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Guzmania tricolor var. cuspidata

Interesting Facts

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Description

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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 Guzmania

Herbs, usually epiphytic, stemless to rarely caulescent . Leaves many-ranked, usually ligulate , margins entire. Inflorescences 5--many-flowered, many-ranked, mostly 2-pinnate to less commonly single spike, flowers laxly to densely arranged; floral bracts broad, conspicuous , mostly obscuring rachis. Flowers bisexual ; sepals distinct to connate over 1/2 length , usually symmetric ; petals with claws adherent to subconnate petal, forming short tube , blade distinct; stamens usually included , adherent to adnate with petal claws; ovary superior. Capsules cylindric , dehiscent . Seeds with basal, usually tan-brown plumose appendage .

Species ca. 160: widespread in the moist Neotropics.[2]

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : Wittm. Publication : Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 11: 61 1889 .

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Guzmania

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 21 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

G. acorifolia (Guzmania) · G. berteriana (Bertero's Tufted Airplant) · G. erythrolepis (Bejuco De Sapo) · G. lingulata (Droophead Tufted Airplant) · G. lingulata 'Mt. Blanc' (Guzmania) · G. monostachia (Fushs Bromeliad) · G. monostachia (L.) Rusby ex Mez var. monostachia (West Indian Tufted Airplant) · G. monostachia var. variegata (Varigated Tufted Airplant) · G. musaica (Guzmania) · G. sprucei (Bromeliad) · G. 'Amaranth' (Guzmania) · G. 'Cherry' (Guzmania) · G. 'Graaf van Hoorn' (Guzmania) · G. 'Gwendolyn' (Guzmania) · G. 'Jazz' (Guzmania) · G. 'Kapoho Fire' (Variegated Guzmania) · G. 'Marjan' (Bromeliad) · G. 'Snowball' (Guzmania) · G. 'Symphonic Encore' (Guzmania) · G. 'Tutti Frutti' (Guzmania) · G. 'Wendy' (Wendy Guzmania)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

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 "Guzmania". in Flora of North America Vol. 22 Page 296. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/29/2012