Guess 1997 (Article) Werauhia, Mexico

Vriesea breedloveana: A Flower in Plain Brown Wrappers

Author(s):— R. Guess

Publication:—Journal of the Bromeliad Society 47: 220-224. (1997)

Abstract:—Breedlove (1986) lists eight species of Vriesea from his collecting expeditions in
Chiapas, Mexico. One of these, Vriesea breedloveana L.B. Smith, is highly visible to
travelers along portions of the 85 kilometer stretch of the PanAmerican Highway
(Mexico 190) between Tuxtla Gutierrez and San Cristobal de Las Casas. The
approximately 16 kilometer section along which the species grows in abundance is a
steeply inclined, twisting, heavily trafficked passage that affords little relaxed viewing for
a driver and few places to pull off the road for closer inspection of the plants.
Physiographically, this region is a transition zone between the Central Depression of
Chiapas and the highland Chiapas Plateau. The Central Depression is characterized by
semi-arid thorn woodlands, large portions of which have been replaced with tracts of
cultivated land and expanded population settlements. The Chiapas Plateau, by contrast, is
cool, moist, and covered with tropical deciduous trees and pine-oak forests. V.
breedloveana occupies a specific niche in the rugged terrain and rocky outcroppings of
this zone