MainDescriptionReferences

Aechmea trigona E.Pereira  diagnose
plant stoloniferous, flwering c; 40 cm high. leaves 8–10, green, concolorous, constricted above the sheath; sheath ovate oblong, 10 cm long, 5 cm wide, both sides green and the minutest white lepidote, forming a very adpressed subcylindric utriculum; blade subpetiolate, 25–33 cm long, pseudopetiole channelled, 2 cm wide, blade itself lanceolate 4–5 cm wide, upper side glabrous, back inconspicuously punctate lepidote, gradually narrowing towards the tip finishing with a subpungent tip, edges dense spined, spines erect green, 1 mm long. inflorescence: peduncle erect, 30 cm high, 5 mm diam., woody, purple, white floccose, 3–4 joints, internodes upper ones smaller; peduncle bracts 3–4 lanceolate acuminate, 1 cm maximum long, at first white floccose, later glabrous, pale spotted, lower ones much sorter than the internodes, upper ones longer; fertile part compound or simple, dimorphous, totally white floccose excluding the corolla, 3 spikes, 10 cm; long, basal spike 4–5 cm long, distichous 6–8 flowered; central spike 9 cm long, trigonous, c; 20-flowered. flowers three ranked; rachis excavated, hidden at the flowering parts; floral bracts ovate apiculate, the top a little asymmetric, 1 cm long, 8 mm wide, citrus, very adpressed, much shorter than the ovary; flowers* cleistogamous, sessile, before anthesis erect and almost included in the excavations of the rachis, after anthesis recurved, subreflexed, 25 mm long or longer, lateral spikes distichous, central ones tristichous; sepals ovate, tip the minutest apiculate, 5 mm long, almost free, citrus; petals linear, tip the minutest apiculate, lower half pale yellow, upper half white, 15 mm long, 3 mm wide, a little above the base with 2 fimbriate ligules. stamens 3 alternate with the petals and 3 opposite the petals joined almost totally longitudinally with the petals, filaments 11 mm long, a little flattened; anther linear, 3 mm long, base short sagittate, tip apiculate, dorsifixed towards the middle; pollen globose, 1–2-porate. pistil: style 13 mm long; epigynous tube 1 mm long; ovary cylindrical, 11 mm long, yellow, placenta joined to the tip of the angular locules; ovules few, long caudate.

Edited from : Bradea. (protologue) .