The photo captions on this site have now been modified for lindenii, bismarkii and vonbismarkii pages.
Now vonbismarckii |
Chris Larson 08/18 Now vonbismarckii left, lindenii right |
Now lindenii |
PLANT acaulescent, flowering to over 200 cm tall, 130-140 cm wide, with ca 25 leaves, forming a broadly funnelform or open rosette (slightly more spreading at anthesis), solitary, variegated.
LEAVES spirally arranged, rigid-coriaceous, 77-94 cm long, much shorter than the inflorescence; sheath ample, not very distinct from the blade, ovate, convex, divergent, ca 20 cm long, 14-15 cm wide, with thin vinaceous margins, subdensely lepidote, on both sides, with closely appressed, pale brown centered transparent scales, pale brown and with a castaneous band 1 cm above the base abaxially, finely veined; blade arching to horizontal, strongly channeled except the apical part, broad strap-shaped, 70-75 cm long, 7.5-9.5(-11) cm wide, margins slightly decurved, finely nerved; apex narrowly acuminate, somewhat pungent; sparsely or subdensely lepidote, on both sides, with subappressed or spreading, whitish or pale-brown trichomes, not masking the color of the blade, variegated of transversely irregular dark green stipes on a pale green to whitish base color, with bands lacking the green stripes (also extending on the upper part of the sheaths).
INFLORESCENCE erect, twice-branched (sometimes partly thrice-branched), of to over 30 branches, with spirally arranged branches, to over 200 cm long, fertile part to over 100 cm long, ca 32 cm wide/diameter, very lax, fertile part subcylindric but narrowing from half way up; peduncle elongate, wholly covered by bracts, erect, stout, to over 100 cm long, 12-22 mm in diam., sparsely lepidote (pale brown floccose), much exceeding the leaves, green and brown maculate, nerved; peduncle bracts strictly erect and clasping the peduncle, the lower ones short foliaceous, densely imbricate, the lower ones many times longer than to about twice as long as the internodes distally, thick chartaceous, triangular, attenuately acute or narrowly cuspidate with subulate apex, sparsely to subdensely lepidote adaxially toward the apex, dark vinaceous variegated of transversely irregular stipes (paler adaxially); axis (rachis) elongate, stout, slightly flexuous, subterete or bluntly three-angled, sparsely lepidote (whitish floccose), green or tinged vinaceous, internodes 5-6 cm long (distally decreasing in length to nearly none at apex); primary bracts spreading with the branches, exposing the main axis, thick chartaceous, ovate, narrow cuspidate, exceeding the stipe of the branches, sparsely lepidote, green at base and vinaceous punctulate or variegated upward; primary-branches spreading to slightly reflexed, composed of 6-12 spikes, decreasing in apical part to a few spikes (apex of inflorescence like a primary branch), 12-16 cm long; stipe 25-35 mm long, with one bi-carinate prophyll well above the base; internodes up to 14 mm long near the base to nearly none distally; spikes divergent (to 45 degree with the axis), densely, polystichously, 5-12(-14) flowered, fusiform, acute, 4-6.2 cm long, excluding petals 1.1-1.5 cm wide; stipe* short, only bearing a prophyll well above the base often the lower floral bracts sterile, stout, ca 1 cm long; rachis hidden, stout, sub-straight, bluntly angled, sparsely lepidote, pale green, the internodes ca 2.5 mm long, smooth; floral bracts suberect, densely imbricate, stiff chartaceous, nerved except the center part, ecarinate, ovate-oblong, obtuse or apiculate, apically with a thick midvein, convex, (18.6-)20-21.3 cm long, (11-)14-14.5 cm wide, exceeding the sepals, many times as long as the internodes, with vinaceous thin margins, abaxially sparsely and minutely lepidote (adaxially sparsely appressed lepidote), green, dark vinaceous punctulate in upper part.
FLOWERS nocturnal, ca 30 mm long, ca 5 mm in diameter, suberect; receptacle short, obconic, 2.6 mm long, 4 mm in diameter, filled with laminar nectary tissue; sepals fleshy and coriaceous, surface adaxially nerved, elliptic, acute or obscurely apiculate, nearly straight, 1.6 cm long, 0.7-0.78 cm wide, with broad hyaline margins, adaxial ones distinct from the abaxial one, bluntly carinate, adaxial ones distinctly connate for 2-2.5 mm (abaxial one 1-1.5 mm connate), sparsely lepidote, on both sides, brown or with green upper half; petals 2.7 cm long, with obovate blade, rounded, slightly cucullate, ca 0.6 cm wide, highly connate and forming a tube of 15 mm, and about equal sepal length, white, blade divergent.
STAMENS included (exposed by the divergent petal blades at full anthesis), all equal in length, 2.5 cm long; filament adnate to the petal-tube, adnate part flat and thin but the free part dilated and s-shaped, white; anther dorsifixed, at about one third from base, 4 mm long, bi-lobed at base, apiculate at the apex, greenish, soon brown, pollen whitish.
PISTIL ca 2.2 cm long, reaching half the anther length; ovary ovoid, 5 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, gradually attenuate toward the style, pale green; style white, elongate, many times as long as the ovary, slender; stigma short conduplicate erect or slightly recurved, greenish.
Distribution: Peru: Pasco
Habitat: Epiphytical in mountain forest, ca 2000 m. Elev.
Etymology: This species is named in honor of Klaus-Werner von Bismarck, the collector of the type specimen, and as compensation of the loss of the species name Guzmania bismarckii as a synonym of G. lindenii - Guzmania vonbismarckii
Edited from: Gouda 2023b. (protologue) Guzmania bismarckii Rauh vs. Guzmania lindenii (Andre) Mez - Part II a new species and variety.