Guzmania fusispica ; a Further Examination by Harry E. Luther in J. Brom. Soc. 35(6): 258, 277. 1985
The identity of Guzmania fusispica Mez & Sodiro has been difficult to determine because the type specimen, which is unnumbered, is very poor. While I have not seen the specimen itself, I have examined a U.S. National Herbarium photograph of it. Recent collections of a guzmania with pleated foliage and a simple yellow-flowered inflorescence from western Ecuador near the type locality of G. fusispica are, however, almost certain to be of this species. In addition, G. recurvo-bracteata Rauh, which occurs in the same general area, is conspecific and should be reduced to synonomy.
Guzmania fusispica, apparently endemic to western Ecuador, shows a great deal of affinity to several other Ecuadorian guzmanias. especially G. melinonis Regel. It resembles G. melinonis in foliage and inflorescence coloration, but differs in the following characters:
G. melinonis: Sepals ca. 15 mm long; floral bracts strict, erect to slightly incurved apically; scape usually longer than the leaf sheaths; native to lowland, wet forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes.
G. fusispica: Sepals ca. 25 mm long; floral bracts recurved apically; scape usually shorter than the leaf sheaths; native to premontane rainforests on the western slopes of the Andes.
Guzmania fusispica has been collected from the provinces of Pichincha, Cotopaxi, and El Oro. Several specimens flower every June at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens but do not thrive because of high summer temperatures. In contrast, G. melinonis is well adapted to the hot, humid climate of Sarasota.
Guzmania fusispica, rarely found in cultivation, is usually misidentified as G. strobilantha (Ruiz & Pavon) Mez, a totally dissimilar species from Peru. —SeeSmith & Downs 1977
