Greigias of Highland Chiapas: La Pina Silvestre by Virginia Guess and Robert Guess
in J. Brom. Soc. 50(1): 25-30. 2000
Two species of Greigia grow in the understory of evergreen cloud forests in Highland Chiapas, Mexico: Greigia oaxacana L.B. Smith and Greigia vanhyningii L. B. Smith.
Belonging to one of the less dramatic genera of the subfamily Bromelioideae, these caulescent species lack the flamboyant colors and exotic shapes that attract most bromeliad enthusiasts. As terrestrial plants, they form discreet colonies on the slopes of dark, damp arroyos where their long, green leaves offer a subtle camouflage amidst surrounding vegetation. Even their inconspicuous inflorescences packed with tiny flowers remain hidden in the leaf axils.
Several established populations of G. oaxacana eluded us for many years during our frequent hikes along the trails of Reserva Huitepec, six kilometers from the center of San Crist6bal de Las Casas. This ecological reserve, inaugurated in 1986 and now under the aegis of PRONATURA CHIAPAS, A.C., occupies 135 hectares on the western flank of Cerro Huitepec, one of the four mountain peaks surrounding San Cristobal. Here the common tillandsias of the highlands flourish in oak and cloud forests: T. ponderosa, T. vicentina, T. guatemalensis, T.eizii, T. lieboldiana, and T.capitata var. guzmanioides. [now considered in synonymy with Tillandsia lautneri Ehlers ] Only when a Maya caretaker at this reserve casually mentioned a plant producing small fruits did we discover that a species of Greigia also grew among these more colorful tillandsias. He referred to the fruit as "la pina silvestre" (wild pineapple).
Agreeing to show us the source of this fruit, he guided us along a narrow path to the southern edge of the reserve, where we descended into a heavily forested arroyo, approximately 25 meters deep and varying from 10 to 20 meters wide at the bottom. After walking a short distance parallel to a shallow, meandering stream, we had our first glimpse of G. oaxacana at an altitude of 2200 meters. Closely spaced and firmly rooted on the steep north-facing slope of the arroyo, the population of about 300 plants extended along a circumscribed area nearly 200 meters long. Recent heavy rainfall had washed away the dense layer of leaves that usually carpet the slope exposing many of the thick stems of G. oaxacana. Large trees and ferns shaded the colony allowing only dappled sunlight to penetrate briefly at midmorning. While some plants grew in the stream bed, none were established on the opposite, south-facing side of the arroyo.
The mature plant, almost a meter in height and a meter wide, appears as a mass of long, thin, drooping leaves that fall gracefully to the ground. The leaf blades are glabrous above, covered with coarse, white scales below, and armed with many short, narrow, upward-curving spines. Multiple, lateral inflorescences composed of white flowers with lavender tips emerge deep in the leaf axils during the dry season from December to May. By April to early May, each inflorescence produces some twenty, three-chambered fruits, each about three centimeters long. The ripe fruit turns a light amber color, and yields a minute quantity of juice and pulp that can be sucked from the tip opposite the sepals. The unique flavor, a pleasant sweet and tart blend, resembles the taste of the wild bananas of Chiapas.
Further exploration revealed two additional colonies of G. oaxacana growing higher up in the same reserve at 2500 meters. This species has also been reported in the Municipio of Tenejapa, Chiapas, some 35 kilometers from San Cristobal de Las Casas (Smith and Downs 1979:1640). To date, we have been unable to locate this site. The holotype comes from the Chinantecas Mountains at an altitude of 2300 meters, 85 kilometers southwest of Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico (Smith 1959:52-53).
Another species of Greigia represented in Chiapas is G. van-hyningii, named after Oather C. Van Hyning, an early director of the Bromeliad Society who died in 1973 (Foster 1974:24). On one of his numerous expeditions to Mexico, he collected the holotype near Perote, Veracruz, Mexico, at 2 100 meters (Smith 1959:53). In 1965, Breedlove found the species on the west-facing slope of Cerro Tzontehuitz, another of the four peaks near San Cristobal de Las Casas (Smith and Downs 1979:1637). This population, 15 kilometers northeast of the city, continues to thrive today.
We estimate that here more than 500 plants of G. van-hyningii grow broadly scattered over a densely vegetated slope of a cloud forest. Nearby stands a site where thousands of Maya Indians gather annually in early May to honor Santa Cruz, a religious icon revered throughout Mexico. Since their traditional pilgrimage coincides with the ripening of the fruit of G. van-hyningii, they take the opportunity to harvest the fruits. As evidence of this, the tops of over 100 mature specimens, examined in mid-July of 1999, had been "lopped" off with machetes at the level of the leaf axils in order to free the fruits from the sharp, spiny leaves. As new growth was already sprouting, this method does not appear to permanently damage the plant.
The species differs from G. oaxacana in several ways. Plants of G. oaxacana grow in densely populated colonies, whereas those of G. van-hyningii are more widely dispersed: The slightly longer, arched leaves of G. van-hyningii, reaching over a meter in length, are recurved rather than drooped, and have sharp, dark, serrated teeth that are somewhat larger than those of G. oaxacana.
In contrast to the ovate sheaths of G. oaxacana, those of G. van-hyningii are elliptic and distinctly castaneous. Both species produce small, edible fruits. Although the fruit of G. oaxacana neither tastes like nor resembles the commercially-grown pineapple of Ananas comosus, the Maya, nevertheless, refer to greigias collectively as "la pina silvestre" or "la pina de monte." As mentioned above, their use of these sobriquets first alerted us to the possible presence of fruiting bromeliads. But, like Van Hyning when he first discovered the species that was named in his honor, we will have to return at another time of the year in order to see G. van-hyningii in flower and taste the fruit.
The future outlook for the perpetuation of both species of Greigia in Chiapas is favorable. Because the fruits nestle deep in the spiny sheaths of both G. oaxacana and G. van-hyningii, harvesting requires considerable effort for the amount of food gained. Thus, the Maya of Highland Chiapas gather them more opportunistically as a welcomed refreshment than as a commodity to sell in local markets. In addition, the locations of the plants offer some inherent protection from destruction. G. oaxacana grows within the confines of a nature reserve, and G. van-hyningii thrives along the isolated summit of a mountain considered sacred by a large community of Maya who appear determined to safeguard the site for their traditional religious rites.
. —SeeSmith & Downs 1979
