Neoregelia princeps forma phyllanthidea (Mez) L.B.Sm.[as Neoregelia princeps forma phyllanthidea (Mez) L. B. Smith]

Observations: —PHYLLANTHIDEA by Butcher August 2013
Was this a name coined by Mez or did he base it on Phyllanthidea published as a name for a genus in Phyllanthaceae (part of the former Euphorbiaceae) in 1857? Thus; Phyllanthidea Didr., Vidensk. Meddel. Naturhist. Foren. Kjbenhavn 1857: 150 (1857). This name is a synonym of Andrachne L., Sp. Pl.: 1014 (1753). Phyllanthidea could mean something like "flower of (green?) leaves" because we know that Euphorbias always have strange methods of attracting the pollinators and mostly small and inconspicuous flowers. ? Flower on the leaf? Leaflike flowers? We may have got a clue from examining Morren’s painting of Aregelia morreniana var phyllanthidea at Kew, but alas I could not afford the fee.
Whatever, in DC. Mon. Phan. 9: 79. 1896, Mez used it as a name for a variety of two species Aregelia morreniana var phyllanthidea (E. Morren ex Baker) Mez and Aregelia princeps (Baker) Mez var phyllanthidea Mez. Both species are closely related with first named becoming Neoregelia pineliana and the second Neoregelia princeps. Mez in Das Planzenreich 1935 omitted both these varieties presumably because they were sterile and of horticultural origin. In 1967 Lyman Smith resurrected them to forma status. Needless to say they have not been found since in the wild. In Journ. Brom. Soc.23: 133. 1973, Reitz claimed to have N. princeps forma phyllanthidea in the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden but his photo shows a plant with inflorescence and large bracts but not sterile. This can be explained by the plant being a bigeneric hybrid xNiduregelia which is mainly recognised by its Neoregelia type inflorescence but with enlarged floral and/or primary bracts.
Phyllanthidea cannot be linked to quilling or piping which seems to be caused by excess sugars being produced in the leaves and inflorescences causing them to be glued together. Many have claimed this can be solved by the use of soapy water or just water pressure but sometimes the particular clone is so prone to this malfunction that it has to be destroyed. Phyllanthidea seems to be linked to the actual flower being abortive but replaced by floral bracts. In a normal elongated inflorescence you can first have sterile bracts which then become fertile as you move up the stem.
This phenomenon was first brought to my attention in 2003 when Oscar Ribeiro of Rio de Janeiro sent me a photo of a hybrid that he called ‘Tour Eiffel’. I said ‘Wow’, come back when the offset does the same thing and we will look at registering it! That didn’t happen! Ten years passed and then the same happening with another seedling! I felt this needed an airing on FloraPix and only one reply came in from Franz-Georg Gruber who showed it had happened to his Neoregelia ‘Van Dourme’. Sometimes you could notice some oddity in flowering but only once did a plant show total phyllanthidea. Alas he could not reproduce this phenomenon otherwise it would have taken the trade by storm.
Reginald Deroose advised that:
“We often experience that bromeliads that are treated to bloom seem to start their generative process and then go back to vegetative. Because of that we see all kind of intermediate phenomena. Quite often we would see that the bloom is coming out but changes again into a smaller plant like structure that sits on top of the original plant. If you wait long enough and give the plant a second flower induction the second plant that developed on top of the original plant might produce a quite normal bloom spike.”
Therefore this phenomenon is accelerated by chemical means.
From David Benzing I received the following advice: “I do know that the genes that control flower differentiation are pretty labile in certain genotypes and getting leaf like appendages in place of stamens and even pistils can fairly easy to produce or occur naturally. I wouldn't be surprised if this condition persisted in offshoots (if genetically based), but if it's a result of some cultural condition then I wouldn't.”
From what I can gather, this phenomenon is not transmitted by sexual means and I am baffled how a sterile plant can hold a place in taxonomy under the ICBN rules. Therefore Neoregelia pineliana forma phyllanthidea (E. Morren ex Baker) L. B. Smith, and Neoregelia princeps forma phyllanthidea (Mez) L. B. Smith, will lose ‘forma’ status and be referred to the type in The New Bromeliad Listing http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/taxonList.php
Because ‘Phyllanthidea’ is not transmitted asexually it cannot be used as a factor under the ICNCP rules but only used as a description of behaviour. Some cultivars, like Neo ‘Medusa’ and Neo ‘Medallion’ seem especially prone to chemicals. The name ‘Phyllanthidea’ cannot be used as a Cultivar and duly registered in the Bromeliad Cultivar Register because there is no trace of either of these taxa surviving as offsets.

Historical references are shown below
Neoregelia pineliana (Lemaire) L. B. Smith forma phyllanthidea (E. Morren ex Baker) L. B. Smith, Phytologia 15: 184. 1967.
Karatas morreniana Antoine var phyllanthidea E. Morren ex Baker. Handb. Bromel. 10. 1889. Type: Morren Icon.
Aregelia morreniana var phyllanthidea (E. Morren ex Baker) Mez, DC. Mon. Phan. 9: 79. 1896.

Inflorescence changed to a tuft of enlarged colored sterile bracts.
Type. Morren Icon.
Distribution. Known only from cultivated material.

From Baker 1889
Var. PHYLLANTHIDEA E. Morren (M.D.).
Leaves tinged with brown; inner more numerous, bright rose-red, many obtuse.
Hab. Guiana. Flowered by M. Jacob Makoy, of Liege in 1874, and the variety in 1879. Allied to K. Carolinae.

Aregelia morreniana var phyllanthidea (E. Morren ex Baker) Mez, DC. Mon. Phan. 9: 79. 1896.
Obs. – Var. phyllanthidea Morr. (ap. Bak. l. c.). - Hortulanis speciosissima bracteas quam maxime auctas, fulgide rubentes, omnino inflorescentiae involucri squamis aequales sed steriles profert.
Note this variety was dropped by Mez 1935 presumably because it was only of horticultural significance but resurrected by Smith in 1955.

Neoregelia princeps (Baker) L. B. Smith forma phyllanthidea (Mez) L. B. Smith, Phytologia 15: 185. 1967.
Aregelia princeps (Baker) Mez var phyllanthidea Mez, DC. Mon. Phan. 9: 76. 1896. Type: Description.
Neoregelia princeps (Baker) L. B. Smith var phyllanthidea (Mez) L. B. Smith, Smithsonian Misc. Coll. 126:31.1955.

Outer bracts of the inflorescence enlarged and foliaceous but bright red.
Described from cultivation, no surviving material known.

Aregelia princeps (Baker) Mez var phyllanthidea Mez, DC. Mon. Phan. 9: 76. 1896.
Obs.1. - Adest varietas splendida phyllanthidea bracteis sterilibus in foliola maxima pulcherrime rubentia mutatis insignis.
Note this variety was dropped by Mez 1935 presumably because it was only of horticultural significance but resurrected by Smith in 1955.

Acknowledgements.
Thanks to David Benzing, Reginald Deroose, Uwe Scharf and many others in trying to answer my queries about the meaning of the word, phyllanthidea, and its application.

Edited from : Smith & Downs 1979. Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae) in Flora Neotropica.