Oliva-Esteve 2001a (Article) Pitcairnia

Pitcairnia (Pepinia) leopoldii, lost for 48 years, rediscovered in Venezuelan Amazonia

Author(s):—F. Oliva-Esteve

Publication:—Journal of the Bromeliad Society 51(1): 4-6. (2001)

Abstract:—After going uncollected for 48 years the small extraordinary Pitcairnia leopoldii2 W. Till & S. Till has been encountered again by Dr. Charles Brewer Carias and fanny Brewer of Caracas in northwestern Amazonas State, Venezuela. The type specimen was collected by $.M. Roi Leopold III, King of Belgium, in 1952, near the Autana and Sipapo rivers in northwestern Amazonas State. King Leopold visited Venezuela at the invitation of the Secretary of the Belgian Embassy in Caracas, Napoleon Dupuy, and his friend Frank Risquez Iribarren. Among other activities, he was taken to view the famous landscapes and sunrises in the area known as Los Llanos (The flat-lands). It is said that at a precise time of the year, the sun and moon can be seen at the same time, creating an unsurpassed combination of sunrise and moonset of extraordinary beauty.