Tillandsia carrilloi Click thumbnails for full size, scaled to a new window.
Tillandsia carrilloi
Chris Larson 05/14
Chris Larson 09/14
Chris Larson 03/16
Chris Larson ... ""A little something I just flowered.
I saw it first I think, in Die Bromelie in late 2011 when it was still T. ’Calavera’. A plant which grows between 800 to 1000m. Later it was described as T. carrilloi. For a couple of months I have been watching the spike come up.
I cannot see any confusion with T. zacapanensis, as referred to on the disc. Leaf shape is very different – no way they can be mistaken – and flower spike arrangement is very different.
I wonder what my plant would be like if it reached full size – like the photos in Die Bromelie show? Or if it is a variation across the habitat.
Chris Larson 03/16 (zacapanensis)
Chris Larson 03/16 carrilloi on left
Chris Larson 03/16 (carrilloi)
Derek Butcher ... "Chris: Both Renate and Eric consider zacapanensis and carrilloi synonymous.
Now for history. In 2010 we first saw zacapanensis published by the Guatemalans but in 2011 we saw this amended by Lotte and Renate. In 2013 we saw carrilloi published by the Guatemalans in an obscure journal (Could it be they did not want the Germans fiddling with it?) As as an aside Veliz was involved with both descriptions and he was the one who wrote the Guide to Guatemalan Tillandsias. You will find this in the DVD marked suspect because I feel it is full of anomalies.
In 2014 I received photos from my Thai friends of carrilloi which they had got from Guatemala and which did not fit the description of either carrilloi/zacapanensis. I smelt something fishy.
So all I can suggest is that when your carrilloi flowers you check it against the descriptions and then decide if the name is right." Chris Larson ... "The first 2 photos are different T. zacapanensis in flower, or nearly. The one that has flowers (centre) has flowered a little small & has been in a darker position. The other (left) is beginning to colour.
The comparative shots were a bit blurry. I’ll redo the photos later and post them then.
These are the larger carrilloi (left) and the smaller zacapanensis (right) shown flowering now.
Geoege Nieuwenhoven 05/20
John Olsen 01/21
Geoege Nieuwenhoven ... "One I got from Peter Tristram a while ago, it has grown well for me and produced this beautiful spike but is rather tardy with its flowers, still it looks great as is." Chris Larson ... "It does go on for ages. Watch those spikes elongate and flatten out in the process. Lovely at all stages." Peter Tristram ... "Great new species, that’s for sure. As Chris said, you have an unfolding visual experience ahead. I bought my first ones as Calavera in Germany."John Olsen ... "A way to go yet but it has grown quite tall." Bob Hudson ... "Very impressive,It's worth the wait to see it flower." Chris Larson ... "A magnificent plant. A good size to flower it too. The 2 I have coming up have been a little quicker to flower, flowering early at the expense of size. The wait is so much better!" Rob Bower ... "Look forwards to seeing what that turns into. Its always amazing how some tillandsias can take ages to accumulate some bulk in their rosette and then very rapidly mobilise reserves and pump up a big chunky spike in short order." Alfonso Trudu ... "One of Peter Tristram's clones grows very tall like over 1 m." John Olsen ... "I got one from Chris Larson and one from Thailand. Both at much the same stage now."
Bruce Dunstan 02/21
Adam Bodzioch 02/21
Adam Bodzioch ... "Bruce: I think South Australian conditions must favour carrrilloi in bringing out exceptional colour. Above is one I flowered recently." Peter Tristram ... "T. carrilloi and zacapanensis are sure two magnificent species finds in more recent times. They both vary quite a bit, hinting at recent speciation probably from hybridisation, which is typical of so many North/Central American species. The ice ages would be a key climatic factor in this process. As Harry Luther used to say to me about Mexican stuff, ‘Just a bunch of hybrid swarms’. I have a couple of carrilloi blooming too and have posted a few pics of others over the years, to compare. Some carrilloi have recurring branches too. I’m keen to bloom a zacapanensis too, as my largest ones are like monster xeros. Fortunately quite cold tolerant though."
