Contains 3 accepted taxa overall.
Characteristics
Native to Mexico and Guatemala, the weevil Metamsius callizona was detected in Ft. Lauderdale in 1989 and has spread in peninsular Florida, being extremely damaging to species of the genus Tillandsia (Frank & Cave 2005).
Classification
Citation
TILLANDSIA Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 286. 1753.
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TYPE: Tillandsia utriculata Linnaeus Lectotypified by Britton & Millspaugh, Bahama Fl. 64. 1920.
Species
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Herbarium Specimens | Status | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tillandsia bartramii | ||||
| Tillandsia recurvata | Ball-moss, Bunch-moss | |||
| Tillandsia usneoides | Spanish-moss |
Identification Key
1. Plant forming pendent festoons to 3 m long, individual stems or shoots tangled and difficult to discern, roots unapparent; inflorescence sessile with 1 flower; petals yellow-green
1. Plant erect to spreading, sometimes angled downwards, 0.03-2 m long, solitary or cespitose, individual stems or shoots apparent, roots apparent; inflorescence exserted, with 1-200 flowers; petals white to violet
2
2. Longest leaves <13 cm long
3
2. Longest leaves >13 cm long
6
3. Stem with appressed leaf base 2-4 mm wide; leaves 2-ranked, the basal leaves 2-3(-4) mm wide
3. Stem with appressed leaf bases 10-40 mm wide; leaves rosulate, the basal leaves 5-25 mm wide
4
4. Leaves flat or with the margins slightly involute, the margins distant and only touching at the apex, densely overlapping in a tight rosette; base of the flowers embedded in the rosette without visible, appressed bracts
4. Leaves strongly involute, the margins touching or nearly so, forming a pseudobulb at the base; flowers borne on an exserted inflorescence with visible, appressed bracts
5
5. Scales appressed, the plant appearing smooth-granular; inflorescence broadly elliptic, usually not exserted beyond the leaves
5. Scales erect, the plant appearing fuzzy; inflorescence linear, usually evidently exserted from the leaves
6. Flowers distant, the floral bracts of one flower subequal to the rachis internodes, not overlapping or scarcely so those of adjacent flowers, the inflorescence rachis plainly visible at anthesis
7
6. Flowers densely congested, the floral bracts imbricate with those of adjacent flowers, the inflorescence rachis not visible at anthesis
8
7. Plant solitary or cespitose, perennial, forming basal offshoots; plant base cylindrical, the leaf bases not holding pools of water; leaves with horizontal banding; floral bracts 2.3--3.1 cm long; inflorescences with 2--6 flowers per branch; corolla pink to dark rose
7. Plant solitary, monocarpic (dying after fruiting), not forming basal offshoots; plant base bowl-shaped, the leaf bases sometimes holding pools of water; leaves uniform in color, lacking banding, or rarely variegated; floral bracts 1.2--2 cm; inflorescence with 6--11 flowers per branch; corolla white
8. Plant base pseudobulbous, formed by the somewhat abruptly widened and appressed leaf sheaths which are rather distinct from the articulated blade; peduncle bracts lax and spreading; inflorescence unbranched or irregularly branched with 1-13 branches, not pyramidal in overall shape
9
8. Plant base not pseudobulbous, the leaf sheaths of the basal leaves gradually transitioning into the blade; peduncle bracts strictly appressed to ascending; inflorescence with 0-15 branches, sometimes pyramidal in shape
10
9. Leaves at the peduncle base rather abruptly differentiated from those of the pseudobulb; inflorescence unbranched to 4-branched, the branches tightly appressed to one another
9. Leaves at the peduncle base somewhat gradually transitioning from the pseudobulb; inflorescence of 3-13 branches, the branches ascending and diverging, not tightly appressed
10. Basal leaves 15-75 mm wide at the base; floral bracts 18-30 mm long
11
10. Basal leaves 4-18 mm wide at the base; floral bracts 9-17 mm long
15
11. Leaf blade brittle, easily snapping into separate pieces; peduncle with appressed bract bases 3-4.5 mm wide; peduncle bracts with short, acuminate tips; inflorescence of 1-3 branches
11. Leaf coriaceous, not easily snapping into separate pieces; peduncle with appressed bract bases 4-14 mm wide; peduncle bracts with long linear-filiform tips; inflorescence of 2-15 branches
12
12. Basal leaves 25-75 mm wide at the base; floral bracts 20-30 mm long, 8-10 mm wide from the keel to the margin, glabrate, sparsely lepidote only at the tip
13
12. Basal leaves 15-24 mm wide at the base; floral bracts 18-21 mm long, 4-5 mm wide from the keel to the margin, uniformly lepidote
13. Spike >10 cm long, rarely shorter, strongly complanate; bract subtending each flower 3.5-4.8 cm long; rare in south Florida
13. Spike <10 cm long, rarely longer, somewhat compressed; bract subtending each flower 2-2.5(3) cm long
14
14. Spikes clavate with long slender bracteate sterile bases; rare in south Florida
14. Spikes short-stipitate or subsessile; widespread
15. Basal leaves 3-7 mm wide at base, 0.6-0.9 mm wide at the involute mid-blade; peduncle bracts green, reddish green, to dark purple-red, not bright; floral bracts 9-14 mm long, 2-4 mm wide from the keel to the margin, green to red; corolla 18-22 mm long
15. Basal leaves 6-20 mm wide at base, 1.4-3 mm wide at the involute to flat mid-blade; peduncle bracts usually uniformly red to pink, bright and conspicuous, rarely light green; floral bracts 14-17 mm long, 3-5 mm wide from the keel to the margin, usually uniformly red to pink, sometimes reddish green; corolla 30-45 mm long
15
16. Basal leaves 6-10 mm wide at the base; bracts just below the spikes and the floral bracts tightly appressed, usually the tips just as appressed
16. Basal leaves 10-20 mm wide at the base; bracts just below the spikes and often the floral bracts appressed at the base, with the tips often diverging or spaced from the rachis axis
Genus Synonyms
| Synonym | Full Citation | Basionym | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| No synonyms found. | |||