Tillandsia pohliana
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Tillandsia pohliana

Ken Woods 06/06
Chris Larson 11/17 Large form from Gruber
Greg Jones 11/17 "Giant form"
Greg JonesU ... "T. pohliana Giant with interesting green flower bracts, from Chris Larson at the Sunny Coast Conference (ex. Tropiflora)."
Nick Rourke 12/21 pohliana Giant ex.Gruber
Greg JonesU ... "T. pohliana Giant ex.Gruber. I absolutely love this one from the subtle colours of the inflorecence to the scurfy trichome covered flower sheaths, it's up there in my favourites list.
I have another large form from Gruber coming along with a slightly more orange colour to the inflorecence."
Chris Larson 11/22



Tillandsia pohliana Mez in Mart., Fl. Bras. 3(3): 597, pl. 111. 1894.
Anoplophytum refulgens E. Morren ex Baker, Handb. Bromel. 197. 1889: nomen. Based on Morren Icon.
? Tillandsia hilaireana Baker, Handb. Bromel. 199. 1889. Type. Saint-Hilaire 508 (P ?, n v).
Tillandsia meridionalis sensu Mez, DC. Monogr. Phan. 9: 818. 1896; in part, as to names cited, non Baker, 1888.
Tillandsia windhausenii Hassler ex Rojas, Rev. lard. Bot. & Mus. Hist. Nat. Paraguay 2: 183. 1930; nomen. Based on Jorgensen 4482 from Paraguay.
Tillandsia latisepala L. B. Smith, Proc. Am. Acad. (Contr. Gray Herb. 102) 68: 148, pl.1, figs. 6, 7. 1933.
Type. Huadquina, Valle de Santa Ana, Cuzco, Peru, F. L. Herrera 3313 (US), Oct 1931.

Desc from S&D p817-9
Plant stemless or short-caulescent, flowering 15-36 cm high.
Leaves few or many, rosulate, to 28 cm long, covered with spreading cinereous scales;
Sheaths small, narrow and indistinct;
blades very narrowly triangular, 1-2 cm wide at base, strongly channeled.
Scape erect, more or less curved, slender;
Scape-bracts imbricate and covering the scape, the lower foliaceous, the upper elliptic with narrow blades.
Inflorescence simple with a few polystichous flowers, dense or subdense, 35-95 mm long, except the petals covered with spreading cinereous scales.
Floral bracts suberect to spreading, broadly elliptic, inflated, exceeding the flowers, the lower with slender blades;
Flowers subsessile.
Sepals free, very broadly elliptic or suborbicular, apiculate, broadly convex, 11-15 mm long, thick-coriaceous; (sometimes lepidote see latisepala)
Petals obtuse, 18-22 mm long, white;
Stamens included but exceeding the petal-claws;
filaments plicate near apex;
anthers linear.
Capsule cylindric, slender, 4 cm long.
Type. Pohl 3658 (holotype W, lost), Sao Miguel, Minas Gerais, Brazil. If another specimen cannot be located, Glaziou 13242 is proposed as a neotype.
DISTRIBUTION. On rocks and epiphytic in thickets and dry woods, 750-1500 m alt, southern Peru, Bolivia, central and eastern Brazil, Paraguay, northern Argentina.
PERU. Cuzco: Quillabamba, 24 Apr 1954, Rauh & Hirsch F-942 (US). BOLIVIA. SANTA CRUZ, Velasco: San Ignacio, I. S. Nelson 58-G-I4 (US). BRAZIL. CEARA: Araripe, 16 Dec 1945, Miranda 1 (IAN). MINAS GERAIS: Barbacena, Glaziou 13242 (P, GH photo); Ituiutaba, 1 Sep 1944, Macedo 51I (US); Santa Terezinha, Ituiutaba, 5 Sep 1948, Macedo 1204 (US); Patos de Minas, Cascata, 4 Sep 1950, Duarte s n (RB); Lagoa Preta, Paraopeba, 30 Oct 1957, Heringer 5799 (US); Sete Lagoas, 20 Jan 1962, Heringer 9010/1204 (US); Sete Lagoas, 18 Sep 1969, 1. B. Silva 389 (US). GOIAS: Alvorada, Rio Correntes, km 270, Brasilia to Fortaleza, 2 Ju1 1964, Pires & Silva 9901 (US). MATO GROSSO: Campo Grande, 27 Aug 1940, Foster 1095 (GH); Corumba, 19 Sep 1940, Foster 1162 (US). SAO PAULO: Monte Alegre, Amparo, M. Kuhlmann 247 (SP); Campinas, 6 Nov 1938, Trevisan s n (SP); Trevisan & Viegas s n (SP); Dois Corregos to Mineiros, Feb 1953, Pires 4468 (IAN, US); Brotas to Itirapina, 22° 17' S, 47° 56' W, 11 Ju1 1961, Eiten 3270 (SP, US); Guatapara, Araraquara, K. Friedrich 2 in part (US); 3 (US). PARAGUAY. SAN PEDRO: Primavera, Alto Paraguay, 29 Apr 1956, Woolston 668 (C). CORDILLERA: Mbocayi-guazu-ty, 26 Dec 1950, G. I. Schwartz 11370 (LIL). GUAIRA: Villarrica, Jorgensen 4482 (GH, US). ITAPUA: Encarnacion, 8 Jul 1931 , Pirez-Moreau s n (BA, GH, US). ARGENTINA. SALTA, Oran: Abra Grande, 19 Nov 1927, Venturi 5622 (GH, US). MISIONES: Profundidad, 1942, Pirez-Moreau s n (BA).

Tillandsia (Anoplophytum) latisepala, L. B. Smith, Proc. Am. Acad. (Contr. Gray Herb. 102) 68: 148, pl.1, figs. 6, 7. 1933. See above.
Caulescens, omnino argenteo-lepidotis: foliis dense quaquaverse dispositis, dense subpruinoseque lepidotis; vaginis inconspicuis; laminis patentibus., anguste triangularibus, 20-25cm. longis, ad 17mm. latis, ad apicem involutis: scapo gracili, erecto, leviter curvato, 15cm longo; scapi vaginis imbricatis, scapum omnino obtegentibus, ellipticis, longe caudatis: inflorescentia simplicissima, quaquaverse florigera, subdense ovoidea, 6cm. longa: bracteis florigeris submembranaceis, latissime ovatis, sepala superantibus, infimis caudatis, 3cm. longis, flores superantibus: floribus 22mm. longis, subsessilibus; sepalis liberis, crasse coriaceis, 11mm. longis, 9mm. latis, apiculatis, dense pruinose que albido-lepidotis; petalis ex sicco albis, angustis, obtusis; filamentis prope apicem transverse plicatis; stylo elongato, e corollae fauce emergenti, stamina paulo superanti. Pl. I, figs. 6-7.
PERU: CUZCO: Valle de Santa Ana, Huadquina, alt. 1500 m., 1931, F. L. Herrera 3313 (US, Type; phot. G).

This species is easily distinguished from its near relatives by its very broad thick-coriaceous (and lepidote?) sepals.

Detail from Baker 1889
178. T. HILAIREANA Baker.
Acaulescent. Leaves lanceolate-acuminate, 3 in. long, 1/4-1/3 in. broad at the base, rigid in texture, nearly flat on the face in the lower half, finely adpresso-lepidote all over. Peduncle about as long as the leaves. Inflorescence a lax simple multifarious spike 1-1.5 in. long; flower-bracts scariose, pale red, ovate or oblong, 0.75-1 in. long. Sepals oblong, acute, 0.5 in. long. Petals red, shortly protruded.
Hab. Central Brazil; Minas Geraes, St. Hilaire 508! (Herb. Mus. Par.) Closely allied to T. stricta.


Updated 13/11/22