Desc from Tulane 1983
Vriesea latissima (Mez & Werckle) L. B. Smith & Pitt. J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 43: 402. 1953.
Thecophyllum latissimum Mez & Werckle in Mez, Bull. Herb. Boiss. ser. II. 4: 1122. 1904.
TYPE: COSTA RICA: without further location, Werckle 82 (HOLOTYPE: B!, photograph US!).
Vriesea ranifera L. B. Smith, Phytologia 9: 242. 1963. TYPE: COSTA RICA: SAN JOSE PROVINCE: in cloud forests of El Alto de la Palma, C.K. Horich s.n.; University of California Botanical Gardens accession number 58.482-1 (HOLOTYPE: US!).
Epiphytic acaulescent.
LEAVES in a spreading rosette, 45-67 cm long;
blades 23-35 (40) cm long and 9-11 cm wide, green adaxially, strongly suffused with maroon abaxially, ligulate, apex rounded and acuminate;
sheaths 24-28 cm long and 11-12 cm wide, scarcely wider than the blades, pale brown becoming green suffused with maroon distally, broadly elliptic.
SCAPE erect 60-67 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter;
bracts 6-7 cm long and 4-5 cm wide. exceeding the internodes, green to green strongly suffused with maroon, erect.
INFLORESCENCE erect, 32-52 cm long and 9-10 cm in diameter, axis green or green deeply suffused with maroon;
primary bracts 5-6 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, green frequently mottled with maroon to entirely purple or brown-maroon, divergent to subspreading, apex acute to rounded and acuminate.
LATERAL BRANCHES divergent to spreading, 3.5-6 cm long, distichously 4- to 5-flowered, occasionally subsecund at anthesis, peduncle 1-2 cm long, rachis 2-3.7 cm long.
FLOWERS 0.1-0.5 cm pedicellate;
floral bracts 2-3 cm long and 1-3 cm wide, slightly shorter than to about equalling the sepals, green to green spotted or suffused with purple, subcoriaceous, ovate to elliptic, apex acute;
sepals 2.1-2.8 cm long and 1.1-1.3 cm wide, green, frequently suffused with maroon proximally, coriaceous, elliptic, apex broadly acute or obtuse to rounded;
petals about 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, white, obovate; appendages 0.4 cm long and 0.1-0.2 cm wide;
stamens in a hood configuration over gynoecium, anthers laterally connivent, filaments 2.2-2.3 cm long, anthers 0.7 cm long; ovary 0.5 cm long and 0.4 cm in diameter, style 2.5 cm long.
PHENOLOGY: Flowering specimens have been collected in April.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: Known only from Costa Rica in the region between 900-1500 m in the premontane rain forest life zone.
DISCUSSION: The conspicuous features which set Vriesea latissima apart from most other thecophylloid vrieseas include a spreading rosette, broad (9-11 cm), ligulate leaves that are green adaxially but maroon abaxially, a stout scape and coriaceous floral bracts which are 2-3 cm long. Unlike other members of the pedicellata complex, lateral branches of the inflorescence of V. latissima are coated with a gelatinous exudate. This condition had been noted in several groups in the hygrometrica complex, the comata, capitata and hygrometrica species groups.
The white nocturnal flowers of V. latissima become subsecund at anthesis. The observed floral syndrome of these large white, nocturnal flowers, borne on a stout inflorescence well above the surrounding foliage, is compatible with that presented by Faegri and van der Pijl ( 1971) for chiropterophilous plants. In fact, bats have been observed visiting the flowers of V. latissima (Phillip De Vries, pers. comm.).
Vriesea latissima shares a number of characters with V. greenbergii and V. umbrosa. In all three species the lateral branches of the inflorescence are short, stout pedunculate, with well-developed rachises. Their short pedicellate flowers are subtended by coriaceous floral bracts which exceed the pedicels in length. V. latissima is easily separated from V. greenbergii and V. umbrosa on the basis of leaf width, floral bract length and floral morphology.
In the vegetative condition, V. latissima may be mistaken for V. leptopoda since they share a common leaf and rosette morphology. However, these taxa are not sympatric and have different elevational distributions. V. latissima is consistently found between 900 m and 1500 m in elevation; in contrast, V. leptopoda grows at higher elevations (1600-2300 m). In flower or fruit V. latissima may be distinguished from V. leptopoda by pedicel, sepal and floral bract length.
Vriesea ranifera was characterized by Smith (1963) and Smith and Downs (1977) as having scape bracts which equaled or exceeded the internodes; in contrast, scape bracts of V. latissima appeared to be shorter than the internodes. While the scape bracts of the type specimen of V. latissima are, in fact, shorter than the internodes, this is a result of the age of the inflorescence, which is well past fruiting, and is also a consequence of the drying and weathering of the scape bracts, which are largely wanting. This condition, though not readily observable in a photograph of the type of V. latissima, is obvious upon critical examination of the type material. The type of V. ranifera agrees well with that of V. latissima in numerous characters, including rosette shape, leaf shape, width and color pattern, lateral inflorescence development, peduncle length, and sepal lengtb and width. In the absence of demonstrable differences in critical characters and in view of a compelling series of common characters, V. ranifera must be considered a synonym of V. latissima.
SPECIMENS EXAMINED: COSTA RICA: ALAJUELA PROVINCE: fields, road banks and forest remnants between Los Angeles Norte and ca 7 km north of La Balsa de San Ramon or about 10-17 km north of San Ramon, 8 August 1975, Utley & Utley 2814 (DUKE) &2884 (CR). BORDER OF HEREDIA AND SAN JOSE PROVINCES: 5 km northeast of San Isidro de Heredia on Calle Yerbabuena, 3 April 1976. Utley & Utley 4470 (DUKE) & 4479 (NOLS). SAN JOSE PROVINCE: La Palma, Werckle12 (US); between La Hondura and Alto de La Palma, 24 May 1976, Utley & Utley 5006 (DUKE).
Desc from S&D
19. Vriesea ranifera L. B. Smith, Phytologia 9: 242, pl. 1, figs. 1, 2. 1963. Fig 352 A-B.
Plant flowering over 8 dm high.
Leaves 4 dm long;
sheaths broadly elliptic but scarcely wider than the blades, ca 15 cm long, covered with a very close lacquer-like coat of gray scales;
blades ligulate, rounded and apiculate, 10 cm wide, flat, densely but inconspicuously appressed-lepidote, reddish brown beneath, green above.
Scape straight, stout, glabrous;
scape-bracts densely imbricate and completely covering the scape, broadly elliptic, apiculate, purple, the extreme apex spreading.
Inflorescence densely bipinnate, slenderly fusiform, 32 cm long, 8 cm in diameter, glabrous;
primary bracts broadly ovate, apiculate, slightly but consistently shorter than the branches, subcoriaceous when dry, probably subfleshy in life;
branches suberect, laxly few-flowered with the terminal flower usually much reduced, 4 cm long, floriferous to base;
rhachis slender, flexuous.
Floral bracts distichous, oblong-elliptic, to 2.1 mm long, nearly or quite equaling the sepals, evidently fleshy, obtusely carinate toward apex;
pedicels rather slender, to 8 mm long; flowers not secund.
Sepals narrowly elliptic, obtuse, 24 mm long, 10 mm wide, coriaceous, ecarinate;
petals white, bearing 2 acute scales at base;
stamens included.
TYPE. Horich s n (holotype US), El Alto de la Palma, Costa Rica; cultivated and flowered in the University of California Botanic Garden, September 27, 1961, as accession number 58.482-1.
DISTRIBUTION. Cloud forest, 1500-1600 malt, Costa Rica.
COSTA RICA. SAN Jose: La Palma, Werckle 8 (US).
C. K. Horich reports that endemic species of frogs live and apparently breed in these plants.
28. Vriesea latissima (Mez & Werckle) L. B. Smith & Pittendrigh, Jour. Wash. Acad. 43: 402. 1953.
Thecophyllum latissimum Mez & Werckle in Mez, Bull. Herb. Boiss. II. 4: 1122. 1904.
Plant stemless.
Leaves to 10 in a regular broadly infundibuliform rosette, 25 cm long;
sheaths barely broader than the blades, subcinereous-lepidote with very appressed scales, the margin with a broad violet band;
blades broadly rounded and apiculate, 11 cm broad, light green above, deep violet below, without markings, thick and rigid when dry.
Scape erect, very stout, probably exceeding the leaves;
scape-bracts imperfectly known.
Inflorescence many-flowered, densely cylindric, 25 cm long, 6 cm in diameter, glabrous; axis very stout; primary bracts unknown;
branches to 3 cm long, very stout, compressed, the lower and middle ones bearing 4 flowers near the apex.
Floral bracts shorter than the sepals;
pedicels very stout, to 6 mm long.
Sepals equal, elliptic, obtuse, 21 mm long, 8 mm wide, thick, coriaceous, glabrous and even outside, striate within.
TYPE. Werckle Brom. Costar. 82 (holotype B, B photo 1193/26-27), without locality, Costa Rica.
DISTRIBUTION. Known from the type collection only.
67. Vriesea discolor (Mez & Werckle) L. B. Smith & Pittendrigh, Jour. Wash. Acad. 43: 402. 1953.
Thecophyllum discolor Mez & Werckle in Mez, Repert. Sp. Nov. 14: 246. 1916.
Leaves very broad, obtuse, green above, dark-violet-brown below.
Scape probably decurved, very stout, glabrous;
scape-bracts much exceeding the internodes, foliaceous, glabrous.
Inflorescence many-flowered, very densely bipinnate, cylindric, obtuse, 3 dm long, 8 cm in diameter, glabrous;
axis stout, subterete;
primary bracts shorter than the axillary branches;
branches distinct, all about 5 cm long, lax, bearing up to 12 secund flowers about 8 mm apart, spreading to reflexed.
Floral bracts elliptic, obtuse, equaling or shorter than the pedicels, thick, coriaceous;
flowers suberect;
pedicels stout, 10 mm long, slightly thickened toward the apex.
Sepals asymmetric, 8 mm long, 6 mm wide, thick, coraceous, even.
Capsule 30 mm long.
Type. Werckle s n (holotype B n v, destroyed ?), without exact locality, Costa Rica.
DISTRIBUTION. At 1600 m alt, central Costa Rica. COSTA RICA. SAN JOSE: La Palma, Werckle 12 (US, isotype ?).