Bromeliads in Australia - Tillandsia mooreana

Tillandsia mooreana
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Refer to "Detective Derek" article DD0809 for more details.
Tillandsia mooreana
Re-named by Smith, from Tillandsia inflata.
Mexico.

Peter Tristram 07/09. T. aff. mooreana (inflata ex Lau.)

Greg Jones 03/19

Flowered by Peter Tristram, originally from Maurice Kellet as inflata ex Lau.
Some debate whether kalmbacheri, mooreana, cretacea, inflata, or something else.

Maurice Kellet advises it's from seed from Alfred Lau in the late 70's but not named with great confidence.

Derek Butcher reminded us of name change and notes...
"I had thought that petal colour would help in identification (green or violet blue) but there is too much confusion here. Harry says that in his opinion where the branches are vertical (flat side at right angles to the axis) you have T. cretacea, or horizontal (flat side to the axis) you have T. mooreana. Armed with this information you see that the plant in Peter's photo covers both, which means the plant does not know if it is Arthur or Martha !
I would suggest this be called T. aff. mooreana (inflata ex Lau.). If we put photos on the Aust. website, others can look up the reference in years to come when they flower that T. inflata from Maurice."
Refer to "Detective Derek" article DD0809 for more details.

Lesley Baylis 27/02/22
Lesley Baylis 27/02/22 ... "Hope all the wet ones along the east coast are staying safe !! First time flowering a mooreana and it certainly doesn't disappoint."

Lesley Baylis 28/02/22
Lesley Baylis 28/02/22 ... "Thanks for the kind words - took another photo for comparison after I rescued it ...we had a massive 775mm of rain in just one day and it's not over yet.... Goes without saying that am seeing unbelievable damage here but thinking of all the poor people trapped in the floods - at least house is safe."

Tillandsia mooreana L. B. Smith, Phytologia 20: 167. 1970; nomen nov.
Tillandsia inflata Mez, DC. Monogr. Phan. 9: 701. 1896, non Baker 1886.
NOTES from Phytologia 20: 167. 1970 - T. MOOREANA L. B. Smith, nom. nov. T. inflata Mez in DC. Mon, Phan. 9: 701. 1896, non Baker, 1886; Pflr.757. TIL. The new specific name is in honor of Harold E. Moore, Jr., to whom I am indebted for beautiful material of this and many other species.
Desc from S&D p999
Leaves 55 cm long, green, densely and minutely pale-appressed-lepidote;
Sheaths elliptic, large, indistinct;
Blades narrowly triangular, caudate-attenuate, flat, 4 cm wide.
Scape stout, erect or ascending, to 2 dm long, glabrous;
Scape-bracts foliaceous, spreading or reflexed-spreading, linear-lanceolate, filiform-caudate, to 2 dm long, many times as long as the internodes, 25 mm wide, coarsely pale-pruinose-lepidote toward apex.
Inflorescence bipinnate, 4-10 dm long, 25 cm in diameter;
Primary bracts like the scape-bracts, the lower ones exceeding the axillary spikes, the upper shorter;
spikes erect or divergent, oblong, 1-2 dm long, 35-45 mm wide, 14-20-flowered, (Flat side facing the axis – Luther 2002)
Rhachis straight, glabrous.
Floral bracts spreading and exposing the sepals and rhachis although three to four times as long as the internodes, suborbicular, mucronulate, 3 cm long, equaling or exceeding the sepals, inflated, ecarinate, glaucous outside, lepidote inside, roseate, finely nerved, thick subchartaceous, probably fleshy in life, finely verrucose;
Flowers subsessile, divergent.
Sepals broadly elliptic, acute, 25-30 mm long, ecarinate, subcoriaceous, even or nerved, glabrous, evenly connate for 3 mm;
Petals purple, 4 cm long, the claw linear, the blade elliptic, obtuse, narrowly white-margined;
Stamens and pistil exserted.
Type. Roezl s n (holotype LG, GH photo), without exact locality, Mexico, 1873.
DISTRIBUTION. Epiphytic, 900-1800 m alt, Mexico. MEXICO. SONORA: Sierra Charuco, Rio Maya, 11 Oct 1935, Gentry 2032 (F). JALISCO: Tecalitlan, 22 Sep !958, McVaugh 18137 (MICH, US); 19 Nov 1970,24486 (MICH). GUERRERO: km 339-340, Acahuizotla to Agua de Obispo, 20 Aug 1948, Moore & Wood 4704 (BH, US). OAXACA: Santa Maria Ecatepec, 3 Dec 1950, MacDougall 5 (MEXU, US).

NOTE This taxon is difficult to identify in the wild. It shares the same locality and climatic conditions as T. kalmbacheri. The only striking difference is in the colour of the petals where T. kalmbacheri is green and T. mooreana is violet/purple.

3. T. inflata Mez in DC. Monogr. Phaner. IX. (1896) 701.
Desc from Mez 1935
Folia ignota. Scapus validus, ad 0,2 m longus, vaginis perlonge filiformi-acutis, internodia superantibus indutus. Inflorescentia submultiflora, 2-pinnatim panniculata, e spica terminali majore spicisque 3-8 lateralibus minoribus composita, ad 0,4 m longa et 0,25 m diam. metiens; spicis sub¬pinnatis, infimis quam bracteae primariae brevioribus reliquis eas superantibus, saepius ultra 25-floris, subsessilibus, erectis vel suberectis, ad 0,1 m longis et 35 mm latis, linearibus; bracteis primariis vaginis scapalibus isomorphis; bracteis florigeris recurvo-patentibus, sueto nec imbricatia nec axes obtegentibus, dorso glabris et tenuiter prominulo-venosis, valde inflato-concavis nullo modo carinatis, carnose coriaceis, explanatis fere perfecte orbicularibus, apice rotundatis mucroneque tenui permanifesto imposito auctis, ad 30 mm longis, sepala superantibus nec obtegentibus. Flores brevissime pedicellati fere sessiles; sepalis basi ad 3 mm connatis, coriaceis, dorso glabris laevibusque, late ellipticis, acutius¬culis, symmetricis, ad 25 mm longis. Petala ignota:
Mexico: ohne Standortsangabe von Roezl lebend eingesandt, aber nicht in Kultur ubergegangen.

Leaves unknown
Scape robust, to 20cm long, clothed with long filiform sheaths, exceeding the internodes.
Inflorescence many flowered, a bipinnate panicle, from the larger terminal spikes there are 3-8 lateral smaller spikes, to 40cm long and 25cm wide at the middle.
Spikes subpinnate, the lowest ones shorter than the primary bracts, the remainder exceeding them, often more than 25 flowered, subsessile, erect to sub-erect, to 10cm long and 35mm wide, linear.
Primary bracts the same shape as the scape sheaths.
Floral bracts recurved spreading, not imbricate, not concealing the rhachis, the back glabrous and finely prominently veined, strongly inflated concave, in no way carinate, fleshy-leathery, flattened nearly perfect orbicular, tip rounded with a slender mucron, to 3cm long, exceeding the sepals not hiding them.
Flowers with the smallest pedicel, almost sessile
Sepals connate for 3mm, leathery, back glabrous, smooth, broad-elliptic, becoming acute, symmetric, to 25mm long
Petals unknown
Mexico: without location from Roezl as a living specimen, but not grown on in culture.

Luther 2002 suggests that T. inflata should be a synonym of T. cretacea which indicates that the type for T. mooreana should be Moore and Wood 4704 !

photo/herb/drawing Place State Coll.No Petal Blue or Green Puffy fb Yes/No

D . . Kohres 1985 . N

P . EM001901 B .

P Compostela- Tepic Nayarit EM001801 B .

. Motosindla Chiapas Wulfinghoff B Y

. . Chihuahua Knobloch 564(cretacea) B N

H La Palmita Durango Koide . Y

. Acahuizotla Guerrero . . .

P Altimirano Guerrero (trauneri) . N

P Chilpancingo Guerrero EM002901 G Y

P Filo de Caballo Guerrero EM992001 G .

H Rincon de la Via Guerrero Kruse 3319 (kalmbacheri) G Y

P Salitrero- Altimirano Guerrero EM911310 G Y

P El Tuito Jalisco EM81317 B Y

P Tecaltitlan Jalisco EM871705 G .

H . MEXICO Roezl 1873 (inflata) ? N

P Zihuatenejo Michoacan LH15069 G Y

P Pocutla-Miahuatlan Oaxaca EM912102 G .

P San Gabriel Oaxaca EM011903 G Y

H Sierra Charuco Sonora Gentry B N

P Monte Escobedo Zacatecas Lau B .

P Sierra de Cora Zavatecas EM001302 B Y

Updated 11/04/22

photo/herb/drawing	Place	State	Coll.No	Petal Blue or Green	Puffy fb Yes/No
D	.	.	Kohres 1985	.	N
P		.	EM001901	B	.
P	Compostela- Tepic	Nayarit	EM001801	B	.
.	Motosindla	Chiapas	Wulfinghoff	B	Y
.	.	Chihuahua	Knobloch 564(cretacea)	B	N
H	La Palmita	Durango	Koide	.	Y
.	Acahuizotla	Guerrero	.	.	.
P	Altimirano	Guerrero	(trauneri)	.	N
P	Chilpancingo	Guerrero	EM002901	G	Y
P	Filo de Caballo	Guerrero	EM992001	G	.
H	Rincon de la Via	Guerrero	Kruse 3319 (kalmbacheri)	G	Y
P	Salitrero- Altimirano	Guerrero	EM911310	G	Y
P	El Tuito	Jalisco	EM81317	B	Y
P	Tecaltitlan	Jalisco	EM871705	G	.
H	.	MEXICO	Roezl 1873 (inflata)	?	N
P	Zihuatenejo	Michoacan	LH15069	G	Y
P	Pocutla-Miahuatlan	Oaxaca	EM912102	G	.
P	San Gabriel	Oaxaca	EM011903	G	Y
H	Sierra Charuco	Sonora	Gentry	B	N
P	Monte Escobedo	Zacatecas	Lau	B	.
P	Sierra de Cora	Zavatecas	EM001302	B	Y