Pitcairnia brunnescens L.B.Sm.
Literature references:
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Comments:
- Detail from Manzanares 2005 p414
OBSERVATIONS. A terrestrial or semiepiphytic (climbing on tree trunks) plant, P. brunnescens is found in primary forests, most frequently near the banks of small rivers where there is no competition for space, with its long stems inclining towards the river. The stems are branched and form dense groups of foliage on the upper part of the plant. When they grow near trees, as a semiepiphyte, it forms long branched stems. Large colonies are also found near roads; road cuts, and in ravines formed by runoff from rainwater. This species has populations in both the regions of the Coast and Amazonia but is more abundant in Amazonia.
There are two types of inflorescences in P. brunnescens, both found in the provinces of Napo and Morona Santiago (on the road from Gualaceo to Limon, province of Morona Santiago). The first has spreading floral bracts after anthesis, making a subdense inflorescence; differing from the second, in which the inflorescence remains dense with erect floral bracts after anthesis.
The population growing on the banks of the Yangunts River, Ijiach Naint, in the Cordillera de Huaracayos, has red-brown floral bracts with whitish flowers, while the other collections have brilliant brown or green bracts with greenish flowers. —See Manzanares 2005
