Tillandsia fasciculata
Prodr. 56. 1788.
Plants clustering, flowering to 65 cm. Stems short. Leaves 20–50, many-ranked, erect to spreading, gray to gray-green, 25–50 × 1–2.5 cm, grayish-scaly; sheath dark rust colored toward base, broadly elliptic, flat, not forming pseudobulb, 3–4 cm wide; blade narrowly triangular, tapering evenly from base to apex, stiff, leathery, channeled to involute, apex attenuate. Inflorescences: scape conspicuous, erect or ascending, 10–35 cm, 4–8 mm diam.; bracts densely imbricate, erect to spreading, like leaves but gradually smaller; sheath of bracts narrowing gradually into blade; spikes erect to spreading, densely palmate to laxly 2(–3)-pinnate, narrowly elliptic, compressed, 5–20 × 1.5–2.5 cm, apex acute; lateral branches 3–15. Floral bracts imbricate, erect, red, red-yellow-green, or green, broad (covering all or most of rachis, rachis not visible at anthesis), elliptic, keeled, 2–4.8 × 1.2–2 cm, thin-leathery, base not visible at anthesis, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or slightly scaly toward apex, venation even to slight. Flowers 10–50, conspicuous; sepals with adaxial pair connate, lanceolate, to 1/2 keeled, to 4.2 cm, leathery, slightly veined, apex acute, surfaces glabrous to slightly scaly; corolla tubular, petals erect, violet (white), ligulate, 5–6 cm; stamens exserted; stigma exserted, conduplicate-spiral. Fruits to 4 cm.
Distribution
North America, Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America.
Discussion
Varieties 7 (3 in the flora).
Selected References
Lower Taxa
Key
| 1 | Spikes of inflorescence rarely less than 10 cm; floral bracts to 3–4.8 cm | Tillandsia fasciculata var. fasciculata |
| 1 | Spikes of inflorescence, or at least their fertile portions, rarely over 10 cm; floral bracts 2–3 cm. | > 2 |
| 2 | Inflorescence laxly palmate, spikes stipitate with elongate, slender, sterile bracteate bases | Tillandsia fasciculata var. clavispica |
| 2 | Inflorescence densely palmate, spikes short-stipitate to subsessile, without elongate, slender, sterile bracteate bases | Tillandsia fasciculata var. densispica |