de Freitas et al. 2003 (Article) Variation, Epiphyte, Brazil

Morphological Variation in Two Facultative Epiphytic Bromeliads Growing on the Floor of a Swamp Forest1

Author(s):—C.A. de Freitas, F.R. Scarano & D.D. Blesboer

Publication:—Biotropica 35(4): 546-550. (2003) — DOI

Abstract:—The epiphytic tank bromeliads Nidularium procerum (a CAM plant) and TV. innocentii (a C3 plant) can be found as terrestrial plants in the understory of a Brazilian swamp forest. They occur in segregated patches differing in light and flooding regimes; however, plants of each species are found in the other species preferred habitat in a narrow boundary zone where the two populations meet. Although ecophysiological factors were previously thought to dictate the distribution of these species at this site, we suggest that their current distribution is probably related to colonization history and subsequent competition for space.

Keywords:—Brazil, Bromeliaceae, epiphytes, flooding, Nidularium, swamp forest