Aechmea smithiorum Mez

  • Authority

    Smith, Lyman B. & Downs, Robert J. 1979. Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 14 (3): 1493-2142. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Bromeliaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Aechmea smithiorum Mez

  • Type

    Type. H. H. & G. W. Smith 1425 (holotype B; photo B 1192/29), St. Vincent, Lesser Antilles, Jan 1890.

  • Synonyms

    Aechmea dichlamydea Baker, Aechmea lavandulacea C.H.Wright

  • Description

    Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /home/emu/nybgweb/www-dev/htdocs/science-dev/wp-content/themes/nybgscience/lib/VHMonographsDetails.php on line 179

    Description - Leaves many in a spreading rosette, 5-8 dm long; sheaths elliptic, large, densely and minutely brown-lepidote on both sides; blades ligulate, subobtuse, apiculate, pungent, 5 cm wide, green or with red margin, spines to 3 mm long. Scape rather slender, erect or decurved, bright rose, white-furfuraceous; scape-bracts erect, exceeding the internodes, ovate-oblong, obtuse and apiculate, entire, furfuraceous, the lower ones scarious, the upper rose. Inflorescence compound with simple branches, ellipsoid to subcylindric, dense, 12-25 cm long, white-furfuraceous; primary bracts like the upper scape-bracts, entire, at least the lower ones equaling or exceeding the axillary branches; spikes divergent to spreading, sessile to short-stipitate, lance-ovate, acute, strongly complanate, 4-6 cm long, 3 cm broad, distichous on the main axis, densely distichous-flowered; rhachis strongly winged. Floral bracts ovate-oblong, acuminate, artistate, to 2 cm long, usually equaling or exceeding the sepals at anthesis, green with a broad scarious lavender margin; flowers suberect. Sepals asymmetric, lance-ovate, aristate, 12 mm long, coriaceous, green; petals oblanceolate, mucronate, 23 mm long, deep violet, bearing 2 scales at the base, the scales much prolonged next the petal as folds; epipetalous stamens short-connate with the petals; ovary 5 mm long, enlarged in fruit, lepidote; epigynous tube short; placentae apical; ovules caudate.

  • Distribution

    Epiphytic and terrestrial, 50-1200 m alt, Lesser Antilles.

    Montserrat South America| Guadeloupe South America| Dominica South America| Martinique South America| Saint Lucia South America| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines South America| Grenada South America|