Aechmea fuerstenbergii
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Aechmea fuerstenbergii
| Mitch Jones 12/24 as vallerandii |
Kerry Tate ... "Every plant I purchased labeled as Aechmea vallerandii, over the years, has turned out to be Aechmea fuerstenbergii - as indicated by the white petals. It gets confused with Ae. vallerandii because of its blue berries post-flowering. Yours is Aechmea fuerstenbergii, Mitch. It's certainly a lovely species."
Mitch Jones ... "Kerry Tate thank you, updated the name."
Aechmea fuerstenbergii E. Morrell & Wittmack, Belg. Hortic. 29: 42, pl. 2. 1879. See Smith & Spencer, Phytologia 72: 96-8. 1992
Streptocalyx fuerstenbergii (E. Morren & Wittmack) E. Morren, Belg. Hortic. 33: 16. 1883.
Desc from S&D
Leaves many in a dense spreading rosette, 50-75 cm long;
Sheaths large, elliptic, covered with a brown membrane of fused scales;
Blades ligulate, acuminate to a pungent apex, ca. 2 cm wide, laxly serrate with curved spines, green, sparsely lepidote on both sides.
Scape short and hidden in the center of the rosette, stout;
Scape-bracts erect and densely imbricate, broadly ovate with narrowly triangular pungent blades, densely fimbriate-serrate, bright rose, pale-lepidote.
Inflorescence bipinnate, very dense, slenderly pyramidal, 3 dm long, 1 dm in diameter, white-farinose except the petals;
Primary bracts like the scape-bracts but bladeless, apiculate, erect, slightly exceeding the spikes;
Spikes sublax, to 9-flowered, ca. 6 cm long.
Floral bracts ovate, acuminate, about equaling the ovary, entire;
Flowers distichous, divergent.
Sepals free or nearly so, slightly asymmetric, 15 mm long without the terminal spine, 7-8 mm wide, entire;
Petals unknown;
ovary ellipsoid, 8 mm long, 6 mm in diameter, enlarged in fruit, the epigynous tube urceolate.
Type. Porte s n (holotype, LG; photo GH), Bahia, Brazil, cultivated and flowered 1879.
Distribution. Brazil, Bolivia.
BOLIVIA. Beni, Yacuma: Reyes, Rurrenabaque, Oct-Dec 1930, Fleischmann 66 (S).
Note. One Luetzelberg collection cited by Mez has proven to be misidentified so it is not safe to cite the others unseen.
Updated 27/12/24