Guzmania thyrsoidea Rauh[as Guzmania thyrsoidea Rauh]

Diagnose: —Guzmaniae pungenti L. B. Smith ad Columbia similis, sed ab ea differt characteribus sequentibus: Lamina tantum usque ad 80 cm longa, 5,5 cm lata apice longe acuta, sed non incrassata. Inflorescentia tripinnata, bracteae primariae basales tantum demidium metiens quam rami primi ordinis, usque ad 19 mm longae et 2 mm alte connatae, laeves enernatae. Holotypus: B.G.H. 17 643 leg. Dr. L. Muller, Turrialba (Costa Rica) (Juli 1968), in herb. inst. bot. system. univ. heidelb. (HEID). Patria et distributio: epiphytica in sylvis montium in vicinitate Turrialbae, Costa Rica.

Observations: —Similar to the Columbian G. pungens L. B. Smith but differs from this as follows:
Leaf blade only to 80 cm long and 5,5 cm wide, with long acute, however not thickened tip. Inflorescence tripinnate. Basal primary bracts only ½ as long as the primary side-branch. Sepals only to 19 mm long and only 2 mm high connate, smooth, not nerved.
Typical for G. thyrsoidea are the small, inconspicuous, white flowers with the deeply enclosed stamens and the black anthers. G. thyrsoidea shows a similar floral structure to the Ecuadorian G.diffusa L. B. SMITH, but has no other relationships.

Translated by Butcher from: Rauh 1986a. (protologue) Bromelienstudien (Mitteilung 18). I. Neue und wenig bekannte Arten aus Peru und anderen Ländern .