Alcantarea delicata
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Alcantarea delicata Versieux & Nahoum
Dave Weston 12/24
Dave Weston ..."Looking for some qualified comment on this Alcantarea in the early stage of flowering, originally had it as a possible A. acuminatifolia however the foliage is too glossy and the plant dimension is too large for that. Inclined now towards A. australiana but can't find any decent photo reference to compare with. I sourced the plant from Rob Giddens, with a note on the label as seed sourced ex Equatorial exotics 2012."
Mitch Jones ... "Look towards Alcantarea delicata."
Dave Weston ... "Thanks Mitch, I think it may well be that, I will get a better confirmation once the flowers open."
Mitch Jones ... "Dave Weston flowers will definitely help as the other is Alcantarea intermedia. But so far looks like the mix of delicatas I have growing. Beautiful specimen plant."
Mark Belot ... "Not australiana as the stem of its inflorescence is almost black.
There is a red bract form of acuminatifolia but the leaves of your plant are too glossy with no scurfing. (The acuminatifolia plant looks very much like odorata.)
I think Mitch is on the money with delicata. It's a great looking specimen you've got there Dave."
Mitch Jones ... "Mark Belot, I agree it's definitely a beautiful plant. Couple of forms of it around and seed grown I've found to be some leaf and size variations from selfing. From glossy greens to a silvery shimmer green."
Peter Tristram ... "Brought in as seed in 2006 from another Pedro. Ripper species named by Versailles and Nahoum, from memory. Leonardo could well be in Australia next October!"


Alcantarea delicata Versieux & Nahoum
Two new highly ornamental giant Bromeliads from Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil 37-41 fig. 1, Map 1, pl.11, 2021.

Type: BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: Mun. Macae, Serra do Segredo, afloramento rochoso as margens da BR-101, ca. de 1 km a nordeste da Pousada Caipira da Serra, 22deg22'I4.69"S, 4deg57'08.94"W, ca. 140 m elev., 22 Jan 2020, L.M. Versieux & P.l.V. Nahoum 900 (holotype: UFRN!; isotypes: RB, SEL).

PLANT rupicolous, 2–2.5 m tall when flowering, propagating vegetatively by basal axillary shoots, caulescent, stem stout and covered by marcescent dry leaves.
rosette 1.3 x 1.2–1.8 m, broadly funnelform, bulky, tank developed.
LEAVES ca 50, suberect;
sheath 30 x 13–18 cm, ovate, densely brown-lepidote on both faces in vivo, coriaceous;
leaf blade 100–120 x 8–9 cm, linear passing to triangular, green, concolorous, or with some or none glaucous portions (thin epicuticular wax bands), margins green or inconspicuously wine-red maculate, sparsely lepidote on both surfaces, slightly canaliculate, coriaceous, suberect, distinctly nerved;
blade apex acute, attenuate, caudate, green, recurved.
INFLORESCENCE ca 80 x 60 cm, compound, a panicle of spikes, almost cylindrical, erect, rachis straight;
proximal primary bracts slightly longer than, and distal ones shorter than, the sterile base of the branch, ca 7 x 4 cm (excluding the 8 cm long apex), ovate, apex caudate, wine-red, lustrous, finely nerved, coriaceous, slightly inflate and accumulating water in the base, recurved toward the apex;
inflorescence branches 18- 20 flowered, 19–36 in number, slender, delicate, patent to slightly sigmoid;
peduncle ca 70 x 2.6 cm, erect, straight or very slightly recurved, terete, pale green under the bracts to wine-red on sun exposed portions;
bracts 25–34 x 2–3 cm, longer than the internodes, narrowly triangular, apex acute, caudate, the proximal ones green on both faces or wine-red at least on their bases, apex green or wine-red, the middle and distal ones becoming concolorous red, suberect, slightly inflated at the base, finely nerved, margins red;
rachis internodes ca 6 x 2.5 cm;
lateral peduncles 6–12 x 0.7–0.9 cm, elliptical in cross section, distinctly nerved, pale yellowish green, some shades of wine red may appear on exposed areas, glabrous;
sterile bracts 2.4–2.6 cm long, 1–2 in number, nearly imbricate (if 2), carinate, apex acuminate becoming emarginate and darker with aging;
rachilla 23–30 cm, internodes weakly geniculate (diverging 10deg to each side), yellowish green, glabrous;
internodes 1.6–2.6 x ca 0.4 cm.
FLORAL-BRACTS 2.9–3.2 x 3–3.1 cm, nearly orbicular, apex obtuse, but becoming inconspicuously emarginate with aging, glabrous to sparsely lepidote on both surfaces, smooth along the central portion in vivo, coriaceous, ecarinate, but the proximal ones may show an inconspicuous carina close to the apex, margins membranaceous.
FLOWERS ca 9.5 cm long, diurnal, distichous, suberect (opened flower forming a 70deg angle with the rachilla but more erect in distal floral buds), sweet scent;
sepals ca 3.2 x 1.9 cm, obovate, apex nearly obtuse, symmetric, exceeding (by ca 1 cm) the floral bracts, glabrous abaxially, subdensely lepidote adaxially, ecarinate, margins membranaceous, yellowish green;
petals 6.5–8 x 0.8 cm, ligulate, strongly recurved at anthesis (anchor shape passing to loose clock spring, rarely very softly twisted), apex acute, appressed by the sepal apices, golden yellow;
petal appendages ca 22 x 2 mm, ligulate, apex acute and asymmetric.
STAMENS remaining together, bundled;
filament ca 5 cm x 1 mm, white;
anther ca 18 x 1 mm, linear, yellow, dorsifixed near the base.
PISTIL: ovary ca 6 mm long (superior portion), 4 mm wide along the base, slightly angulose, hypanthium ca 7 mm long;
ovules ca 2 mm (total length including a 1 mm filiform apical appendage), numerous;
style 80 x ca 2 mm, terete to slightly angulose, white;
stigma lobes ca 3 x 1 mm, white, densely papillose, free from one another, spreading, conduplicate spiral.
FRUITS and seeds unknown.
Edited from: Versieux & Nahoum 2021. Two new highly ornamental giant Bromeliads from Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil in Versieux, L.M. (editor) - Alcantarea: giant bromeliads from Brazil.

Updated 26/12/24