Tillandsia baileyi

Rose ex Small

Flora of the Southeastern United States 246, 1328. 1903.

Illustrated
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 22.

Plants usually several individuals in cluster, flowering to 20–40 cm. Stems short. Leaves 6–14 in small rosette, many-ranked, slightly contorted, gray-green to silver, 5–40 × 0.3–0.7 cm, densely appressed-grayish-scaly; sheath pale to nearly chestnut brown within, ovate, conspicuously inflated, passing gradually into blade, forming small pseudobulb, 1.5–2.5 cm wide; blade linear, semisucculent, margins involute, apex acute. Inflorescences: scape conspicuous, erect or ascending, 7–15 cm, 2–3 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect to spreading, like leaves but smaller; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; spikes usually ascending, pinnate, linear, compressed, 3–7 × 0.6–1 cm, apex acute to obtuse; branches rarely 1–2. Floral bracts imbricate, erect, pink to dark rose, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, not keeled, 1.5–2.3 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex broadly acute, surfaces densely grayish-scaly. Flowers 5–15, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair short-connate, lanceolate, keeled, 1.3–1.6 cm, papery, prominently veined, apex acute, surfaces scaly; corolla tubular; petals erect, purple, ligulate, to 3 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. Fruits 2.5–4 cm.


Phenology: Flowering spring.
Habitat: Epiphytic in dry thickets, woods
Elevation: 5–100 m

Discussion

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.