"type" from Lotte. - - - from Holm. |
Plant single or growing in small groups on rocks, stemless, the dead part at the base sometimes forming an up to 7 cm long, 5 - 8 mm thick dark brown rhizome, 4 - 8 cm high, 3 - 5 ( - 8 ) cm wide, forming an erect, mostly secund, subbulbose, sometimes almost spreading rosette with many grey appressed lepidote leaves; the bottom leaves sometimes shorter and strongly bent outwards,
Leaves many (20- 50), up to 7 cm long, standing almost erect and dense, the bottom ones reduced and recurved, grey green, almost thin and soft, appearing grey because of densely rough grey scales, the margins with large rough winged trichomes.
Sheath 2 - 3 cm long, 1-1.8 cm wide, elliptic, flat, little distinct from the blade, light brown, except the glabrous base, both sides densely grey lepidote.
Blade 2 - 4 cm long, 4 - 8 mm wide, triangular attenuate, almost flat, the edges bent inwards, grey ¬green, densely and regular covered with large rough whitish-grey trichomes (outside more marked), appearing as an uniform grey felt.
Scape 3 - 4 cm long, 3 mm in diameter, almost erect to decurved, densely white lepidote, extensively covered by the 10 - 15 mm long, 5 - 7 mm wide elliptic sheaths of the leaf-like, imbricate scape bracts; the thin membranaceous blade triangular, acuminate, canaliculate, tip densely lepidote like the leaves.
Inflorescence 3 cm long, 2 cm wide, oval, simple, with 5 - 11 sessile, densely poly-stichous, slightly spreading flowers.
Floral bracts 1.8 - 2 cm long, 9 - 11 mm wide, exceeding the sepals, oval, acute, the bottom ones with a sharp tip, thin membranaceous, strongly nerved, not carinate, inside sparsely punctulate lepidote, outside bright dark pink, with dense and regular fine white scales.
Sepals 1.3 - 1.4 cm long, 3.5 - 4 mm wide, lanceolate, acute, membranaceous, light green, nerved, sparsely and finely lepidote,. nearly free, the posterior ones carinate.
Petals 2- 2.3 cm long, 2.5 - 3 mm wide, tapering to 2 mm at base, narrow oblanceolate, forming an erect tube with an open throat, the rounded tip recurved, above intensively lilac - pink, the base white.
Stamens enclosed. Filament 1.5 cm long, thin ribbon like, straight, white. Anther 2 mm long, 0.3 mm wide, linear, fixed at the base, light brown. Pollen yellow. Style1 cm long, 0.5 mm wide, white. Stigma small, not broader than the style. Lobes erect, pale pink.
Ovary 2.5 mm high, 2 mm wide, roundish oval, light green.
Type locality Brazil, State of Bahia, Chapada da Diamantina, Lencois, Morro do Pai Inacio 1000m, leg. Heuberger & Franz Fuchs 1988 Holotype WU.
Similar material to type leg. R. Thieken Tubingen, Dec. 1994. Flowered in Nov. 1994 and in Nov. 1995 in collection of R. Ehlers.
Differs from T. thiekenii R. EHLERS
Plant: certainly mostly a lithophyte, however it grows upwards not downwards like T. thiekenii.
Leaves: mostly. secund, thin and soft, not succulent, the blade is wider, not involute, grey appressed lepidote not green with rough spreading scales.
Scape: densely lepidote.
Floral bracts intensively dark pink or violet pink, not pale pink.
Sepals: free, the posterior pair stronger and totally carinate, less lepidote.
Petals: pink - violet instead of pink.
Comments: The plant belongs to the group based on T. sprengeliana. In habitat it resembles mostly a small T. roseiflora. The inflorescence is however simple, the floral bracts are not carinate and densely fine lepidote. Because of the dense lepidote floral bracts it seems to be related to T. thiekenii.
Also found by Giorgio Croce at Madalena some 250km NE of Rio de Janeiro