Stolten 2023 (Article) Tillandsia [bi-lingual]

Tillandsia lucida – Nurse: Scalpel, Swab and Scissors please!

Author(s):—T. Stolten

Publication:—Die Bromelie 2022(2/3): 60-63. (2023)

German title:—Tillandsia lucida – Schwester: Skalpell, Tupfer und Schere bitte!

Abstract:—At the end of their life cycle, most tillandsias form shoots, offshoots, or “pups” for short, in order to renew themselves. All tillandsias? No. There are some that seem to exert themselves so much when they flower, that they die without producing offshoots and reproduce itself exclusively from seeds. Botanists call this behavior hapaxanthous or monocarpic and it is every cultivator’s nightmare. Tillandsia lucida is one of these killjoys and I‘d like to tell a bit about her here.