Guzmania bismarckii Rauh
Taxonomic Change:
- Considered a synony of Guzmania lindenii (André) Mez.
Guzmania lindenii sensu Rauh could be different from Guzmania lindenii, but the plants from Moyobamba are much similar with the type of Guzmania lindenii, that comes from N. Peru. Therefor Guzmania bismarckii is synonymous to Guzmania lindenii and the material of Oxapampa should be studied more carefully to find out if this is really differen. —See Gouda 2020b p. 2
Literature references:
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Comments:
- I first encountered Guzmania bismarckii in the area of Moyobamba, Peru, 33 years ago, in 1962. At that time, Moyobamba was a tiny town of about 4,000 inhabitants that was accessible only by weekly flights-if it was not raining. The dirt airstrip was situated on top of a mesa in the middle of a long valley nestled between the forest-shrouded mountains. Once there, if it was raining, one could sit for a couple of weeks for a flight to get out again. The only way to and from the only rickety hotel was by foot with little boys carrying luggage in wheelbarrows. It could have been a town right out of a Tolkien storybook with a large, mystical-looking, sugarloaf mountain rising from the valley into the clouds. The quaint adobe houses were covered with moss over barrel tile roofs with clusters of orchids and bromeliads dripping down into the neat yards full of exotic fruit trees equally laden.
This town ceased to exist when, in 1967, it was destroyed by a giant earthquake. Today, with the cutting of a road from the coast, it has been rebuilt into a bustling town of 20,000. The road, which extends through Moyobamba to Tarapota and ends at Yurimaguas on the Huallaga River, has brought an influx of settlers and merchants. Today, there is a twice-daily jet service into the nearby town of Rioja connecting Moyobamba with Lima, Tarapoto, and Iquitos in a matter of minutes, a trip that took me over half a day in the past in the old prop puddle jumpers.
I found the first stands of Guzmania bismarckii on my first expedition from Moyobamba across the Mayo River and over two mountain ranges to an area known to the locals as "Jesus del Monte." I had found numerous patches of that species covering several acres each in deep forest cover growing on the ground in the jungle leaf humus. They were so thick that one could not walk through them without cutting a path with a machete. These were documented by photographs taken in 1962 for Bromeliad Society BULLETIN, volume 14, pages 33-37. In that publication they were referred to as G. lindenii because Dr. Lyman Smith mistook the herbarium material that I had sent to him between 1962 and 1964 for that species.
That misidentification was unfortunate for me since in 1965 after two major plane crashes I took a long leave from plant exploration to dedicate my efforts to pre-Columbian art and Maya ruins in Mexico and Central America. When I resumed my explorations for orchids and bromeliads in 1984 I found that my discovery had been named in honor of Klaus von Bismarck by Dr. Werner Rauh and described in Bromeliad Society JOURNAL volume 34, pages 114-116.
I was the first ever to explore the Moyobamba area for orchids and bromeliads. I established a small, rustic nursery near Iquitos to cultivate and identify the many discoveries that I had made in the Peruvian Amazon since 1958. That place served as a base of exploration giving me the opportunity to go to Moyobamba often. Since then I have made several hundred collecting trips to and around that area, which has produced many new species of orchids and bromeliads for me and continues to do so. I have purchased land surrounding the old municipal airport and plan to establish my home, nursery, and airstrip there.
Miami, Florida
—See Moore 1995 p. 45(4): 159-160
- Letter to the BSI - Discovery of Guzmania bismarckii in J. Brom. Soc. 47(3):134-5. 1997
I refer to the article "The Discovery of Guzmania bismarckii" by Lee Moore in the Journal of the Bromeliad Society Volume 45 number 4, July-August 1995. I have just obtained a copy of the article published by the Bromeliad Society Bulletin in 1962, Volume 14 pages 33-37 in which Mr. Moore claims documentary proof of his finding Guzmania bismarckii, and in which he claims that Dr. Lyman Smith, an Honorary Trustee of the Bromeliad Society and one of the most respected authorities in his field "mistook" the herbarium material sent to him, a serious accusation against such a renowned man.
Mr. Moore, in his 1962 article, publishes a diary kept on a collecting trip to Oxapampa in which he says he found Guzmania bismarckii on the 29th of June "on the way down the mountain to the lower valley I found a giant bromeliad that looked like G. lindenii but it is epiphytic, whereas Guzmania lindenii is terrestrial."
May I draw your attention to several points:
1. Guzmania lindenii is both epiphytic and terrestrial as substantiated by several sources, "Bromeliads" by Victoria Padilla being one.
2. Guzmania bismarckii is only found in the Amazon jungle at an altitude of 400 m, and not in Oxapampa which is an inter-Andean valley lying at 1800 m, where Mr. Moore says he found it in his article in 1952. The two areas are over 350 miles apart.
3. I am sure had Dr. Lyman Smith been in possession of complete herbarium material with the relevant information, i.e. place of discovery, the altitude and growing habits there would have been no question of mistaken identity as the difference is so obvious. Photographic material is not accepted for plant identification.
In view of the above points, I think a correction would be in order, as an article accusing Dr. Lyman Smith of such a mistake should not be allowed to pass. I am surprised that Mr. Moore's article was published without being checked, as I was informed each article is double-checked by members of the editorial advisory board. I would appreciate you publishing this letter to correct any erroneous impression created.
Klaus Von Bismarck London
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(The letter was addressed to President Jerry Raack, who asked Harry Luther; Director of the Bromeliad Identification Center to comment on it. The following are Harry's comments.)
"I had Dr. John Kress at the Smithsonian Institute check the general herbarium for specimens from Mr. Moore which had been sent to Dr. Lyman Smith, but none could be located. It is a fact that Mr. Moore mentioned two distinct kinds of Guzmania lindenii in his early catalogs. It is possible that one of these may have been Guzmania bismarckii. The two species are very similar when not in bloom, and could easily be mistaken for each other; especially if the material presented for identification were not in excellent condition. As far as I know, Guzmania lindenii grows as an epiphyte or terrestrial at higher altitudes, while Guzmania bismarckii grows only as a terrestrial at lower altitudes in swampy conditions.
Harry Luther; Director Bromeliad Identification Center Marie Selby Botanical Gardens —See Bismarck 1997 p. 134-135
