DISCUSSION
Canistrum triangulare is easily recognized even when sterile. In the vegetative state, it can be readily distinguished from the other species of this genus by the narrowly triangular leaf blades with long (2-7 mm), nearly black spines. In cultivation, where it has been called C. fosterianum "var. pardinum" (an unpublished name), some clones develop denser rosettes and linear leaf blades with an acute apex (Luther, 1988; Lineham, fig. 8, 1992) and prominent spines. The inflorescence of C. fosterianum is morphologically similar to that of C. triangulare; in both species it is a well-defined cup. The involucral and floral bracts of C. triangulare are vivid red and the flowers are deeply inserted in the inflorescence, as in C. fosterianum. In both species, the flowers are 40 mm long, with similar-sized, white petals; the basal appendages have an entire apex in C. triangulare and a denticulate-lacerate apex in C. fosterianum.
Endemic to the mountains of Espirito Santo, from Conceicao do Castelo, Venda Nova do Imigrante, Domingos Martins and Santa Tereza municipalities, C. triangulare is found at altitudes of 800 m or more. It is a sun-loving epiphyte, growing in the upper layer of moist Atlantic slope forest. The range of this species sets the southernmost distribution limit for the genus. In the future it may also show up in Bahia state, as happened recently with Neoregelia pauciflora, another species typical of the mountains of Espirito Santo - especially the coastal mountains where remnant cloud forests still persist.
Canlstrum triangulare is well represented in cultivation, both in Brazil and overseas, by at least three clones. It may occur in the Pedra Azul State Park, Espirito Santo, although it has not yet been officially recorded there.
Misnamed Bromeliads, 1 by Harry E. Luther in J Brom. Soc. 38(5):209. 1988
Over the past several years a number of misnamed or unnamed bromeliads well represented in horticulture have been brought to my attention. As they frequently appear in shows and sales I hope to clear up the identities of these troublemakers by means of this occasional series. One way of keeping track of these notes is to make suitable entries in your copy of Victoria Padilla's Bromeliads, that indispensible companion.
• Canistrum triangulare L.B. Smith & Reitz, 1963. This plant is universally grown as Canistrum fosterianum `var. pardinum', a name of no official standing. As this species infrequently flowers in cultivation, few growers have had the opportunity to see how different it is from true C. fosterianum. At least two forms are grown: a narrow-leaf and a more common blunt, broad-leaf selection. —SeeLeme 1997a
