Tillandsia huamelulaensis Ehlers

Taxonomic Change:

• T.huamelulaensis Ehlers (published as T. ‘huamenulaensis’, but corrected here based upon the Article 60.1 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. —See Pinzon et al. 2011 p. 354

Comments:

• History:
  I travelled in February 2003 with my friends Jürgen and Uli Lautner and Manfred Kretz along the coast from Pochutla to Huamelula. We wanted to stay over night in the small hotel in Huamelula but in the afternoon we went to the Rio Huamelula to take photos of T. ionantha var. maxima. Near the road in the dry bushes and trees along the road we saw a big Tillandsia looking similar to the plant we collected near Rio San Nicolas. We saw a plant coming into spike and Manfred tried to get it down from the tree without hurting it. I was waiting near the road for him and the plant when a car stopped and a Mexican told me: what are you doing here so alone, that is not very safe for you, can I take you along? I told him that I am not alone and my friend is coming soon. And really, Manfred got the very big plant and I saw it looked different to the plants from Rio San Nicolas. It was 150 cm high and when I put it in the car the top broke off and I was very sad. In the garden of the small hotel I tried to pack the plant, but it was very big for my suitcase and I was afraid to brake the inflorescence again. So I collected some small wooden branches and fixed it along the stem and the rhachis. And at home I was very happy that the lower part of the inflorescence looked good and after some weeks flowered. And after checking intensively all the related plants I think it is a new species. I had collected one more plant which flowered in October 2004 so I could compare again. —See J. Bromeliad Soc.