terrestrial in extended populations on desert shores associated with T. purpurea, T. aff. landbeckii ( forma sterilis) and T latifolia.
Tillandsia paleacea vs. T. marconae by Walter Till in J. Brom. Soc. 43(2): 69-72. 1993
Only a few tillandsias are able to live in the coastal desert of Peru and Chile. These species are listed in the following note
When the author published Tillandsia marconae as a new species in 1985, that taxon had been collected by R. Ferreyra in the same locality in 1958, it was known to L.B. Smith and cited by him in his monograph as T. paleacea. His opinion was followed recently by that of Harry Luther. The purpose of this communication is to demonstrate that while these species are related, they can be differentiated by several characteristics.
In the vegetative state, Tillandsia marconae is of more slender habit than T. paleacea; in cultivation, the leaves are more erect, narrow, and greenish (fig.10). Those characteristics have proved to be stable after ten years of cultivation. In nature, however, the plants have a more bluish grey appearance and can be distinguished easily from the sympatric T. purpurea with its brownish grey leaves.
Tillandsia paleacea has not been found in the type locality of T. marconae, nor in its vicinity. The inflorescence of T. marconae is borne on a shorter scape, it is smaller than that of T. paleacea and is composed of 2-4 flowers only (fig. 11).
Figure 12 shows the floral details of T. paleacea (upper row: a-g) and T. marconae (lower row: h-n). The sepals of T. marconae are ovate, broadly acute, shorter but broader than those of T. paleacea, which has lanceolate sepals with round apex. The petals of T. marconae are much shorter and narrower, the blade is only half as long as the claw, the latter being rather stout. In T. paleacea the petal blade is as long as and much broader than the claw. Differences can be found even in stamens and pistils: the anthers of T. marconae are shorter and more slender, the style is slender but distinct. In both cases the throat of the corolla is very narrow and the stamens are deeply included, the anthers are located a very short distance above the stigmas and form hood, more or less. We may assume that self-pollination is possible and advantageous under desert climate conditions.
The distribution map (fig. 13) exhibits the known area of T. paleacea subsp. paleacea (black squares) and subsp. apurimacensis W Till (black dots). The isolated position of the locality of T. marconae (reversed triangle) is striking: The locality of T. kirschnekii Rauh & W Till has been added (upright triangle) as it is a narrowly endemic species evidently related to T. paleacea. Smith and Downs (1977) give further citations for T. paleacea for Colombia and Bolivia. The specimens for Colombia have been reviewed by the author in the herbaria of the British Natural History Museum and of Kew Gardens and have been found to be T. streptocarpa Baker. No exact locality is given for Bolivia. The citation represents an old collection, which could have been made in modern Peru. For these reasons, the area of distribution has been restricted to Peru in this paper. The citation for Moyobamba in northern Peru is questionable and more probably also represents T. streptocarpa. The remaining area is rather uniform with the only exception of the isolated point in coastal southern Peru.
Tillandsias in the coastal desert of Peru and Chile nSubgenus Allardtia:
Tillandsia latifolia Meyen
T. tragophoba Dillon
T. werdermannii Harms
Subgenus Anoplophytum:
T. geissei Philippi.
Subgenus Phytarrhiza:
T. marconae W Till & E. Vitek
T. paleacea Presl
T. purpurea Ruiz Lopez & Pavon y Jimenez.
Subgenus Diaphoranthema:
T. capillaris R. & P
T. landbeckii Philippi subsp. landbeckii
T. recurvata (L.) L. (the latter cited with reservation.) —SeeTill & Vitek 1985
