This new species is only known from the type and paratype localities, south of the city of Loja, province of Loja, growing epiphytically on shrubs in the Andean Forest at about 3000 m. The inflorescence of the type was collected during anthesis and of the paratype in the fruiting stage.
nIn 1998 PROBONA (Programa de Bosques Nacionales Andinos) together with the Fundacion Arcoiris (Rainbow Foundation) of Loja financed the study of the Bromeliaceae of Uritusinga, a community close to Loja, with the idea of selecting the most ornamental bromeliads, cultivating and selling them. The intention was to protect the cutting of the primary forest and provide the community with the necessary income to live.
The participants of the expedition were: Elizabeth Patterson (Vice-president of the Bromeliad Society of Dallas), Eduardo Cueva (botanist with Fundacion Arcoiris), Pablo Ochoa (botanist with Fundacion Arcoiris), Gustavo Tapia (chief of logistics), and Jose Manzanares. On March 5, we hiked into a pasture with some remnants of forest where we found this special Racinaea, unfortunately in fruit.
The next day, Saturday March 6, while exploring the paramos Elizabeth fell and broke her ankle, and, thanks to the Military Hospital of Loja, her ankle was put in a cast (see "Behind the scenes" second picture on inside back cover of Manzanares (2005)). The severity of the break made it necessary for her to return to the U.S.A. as soon as possible. Monday was the first flight out of Loja to Quito and luckily it connected to a flight to Miami and Dallas. The remaining participants were: Eduardo Cueva, Pablo Ochoa, and Jose Manzanares. On March 15 we decided to explore the adjacent area, the Podocarpus National Park, to study the endemism and the distribution of the species. We discovered the same Racinaea found in Uritusinga, this time in flower.
In this area we also studied Racinaea tripinnata (Baker) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Sm., R. euryelytra J.R. Grant, and R. penlandii (L.B. Sm.) M.A. Spencer & L.B. Sm., along with species of Guzmania, Mezobromelia, Puya, Tillandsia, and Vriesea.
Jose Manzanares's first impression of this racinaea was to classify it as Racinaea euryelytra, because of the morphology of the flowers. In 2003 Walter Till visited the National Herbarium of Quito (QCNE) and clearly decided that it was not R euryelytra but probably a new species. After studying the type of R. euryelytra and the new specimen very carefully, we decided that this is a new species. —SeeManzanares & Till 2007
