Notes
In 1984, we obtained a plant of this striking Tillandsia with exact location details from Alfred Lau, Fortin de las Flores, Mexico, who had discovered this plant. He also gave us a beautiful photo of one of his Indian boys,with a plant in his hand whose inflorescence was almost as large as the boy himself. In 1986 the plant flowered in our collection and the flower was green with a somewhat restricted throat of the flower tube.
In 1989, Lydia and Gerhard Kohres collected at the Cerro Viejo this Tillandsia and also from Lydia, there is a photo at the location of a gigantic flowering plant. Lydia brought some plants, from which also I got some. To my astonishment one of these plants flowered violet. Later Wolfgang Schindhelm from Berlin collected further material from the same locality, leg. 25. 2. 1993 W. Sch. 2-93-32 (WU).
It now turned out that they could not predict which flower colour the plants will have, it flowered partially violet, but the other part was however yellowish green. Finally in 1994, Klaus and I drove to Zaragoza and collected the meanwhile legendary Tillandsia, Klaus & Renate Ehlers EM 942004, 15.03.94.
It was necessary that we found out whether two very similar looking plants grew at this location.
It was the last trip that I could do with Klaus. We knew the area well from our cactus days, because there is a whole range of rare and interesting cactus in this habitat, and we had traveled this area many times.
From our diary of the trip - 15. March 1994: we drive over to Dr. Arroyo towards Aramberry, ( near Dr. Arroyos we had, the year before collected T. erubescens var. arroyoensis in the snow! This variety of T. erubescens was therefore named after this place: var. arroyoensis). In Aramberry, we are glad to receive a room in the only small hotel. The next morning, we drive to General Ignazio Zaragoza and from there a very steep road after Encantada in the direction of Siberia. Here, the trees are full with T. erubescens var. arroyoensis and T. sueae. We look for a plant, that Lydia and Gerhard Kohres had collected there and from which we wanted to determine whether it could be a hybrid. Although we have received a very exact description of the place, we don't find it nor find any plant. We therefore turn back and drive to the Cerro Viejo. At the car, we measure the height: 1588 m s.m. It begins to rain. We climb to a rock-wall to find out what may be there and find two plants. We see small differences, one plant is somewhat gray and other one reddish, but it seemed only one species. We scan the rocks for a long while and collect some plants. From top to toe we are wet and dirty as we get back to the car. When we get to the hotel, we sneak quickly to our room, because we look truly awful!
Unfortunately, we had drawn lots in trying to solve this riddle of these plants because even the plants collected by us flower partly violet, partly greenish yellow. I tried to match the plants and inflorescences so I could describe them It seems there is no link other than a single factor that remained constant, which was: the green flowers had a somewhat wider opening in the throat of the flower tube and the petals were less solid.
For a long time we discussed the problem with Jurgen Lautner as to whether two different species grow near the Cerro Viejo. In 1996, he was at the location and brought us many, beautiful photos. A plant on the rock-wall flowered exactly. It had violet flowers. Also he reported that the Tillandsia is probably somewhat variable and only one single species seems there.
It must therefore be assumed that the plants, caused by unknown circumstances, that I cannot recognize so far, sometimes violet flowers and some times yellow green.
Dr. Walter Till suspected that it could be easily be about one hybrid. This is certainly one answer. At the location, plants occur on the seemingly large rock wall. In the near surroundings there are no other Tillandsis species, only about 20 km away in the direction of Siberia grows T. sueae and T. erubescens; these species do not appear to be possible parents, however.
After the plant has now been watched and examined for almost 20 years, it is about time that it is described as a new species. —SeeDie Bromelie
