Tillandsia marnier-lapostolle
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Tillandsia marnier-lapostolle
See T. mima_chiletensis page to follow discussions of marnier-lapostolle and mima complex/confusions.
Peter Tristram ... "Graeme Barclay, from across the ditch, visited for a few days and coerced me into dragging this baby into the open for a photo. The spike is still developing. I got the plant from Reginald DeRoose when Eric Gouda and I paid a visit in 2009 so I am sure Eric will be interested to see that it is the species we thought it might be."
| Peter Tristram 05/24 at BRT |
Peter Tristram 05/24BRT marnier-lapostolle V Mima |
| Bruce Dunstan at Tropiflora, 2006 |
Tillandsia marnier-lapostollei Rauh, Akad. Wiss. & Lit. Mainz 1973 (3): 6, fig. 1-3. 1973
Planta caule brevi, usque ad 50 cm longo et 15 cm crasso, basi plantis adventitiis numerosis, in statu florendi usque ad 2.5 m alta. Folia numerosa, erecto-patentia, usque ad 1.2 m longa, rosulam usque ad 1.5 m diametientem formantia. Vagina indistincte limitata, usque ad 25 cm longa, 15 cm lata, basim versus paulum angustata, supra badia, badio-appresso-lepidota, subtus dense et laete brunneo-lepidota. Lamina usque ad 1 m longa, plana, late lingulata, supra vaginam 13 cm lata, paulatim in apicem acuminatum se angustans, cano-viridis, apicem versus rufescentiviridis, iuventute dense albo-lepidota, senectute modice lepidota, subtus canoviridis lepidibus albis appressis et nervis prominulis. Scapus plus minusve 1 m longus, crassus, basi usque ad 3 cm diametiens, puniceus, glaber. Folia scapi longiora quam internodia, usque ad 11 cm longa, basalia foliis rosulae similia, superiora minora, lamina late ovali, acuminata, basi viridia, apicem versus obscure rubiginosa, rubro-punctata, subtus nervis prominulis, modice lepidota. Inflorescentia laxa, latior quam longa, plus minusve 1 m longa, ad 1.5 m lata; axis inflorescentiae nitenti-puniceus, glaber, leniter flexuosus apice nutans; ramuli paniculae primi ordinis rectangulariter patentes, semel vel bis ramificati, cum spies, terminali usque ad 90 cm longi, rhachide tenui glabra punicea. Bracteae primariae multum breviores quam pars primaria, usque ad 10 cm longa, laxe foliata, 2-4 cm longae late ovales, acuminatae, virides, rubro-punctatae, margine membranaceo-limbatae. Spicae usque ad 50 cm longae, multi-et laxiflorae, axe leniter applanato, flexuoso, tenui, puniceo, glabro. Pars basalis sterilis foliosa, usque ad 5 cm longa. Bracteae florales carnosae (in statu sicco distincte nervosae), glabrae, supra modice lepidotae, virides, ecarinatae, cucullatae, late ovales, 12-14 mm longae, usque ad 10 mm latae, apice rotundatae, margine membranaceo-limbatae, breviores quam calyx et eum amplectentes. Flores breviter crasso- pedunculati, omnes homomalli, deorsum incurvati, 2 vel 2.5 cm longi. Sepala libera, dura, carnosa, in statu sicco nervosa, concava, late ovalia, obtusa, 10-12 mm longa, 8-10 mm lata, viridia, extua glabra, intus modice lepidota. Petala anguste linguiformia, caeruleo-violacea, sepala tantum paulum superantia. Stamina inclusa. Fructus virides, usque ad 2 cm longi.
Habitat: Ecuador meridionalis, in rupibus 5 km in directione septentrionali a Macara distante prope confinum peruvianum, apud 500 m. s. m.
Holotypus: Rauh 24188 (leg. 18. 8. 1970), in herbario inst. bot. system. heidelbergensi (HEID).
T. cucullatae L. B. SMITH (in: Phytologia Vol. 6, Nr. 4, pag. 194, 1958) affinis, sed ab ea differt foliis maioribus, bracteis minoribus, partem sterilem ramulorum paniculae non superantibes et bracteis floralibus brevioribus viridibus (nec luteis) laxissimis (nec imbricatis) dispositis.
Desc from S&D p728
Plant short-caulescent, with basal offsets, flowering 2.5 m high; stem to 5 dm long and 15 cm thick.
Leaves numerous in a broadly funnelform rosette, to 12 dm long;
Sheaths merging with the blades, 25 cm long, 15 cm wide, covered with fine closely appressed scales, blackish brown above, lighter beneath;
Blades ligulate with an attenuate apex, 13 cm wide, covered with fine appressed white scales, becoming glabrous above with age, reddish toward apex.
Scape erect, ca 1 m high, 3 cm thick at base, carmine red, glabrous;
Scape-bracts exceeding the 11 cm long internodes, the basal subfoliaceous, the upper broadly ovate, acute, green at base, red-brown and red-punctate at apex, sparsely lepidote.
Inflorescence very laxly tripinnate, ca 1 m high and 1.5 m wide;
Axes flexuous, lustrous carmine red;
Primary bracts like the upper scape-bracts, much shorter than the 10 cm long laxly bracteate sterile bases of the branches; spikes to 50 cm long,
Rhachis flexuous, slender, glabrous.
Floral bracts downwardly secund with the flowers, broadly ovate, obtuse, cucullate, 12-14 mm long, ecarinate, fleshy becoming rugose when dry, sparsely lepidote;
Pedicels stout, 5 mm long.
Sepals free, broadly ovate, obtuse, 10-12 mm long, exceeding the floral bracts convex, glabrous outside, fleshy becoming sulcate;
Petals narrowly ligulate, slightly exceeding the sepals, blue-violet;
Stamens included.
Capsule to 2 cm long, green.
Type. Rauh 24188 (holotype HEID, isotype US), on dry cliffs, 5 km north of Macari, 500 m alt, Loja, Ecuador, 18 Aug 1970.
DISTRIBUTION. Known from the type locality only.
TILLANDSIA MARNIERI-LAPOSTOLLEI Rauh in J Brom Soc 22(2): 40-42. 1972
On our trip to northern Peru and southern Ecuador in 1970 we found several remarkable new Tillandsias. One of them, T. hildae, has already been published in this journal (Vol. XXI, No. 6). Another very striking species is the new T. marnieri-lapostollei, which is named in honor of Julien Marnier-Lapostolle of Cap Ferrat, France, who is one of the world's most enthusiastic collectors of bromeliads and who has in his beautiful garden "Les Cedres" one of the biggest and richest bromeliad collections in the world.
T. marnieri-lapostollei is one of the big epilithic Tillandsias (when flowering up to 2.5 m high), which grows only on steep, nearly unaccessible rock walls near Macara in southern Ecuador about 5 miles from the Peruvian border at an altitude of 5100 m. The plant has a short stem (up to 50 cm long), which produces at its base a number of adventitious plants, this being typical of most of the epilithic Tillandsias. The numerous leaves form an enormous rosette with a height of 1.2 m and a diameter of 1.5 m. Their sheaths are about 25 cm long and 15 cm broad, on the upper side dark brown, beneath lighter brown and adpressed lepidote.
The blades are about 1 m long, above the sheath 13 cm broad, ligulate, short attenuate and apiculate; the young leaves are densely white lepidote and nearly glabrous at maturity, on the upper side gray to reddish-green, beneath gray-green with prominent nerves.
The erect scape is very stout, 1-1.2 m long, up to 3 cm thick, carmine-red and glabrous. Its bracts are longer than the internodes; the basal-ones subfoliate, the upper ones provided with a broad-ovate acuminate blade-green at the base and dark brownish red in the upper third.
The inflorescence is very lax, broader than high (1.2 m long, 1.5 m broad) and normally tripinnate; its rhachis is slightly flexuose, carmine-red and glabrous. The primary branches are horizontally spreading, sometimes decurved and up to 90 cm long. The primary bracts are more shorter than the sterile basis of the branches, 4-2 cm long, broad-ovate, acuminate, green and red spotted. Spikes very lax, many-flowered, up to 50 cm long, with a thin, glabrous carmine-red slender rhachis. Floral bracts fleshy (Prominently nerved when dry), glabrous, green, ecarinate and cucullate, shorter than the sepals.
Flowers short and thick petiolated, all secund and curved downwards, 2-2.5 cm long. Sepals free, thick (nerved, when dry), broad-ovate, obtuse, 10-12 mm long, 8-10 cm broad, green, glabrous. Petals narrow, ligulate, blue-violet, longer than the sepals. Stamens and pistil included. Fruits green, up to 2 cm long.
Type-locality: Marcara (South Ecuador), on rocks 500 m.
Holotype: Rauh 24188 (18.8.1970)
T. marnieri-lapostollei is related to T. cucullata L. B. Smith, which is known only from Central Ecuador, north of the village Sevilla de Oro, Province Aguay (2700 m), but T. marnieri-lapostollei differs from the latter by the larger rosette leaves, the smaller primary bracts (which are shorter than the sterile basis of the branches), the shorter, green (not yellow) floral bracts and the lax (not imbricate) inserted floral bracts.
According to our field observations the new T. marnieri-lapostollei is restricted in its distribution to a very small area.
Updated 29/01/25