MainDescriptionReferences

Vriesea tillii Manzan.  diagnose
plant epiphytic, stemless, flowering up to 40 cm. leaves spreading, forming a large pseudobulb, rosette 40 cm high and 30 cm in diameter; sheath conspicuous, elliptic, 13 cm long, 7.5 cm wide, dark castaneous lepidote on both sides; blade narrowly triangular, long attenuate, recurved, 41 cm long, 2 cm wide, densely appressed lepidote on both sides. inflorescence: peduncle curved, shorter than the leaves, 7 cm long, 4 mm in diameter; peduncle bracts the lower ones foliaceous, densely imbricate, 17–20 cm long, 9 mm wide, the upper pink with a big ovate sheath and attenuate blade; fertile part once-branched, curved, subdigitate, 20 cm long, 13 cm wide, densely appressed lepidote, 8–10 spikes a one distance of 8 mm, pink; primary bracts the lower ones like the peduncle-bracts, the upper ones with an ovate sheath and apiculate, 2 cm long, 1.8 cm wide, shorter than the sterile bases, erect, pink, densely appressed lepidote, ecarinate, nerved; spikes with a long sterile bracteate base of 7.5 cm, linear, acute, slightly complanate, curved, 14 cm long, 7 mm wide, densely 20–30 flowered. flowers subsessile; floral bracts ovate, acute, 2 cm long, 8 mm wide, carinate, imbricate, base and tip densely lepidote, coriaceous, pink; sepals free, lanceolate, acute, carinate, glabrous, 1.2 cm long, 3.5 mm wide, covered by the floral bracts; petals linear, 2 cm long, with two adnate ligules at the base of 9 mm long, crenulate, dark pink with white apex. stamens and pistil inserted. pistil: ovary cylindric, 3 mm long.

Edited from : Manzanares 1998. (protologue) Vriesea tillii, a New Species from Ecuador .