This species was described in the rarely seen botanical magazine 'Senckenbergia' in 1953. It did not get much exposure until 1977 when it was treated as a synonym of Tillandsia imperialis E Morren in Flora Neotropica, Monograph No. 14, Tillandsioideae.p908-910. The description given in this Monograph is a combination of the attributes of both T. candelifera and T. imperialis. No reason was given for this action. Both writers consider the accepted practice of allowing taxa to be placed in synonymy without explanation is flawed. It causes the action to be explored again and again, to ascertain the merits for such a move.
In the late 1980's Renate Ehlers received a plant from E. Kamm in Honduras as Tillandsia candelifera which confused her somewhat because this plant was treated by Smith and Downs (1977) as a synonym of T. imperialis. In 1989, when visiting Werner Welz at the Hamburg University Botanical Garden she obtained the book 'Die Farinosae in der Vegetation von El Salvador, Cram de Gruyter & Co.1956' by Otto Rohweder. This, in turn, led her to the Senckenberg Museum and the acquisition of a description of T. candelifera, albeit in Latin!
In 1990 things started happening because the plant from E. Kamm flowered and it agreed with the description. In May 1991 a plant from another source flowered with the same attributes. In November the same year an 'odd' plant with the name T. ponderosa on the label also flowered. Again agreeing with T. candelifera and so different to T. imperialis. Something had to be done to resurrect T. candelifera to species status!
In 1994 in Selbyana in De Rebus I p35 under number 14-244.2 we see T. candelifera resurrected to species status with no explanation for this action.
Clearly we are referring to two separate species with one basically having a short stubby inflorescence and T. candelifera having a long slender inflorescence even if both could be called candle-like! Because the description of T. candelifera has never been published other than in Latin this is shown below.
Tillandsia candelifera Rohweder Senckenbergia 34: 109. 1953
Typus Rohweder Nr. 144 Herb. Hamburg. Paratypus Rohweder Nr. 145 - 146, 148 - 149 Herb Hamburg. Rohweder Nr. 147 Herb. SMF; Carlson 929 (Chicago N H Mus. 1186071) 25/2/1946
Note: Rohweder did not compare his plant with any other Tillandsia to help us understand why he considered it was unique.
