Sill 2002 (Article) Tillandsia

Tillandsia parryi and Tillandsia sueae, sister species of central Mexico

Author(s):—S. Sill

Publication:—Journal of the Bromeliad Society 52(4): 147-152. (2002)

Abstract:—Tillandsia sueae Ehiers occurs as an epiphyte of cloud forests at various locations along ridges of the Sierra Madre Oriental that run parallel to the gulf coast in Mexico (Fig. 1). Its foliage is moderately thin, with a fine covering of adpressed trichomes that gives it a slight luminescence. The tall, salmon-pink candelabra-like inflorescence bears lavender flowers that open in the morning. These plants were treated as T pariyi J.G.Baker until Gardner (1982, 1986) discovered that living plants collected from locations of specimens assigned by Smith and Downs (1977) to T parrvi had two distinct flower colors, and the different colored flowers opened at different times of the day. Even more interestingly, the flower colors seemed to correlate to the substrates on which the plants grew. Renate Ehlers (1991) introduced it as a new species and compared it to T. parryi.