Alcantarea regina (Vell.) Harms
Literature references:
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Comments:
- Alcantarea regina (Vellozo) Harms in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. ed. 2, 15a: 126. 1930.
Basionym: Tillandsia regina Vellozo, Fl. Flum. 136. 1829.
Vriesea regina (Vellozo) Beer, Bromel. 97.1857.
Etymology: regina, Latin for queen, in honor of D. Maria I of Portugal (1734-1816) who ruled the Portuguese Empire including Brazil from 1786-1816.
Still waiting for a description of this taxon which can only be obtained from field observations because of the mix-up in the past. See comment below by Leme in 1995.
The original concept of ‘geniculata’ was broadened by Smith & Downs (1977) to include a long list of synonyms. Consequently, there was a conceptual overlapping of taxa - as can be seen from the material cited by these authors - including A. regina which, according to these authors, is a sympatric species. Although A. regina is excluded from this analysis (this species is considered, here, to be restricted to the southern part of Rio de Janeiro state, and will be discussed in the next part of this series)
Vriesea regina .(Vellozo) Beer, Bromel. 97. 1857.
Tillandsia regina Vellozo, Fl. Flum. 136. 1825; Icon. 3: pl. 142, 1831.
Tillandsia blokii Hemsley, Bot. Mag. 134: pl. 8192.1908. Type. Brazil. Glasnevin Hortus s n (K).
Vriesea blokii hortus ex Hemsley, Bot. Mag. 134: pl. 8192. 1908; nomen.
Alcantarea regina (Vellozo) Harms in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. ed. 2. 15a: 126. 1930.
Vriesea blokii (Hemsley) Mez, Pflanzenreich IV. Fam. 32: 405. 1935.
Desc from S&D
Plant flowering about 2 m high; stem very stout, short.
Leaves very many in a densely funnelform rosette, to 1 m long;
sheaths relatively large; blades ligulate, acuminate, 15 cm wide, green with small purple spots, more or less recurved toward apex.
Scape erect, very stout;
scape-bracts imbricate, subfoliaceous, large, sometimes red, lustrous.
Inflorescence laxly bipinnate, 13-15 dm long;
primary bracts subfoliaceous, large but much shorter than the branches;
branches spreading to recurved, 2-3 dm long, many-flowered, nearly straight or slightly flexuous.
Floral bracts ovate, acute, about equaling the middle of the sepals, about twice as long as the internodes, 34 cm long, carinate, red;
flowers distichous, divergent; pedicels stout, ca 1 cm long.
Sepals lanceolate, acute, 4-5 cm long, coriaceous, red toward apex;
petals linear, acute, ca 10 cm long, exceeding the stamens, yellow, pendent at anthesis, bearing 2 large acute serrate scales at base.
Capsule acuminate, 5--6 cm long; seeds bearing coma at both ends.
TYPE. Vellozo s n, lost, if any specimen were ever made. Typification is on the basis of the description and plate, especially the latter. Sea-cliffs, Pharmacopolis (now Parati), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
DISTRIBUTION. Granite ledges from near sea level to 1300 m alt, vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
BRAZIL. RIO DE JANEIRO: Pedra do Conico, Nova Friburgo, Jan 1898, Ule 4654 (CORD, HBG). GUNABARA: by Praia de Sernambetiba, 4 Apr 1952, L. B. Smith & Mus R 6829 (R, US); Morro do Rangel by Sernambetiba, Dec 1961, .N. Santos s n. (R); 21 Jan 1968, McWilliams s n (MICH, US).
From Vriesea regina (Vellozo) Beer, Bromel. 97-8.1857.
Vries. regina Beer.
Tillandsia regina Arrab. - Flora Fluminensis, tab. 142
This plant is included here because of its inflorescence. Although the drawing is entirely incomprehensible, also there is no existing description, I am satisfied with it, and include it here.
Beer, Bromeliaceen
From Baker 1889
304. T. REGINA Vell. Fl. Plum. iii, t. 142. Vriesea regina Beer; Wawra Itin. Prin. Sax. Cob. 163, t. 36 a ; Gard. Chron. 1875, fig. 41; Antoine Brom. t. 9-10 (M.D.). V. gigantea Lemaire in Ill. Hort. t. 516. V. Glaziouviana Lemaire. V. geniculata Wawra Reise Kais. Max. 159, t. 25. V. imperialis and Hillegeeriana Hort.
Whole plant reaching a height of 8-10 feet.
Leaves 30-50, densely rosulate, lorate from an ovate base 6-9 in. broad, 3-4 ft. long, 3-4 in. broad at the middle, narrowed to the point, thin,, flexible, subglabrous, pale green with a glaucous bloom.
Peduncle overtopping the leaves;
bract-leaves crowded, with ovate- lanceolate spreading tips.
Panicle deltoid, 4-5 ft. long;
branches many, lower 1-1 ½ ft. long, spreading or ascending ;
branch-bracts green, ovate-cuspidate,
flower 6-9 in. long ;
flower-bracts green, ovate, 1-1 ½ in. long.
Calyx 1 ½ - 2 in. long ;
sepals oblong, obtuse.
Petal-blade lanceolate, white, reaching a length of 2-3 in.
Stamens as long as the petals.
Capsule oblong. 1 ½ - 2 in. long. ,
Habitat. South Brazil; forests of Rio Janeiro and St. Paulo. Collected by
Burchell in 1826 and introduced into cultivation by Linden in 1868. This is the giant of the genus. It is the type of Morren's subgenus Alcantarea, named after the Emperor of Brazil, characterised by its long narrow petal-blade and long stamens. V. gigantea Lemaire, is a form with shorter deflexed branches than in the type and more crowded flowers. V. gigantea Gaudich. Atlas, Bonite t. 70, from Santa Catherina, seems to be a starved variety of the same species with calyx only an inch long. Another very large species, 9-12 ft. high, with a very ample laxly bipinnate panicle, gathered by Roezl in New Granada in the province of Cauca, is mentioned in Haage and Schmidt's catalogue in 1872, under the name of T. gigantea.
From Harms in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. ed. 2, 15a: 126. 1930.
17. Alcantarea (Morren) Harms, Vriesea subgenus Alcantarea Morren in the writings of Mez in Fl. brasil. III. 3. [1894] 516, in DC. Monogr, IX. [1896] 614; Vriesea sect. Reginae Wawra in Itin. Princip. S. Coburgi I. [1883] 158).
Flowers similar to Vriesea. Petals ribbon like, later laxly hanging downwards and usually twisted spirally, with 1 two-part or strongly split petal appendages, or with 2 petal appendages. Seeds spindle shaped, with very long, nicely crested divided top-mop of hair and relatively short basal mop of hair (Szidat in Bot. Archive I. [1922] 42; Vriesea imperialis Morren. - Very magnificent stem forming herb, the largest of the family, from 2 to several metres high, growing on rocks; stem short or to 5 metres high, thick, crosswise-furrowed from leaf-scars; brood-base of young plants at the bottom of the stem; leaf rosette very large, leaves lineal, ½ to 1 metre long or longer. Scape long, with large many flowered panicle made from a usually long rows of spike like racemes, ( pedicels short, thick), bracts pink, red, greenish white or green; Petals yellow, yellowish white, milky white ( turning yellow later) or almost flesh-colored.
Approximately 7 species. From the Antilles (Haiti) comes apparently a not yet recollected A. panniculata (L.) Harms (based on Renealmia panniculata L.) in Plumier t. 237, which was impossibly treated by Mez under V. paniculata: in my opinion this is Tillandsia ringens Griseb. - a Vriesea of the subgenus Cylindrostachys. - Better known are the four Brazilian species often confused together from the mountains (on steep rockwalls) that are in the immediate vicinity to Rio de Janeiro, which one groups with Mez in the following manner,:
A. Floral bracts secund. A. imperialis (Morren) Harms, also in culture, Vriesea Glazioviana Carriere in Rev. Hortic. LIII. [1881] 50). –
B. Floral bracts distichous, racemes two-edged. A. regina (Vell.) HARMS (V. regina Antoine, Phyto-Icon. [1884] 12 t. 9-10) with bracts with reddish overlay, jasmine fragrant flowers with whitish yellow (milky white) petals,( V. Glazioviana Lem. in Illustr. Hort. [1867] t. 516, to 4 m high ( J. Gerome in Rev. Hortic. LXXXI. [1909] 263, Fig. 112; Bot. Magaz. [1915] t. 8596; O. Krauss in Gartenwelt XIII. [1909] 445 )
the almost same-named genus of the Compositae, Alcantara Glaziou (in Bull. Soc. bot. France LVI, Mem, 3d. [1909] 367, is without published description.
From Mez, in Engler Pflanzenr: IV 32: 405. 1935
109. V. regina (num Vell.?) Ant. Phyto-Iconogr. (1884) 12, t. 9-10; Gard. Chron. 1875, 235, fig. 41; Wittm. in Gartenfl. XL. (1891) 160, fig. 46; Gerome in Rev. Hortic. LXXXI. (1909) 283, fig. 112 (num quoque Beer, Bromel. [1857] 97?).
Tillandsia regina Vell. Fl. Flumin. III. (1825) t. 142 et in Arch. Mus. Nac Rio V. (1881) 129(?); Bak. Bromel. (1889) 227 e. p.
Vriesea Glazioviana Lem. in Ill. Hortic. XIV. (1867) t. 516, descript. exclus. et Misc. 43, fig. 2; Flor. et Pomol. 1882, 335 c. fig.
V. regina var. Glazioviana Wawra in Oesterr. bot. Zeitschr. XXX. (1880) 218.
V. gigantea Regel (non alior.) in Gartenfl. XVI. (1867) 385.
Glaziouia insignis Hort, ex Carr. in Rev. Hortic. XLVII. (1875) 330, nomen.
Plant more or less 2metres.
Leaves long very acute, tip recurved or revolute, not at all coloured, up to 1,4 m long, 0,18 m wide, not al all pruinose.
Scape very thick, covered by the sheaths of the leaves.
Inflorescence very many flowered, a metre long,
branches hanging,
flowers exceedingly distichous not at all secund;
bracts elliptic ovate, tip rounded, at least when young incurved keeled, to 29 mm long, about twice as short as the sepals.
Flowers spreading or suberect, scarcely over 65 mm long;
sepals to 33 mm long, oblong, rounded.
Petals white when young, soon becoming a dirty yellow,
sepals scarcely over 25 mm long, one ligule in 2 parts, banded.
Seed coma upper brown, lower yellowish.
Brasil: State of Rio de Janeiro, near Theresopolis (Glaziou 11685), Tijuca (Wawra II. n. 242). – is a frequently grown species in cultivation. (Butcher's notes prior to 2007)
