Ehlers saw the plant for the first time in August 1989 in the garden of Dotterer in
Frieberg, which was an interesting Tillandsia that had been imported under the name T. orogenes from Tropi-Maya Guatemala. Already in September two plants flowered in
our collection, and it turned out that it was an unknown species. A description of the plant lies ready in my drawer since 1989, because the exact place of discovery was unknown. Mr. Dotterer was so nice and ordered extra “T. orogenes” for me. But other green funnel tillandsias were unfortunately delivered.
On a visit in 1992 to Guatemala we met Uwe Feldhoff, a plant-collector for Tropi-Maya that we knew, and he found out where the plant comes from. Unfortunately, we had
not the time to reach San Bartolome near the very remote Jocotenango.
We obtained a large number of tillandsias from a Holland Plant Company. I wrote to the gardener, sending a photo of the plant and asking whether he had this plant. Unfortunately, I never got an answer and I was somewhat sad that probably the two plants that we had in our collection, cultivated without difficulty, should be the only two around. It seemed no one had any other plants.
In 1995 Jurgen Lautner on a Guatemala trip brought home plants, that Uwe
Feldhoff had collected near Cunen and which he assumed was close to T.
punctulata or a close relative. And really this plant in a non-flowering condition looked like large version of this. Unfortunately not one of these plants flowered until
now. I did get a herbarium specimen of a postfloral inflorescence however. Jurgen Lautner and I discussed this plant at our leisure and I haggled that to me, it could be same as the plant from San Bartolome.
In autumn 1996, Wilfried Avenhuis from Steinfurt sent me a flowering plant that he had collected in Spring 1996 close to Cunen. I was happy because I was sure this was the same Tillandsia that had waited for verification since 1989. Also Dr. Till in Vienna will be happy because he will now receive additional material to the Holotype from another area already held in the herbarium in Vienna. —SeeDie Bromelie
