Vriesea melgueiroi grows as a lithophyte while V. viridiflora is an epiphyte inhabiting rain- or cloud forests at 600-1,100 m. altitude
General notes from article
The genus Vriesea Lindley comprises about 300 species widely distributed in the Neotropics. It is especially well represented in Costa Rica and eastern Brazil (Smith & Downs 1977; Utley, 1978).
The Amazon basin is particularly species-poor in Vriesea, with about 25-30 species; a few of these such as V. heliconioides (Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth) Hooker ex Walpers, and V. platynema Gaudichaud are wide-ranging. Most of the Amazonian species, however, are restricted to limited geographic areas or particular vegetation associations.
The northwestern portion of the Venezuelan Guayana is characterized by the presence of large, granitic outcrops, locally called "lajas," that support a highly specialized and diversified flora. They also provide a home for a mixture of Amazonian, Guayanan, and dry-forest elements, plus an important endemic component (Steyermark 1982).
These lajas are 80-300 and even up to 1500 meters above sea level in elevation. Several of the tank-forming Vriesea species in this region tend to grow as lithophytes on the lajas under the shade of medium-height forest or thick-leafed scrub. These include the endemic V. bi-beatricis Morillo, V. sulcata L.B. Smith, V. fibrosa L.B. Smith, V. wurdackii L.B. Smith. An additional species has proved to be new to science and is described here. —SeeJ. Bromeliad Soc.
