Peach' (Air Plant) · T. leonamiana (Air Plant) · T. lindenii (Linden's Airplant) · T. lineatispica (Pinon) · T. lingulata (Droophead Tufted Airplant) · T. neglecta (Air Plant) · T. nidus 'T. Ionantha X T. Fascicula' (Air Plant) · T. nitida (Caribbean Strap Airplant) · T. paucifolia (Potbelly Airplant) · T. plumosa (Air Plant) · T. pruinosa (Fuzzy Wuzzy Air Plant) · T. recurvata (Ball Moss) · T. ringens (Pirigallo) · T. sessiliflora (Sessileleaf Strap Airplant) · T. setacea (Needle-Leaf Airplant) · T. smalliana (Small's Airplant) · T. stricta (Air Plant) · T. stricta 'Hard Leaf' (Tillandsia) · T. tenuifolia (Air Plant) · T. tricholepis (Air Moss) · T. tricholepsis (Air Plant) · T. usneoides (Spanish Moss) · T. utriculata (Giant Air Plant) · T. variabilis (Leatherleaf Airplant) · T. x (Florida Airplant) · T. xerographica (Tillandsia) · T. x rectifolia (Tillandsia)

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

• A contribution to the botany of the Isle of Pines, Cuba, based upon the specimens of plants from that island contained in the herbarium of the Carnegie Museum under date of October, 1916. By O.E. Jennings. n.p., 1917 url p. 90, p. 91.
• A monograph of the Culicidae, or mosquitoes. Mainly compiled from the collections received at the British museum from various parts of the world in connection with the investigation into the cause of malaria conducted by the Colonial office and London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1901-10. url p. 216.
• A naturalist in the Bahamas: John I. Northrop, October 12 1861 - June 25, 1891; a memorial volume, ed., with a biographical introduction by Henry Fairfield Osborn. New York, The Columbia university press[c1910] url p. 144.
• A naturalist in the Bahamas: New York, Columbia University Press[c1910] url .
• A textbook of botany for colleges and universities, by. .. John Merle Coulter. .. Charles Reid Barnes. .. Henry Chandler Cowles. .. Cincinnati [etc.]: American book company, [1910-11] url p. 660, p. 660.
• An illustrated dictionary of scientific terms. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, pref. 1878. url p. 327.
• Annals of the Carnegie Museum. [Pittsburgh]: Published by authority of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute, 1901- url p. 91.
• Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. New-York: 1824-1876. url p. 130.
• Annual report Missouri Botanical Garden. 5 1894 St. Louis: Board of Trustees, 1890-1912. url p. 162, p. 163, p. 164, p. 227, plate 31, p. 5, p. 6.
• Botanisk tidsskrift / utgivet af den Botaniske forening i København. København: G.E.C. Gads Forlag, 1866-1981. url , p. 67.
• Britton, N. L. (ed.). North American flora. [New York]New York Botanical Garden. url p. 128.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. 1879 Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url p. 111.
• Bulletin of the New York Botanical Garden. 8 1912-1914 Lancaster, Pa.: Published for the Garden by the New Era Printing Co., url p. 385.
• Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 16 1889 New York: Torrey Botanical Club, 1870-1996 url p. 306.
• Chronological history of plants: man's record of his own existence illustrated through their names, uses, and companionship. Boston, Little, Brown & company, 1879. url .
• Complete works. U.C. Berkeley, Statistical Lab, 1910-31. url .
• Contribution [I]-III to the coastal and plain flora of Yucatan, by Charles Frederick Millspaugh. 1 1896 Chicago, 1895-1898. url p. 292, p. 356.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 12 1908-1909 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 106, p. 217, p. 221, p. 225, p. 411, p. 454.
• Contributions to North American ichthyology. Based primarily on the collections of the United States National Museum. Washington: Govt. print. off., 1877-78. url p. 111.
• Cyclopedia of American horticulture, comprising suggestions for cultivation of horticultural plants, descriptions of the species of fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants sold in the United by L. H. Bailey. .. assisted by William Miller. .. and many expert cultivators and botanists. London: The Macmillan company, 1909. url p. 1345, p. 1810.
• Edwards's botanical register. 25 1839 London: James Ridgway, 1829-1847. url p. 43, p. 43.
• English cyclopaedia, a new dictionary of universal knowledge, conducted by Charles Knight. London, Bradbury, 1854-61. url .
• FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. url p. 113, p. 116, p. 117, p. 149.
• Flora of Guatemala / by Paul C. Standley and Julian A. Steyermark. 24 1958 Chicago: Chicago Museum of Natural History, 1958. url p. 469.
• Flora of Peru / by J. Francis Macbride. 13 1936 Chicago, U.S.A.: Field Museum of Natural History, [1936] url p. 527.
• Flora of Yucatan, by Paul C. Standley. 3 1930 Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, 1930. url p. 222.
• Flora of the Aguan valley and the coastal regions near La Ceiba, Honduras, by T. G. Yuncker. 9 1940 [Chicago]1940. url p. 267.
• Flora of the Florida Keys; being descriptions of the seed-plants growing naturally on the islands of the Florida reef from Virginia Key to Dry Tortugas. New York, The author, 1913. url p. 30.
• Flora of the Florida keys; being descriptions of the see-plants growing naturally on the islands of the Florida reef from Virginia key to Dry Tortugas, by John Kunkel Small. .. New York: The author, 1913. url p. 30.
• Flora of the southeastern United States; being descriptions of the seed-plants, ferns and fern-allies growing naturally in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and in Oklahom by John Kunkel Small. New York, The author, 1913. url p. 245, p. 245, p. 247, p. 247.
• Flora of the southern United States: containing an abridged description of the flowering plants and ferns of Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida: arr. according to the natural system. New YorkAmerican Book Co.[1897] url p. 497.
• Floral almanac: containing the flowering season of one thousand and seven hundred phaenogamous plants of Florida / by A. Schaffranek. Palatka, Fla.: Palatka News Pub. Co., 1888. url p. 18.
• Handbook of plants. New York: P. Henderson, 1881. url p. 230.
• IUCN Directory of Neotropical Protected Areas IUCN url p. 360.
• Iconographic encyclopaedia of science, literature, and art. systematically arranged by J.G. Heck. Translated from the German, with additions, and edited by Spencer F. Baird. .. illustrated by five hundred steel plates, containing upwards to twelve thousand en New York, R. Garrigue, 1851. url p. 80.
• Journal of botany, British and foreign. 5 1867 London: Robert Hardwicke, 1863-1942. url p. 295, p. 51.
• Journal of the New York Botanical Garden. 1933 Lancaster, Pa.: Published for the Garden by the New Era Printing Co., 1900- url p. 168, p. 40, p. 62.
• List of intercepted plant pests / United States Department of Agriculture, Plant Quarantine and Control Administration. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.], 1932- url p. 14, p. 156, p. 4.
• Memoir of the late William Wright, M. D. with extracts from his correspondence, and a selection of his papers on medical and botanical subjects. Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1828. url p. 262.
• Memoirs / Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Garden, 1918-1936. url p. 34.
• Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club. 12 1902-1907 Durham, N.C.: Published for the Club by the Seeman Printery, 1889- url p. 27.
• Novon a journal of botanical nomenclature from the Missouri Botanical Garden. 17 2007 St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden, url , , p. 383, p. 385, p. 543, p. 72, p. 73, p. 75, p. 77.
• Occasional papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 1913- url p. 11.
• Orthoptera of northeastern America: with especial reference to the faunas of Indiana and Florida. Indianapolis: Nature Pub. Co., 1920. url p. 742.
• Our native birds of song and beauty, being a complete history of all the songbirds, flycatchers, hummingbirds, swifts, goatsuckers, woodpeckers, kingfishers, trogons, cuckoos, and parrots, of North America. 1 1893 Milwaukee, G. Brumder, 1893-96. url p. XLIII.
• Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London: Charles Knight, 1833- url p. 449.
• Phytologia. 13 1966 Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 140, p. 462.
• Plant-geography upon a physiological basis. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903. url p. 475.
• Plants of the Bahamas, Jamaica and Grand Cayman, by A.S. Hitchcock. .. Issued March 9, 1893. St. Louis, 1893 url p. 135.
• Proceedings - California Academy of Sciences, 4th series. San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences. url p. 452.
• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia url p. 354.
• Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 4th series. San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences. url p. 388, p. 452.
• Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. Washington, etc.: Entomological Society of Washington url p. 152.
• Publication. Field Columbian Museum. 2 1900 Chicago.: Field Columbian Museum, 1895-1909. url p. 31.
• Revision of the genus Ischyrus Lacordaire (1842) (Erotylidae: triplacinae) of North and Central America / 1994. url p. 129.
• Small, J. K. Flora of the southeastern United States;being descriptions of the seed-plants, ferns and fern-allies growing naturally in North Carolina, South Carolin, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and the Indian territory and in Oklahoma and Texas east of the one-hundredth meridian /by John Kunkel Small. .. 1903 New York: The author, 1903. url p. 245.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. 23 1882 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. url p. 111, p. 50.
• The American florist: a weekly journal for the trade. Chicago: American Florist Company, [1885-1931] url p. 314, p. 378.
• The Bahama Islands / edited by George Burbank Shattuck. New York: Macmillan, 1905. url , p. 251, p. 251.
• The Bahama Islands, London, Macmillan & co., ltd., 1905. url p. 233.
• The Bahama flora, New York, The Authors, 1920. url .
• The Bahama flora, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh. New York, Published by the authors, 1920. url p. 64, p. 64, p. 64, p. 64, p. 65, p. 65, p. 65, p. 65.
• The Florists' exchange: a weekly medium of interchange for florists, nurserymen, seedsmen and the trade in general. New York, N.Y.: [A.T. De la Mare Ptg. and Pub. Co., url p. 362, p. 381, p. 409, p. 429.
• The Magazine of horticulture, botany, and all useful discoveries and improvements in rural affairs. Boston: Hovey and Co., 1837- url p. 250.
• The flora of St. Croix and the Virgin Islands, by Baron H.F.A. Eggers. Washington, Govt. Print. Off., 1879. url p. 111.
• The flora of the American Virgin Islands / N.L. Britton. New York: New York Botanical Garden, 1918. url p. 34.
• The flora of the Dutch West Indian islands. .. by I. Boldingh. Leyden, E. J. Brill, 1909-14. url p. 16, p. 178, p. 190.
• The florists' manual / by William Scott; a reference book for commercial florists. Chicago: Florists' Publishing Co., 1899. url p. 35.
• The florists' manual, Chicago, Florists' publishing company, 1899. url p. 35.
• The mosquitoes of North and Central America and the West Indies, Washington, D. C., Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1912-1917. url .
• The mosquitoes or Culicidae of Jamaica, with descriptions of some of the stages by M. Grabham. Kingston, Institute of Jamaica, 1905. url p. 22.
• The standard cyclopedia of horticulture; a discussion, for the amateur, and the professional and commercial grower, of the kinds, characteristics and methods of cultivation of the species of plants grown in the regions of the United States a Illustrated with colored plates, four thousand engravings in the text, and ninety-six full-page cuts. New York, Macmillan, 1919 [c1914] url p. 3350.
• The vegetation of Mona Island, a paper read by invitation at the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the Missouri Botanical Garden, October 15, 1914. St Louis, 1915. url p. 38.
• The vegetation of south Florida south of 27 30 north, exclusive of the Florida keys, by John W. Harshberger. Philadelphia, Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1914. url p. 120, p. 125, p. 127, p. 136.
• Torreya. Burlington, Vt., Torrey Botanical Club, 1901-1945. url p. 33.
• Transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. [S.l.: s.n.], 1843-1920. url p. 108.
• Transactions of the Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia. 7 1910 Philadelphia: Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia, 1887-1927. url p. 120, p. 125, p. 127, p. 136.
• Ma Weiliang. 1997. Bromeliaceae. In: Wu Kuo-fang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 13(3): 64--68.
• Gardner, C. S. 1982. Systematic Study of Tillandsia Subgenus Tillandsia. Ph.D. dissertation. Texas A&M University.
• Gardner, C. S. 1984. New species and nomenclatural changes in Mexican Tillandsia---I. Selbyana 7: 361--379.
• Luther, H. E. 1985. Notes on hybrid tillandsias in Florida. Phytologia 57: 175--176.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 23, 2007:

• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
• , Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2662157
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-269940
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13754419
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:125765-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 36725
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 42372
• MoBot NameID: 4300587
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: TIUT
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 66116

Footnotes

1. 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]
2. Harry E. Luther,Gregory K. Brown "Tillandsia". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. "Tillandsia utriculata". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
4. Mean = 326.100 meters (1,069.882 feet), Standard Deviation = 570.170 based on 88 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.