Tillandsia hirta     W. Till & L. Hromadnik   Pl. Syst. Evol.  147:285-287  (1984)

 

Plant- flowering 10 to 20 cm high, short caulescent, single or few branched.

Leaf- distichous, 2 to 6 cm long, dense silvery tomentose.

Leaf sheath- oval, 8 mm long, 6 mm wide, clasping the stem, densely tomentose, glabrous towards base, membranaceous, nerved.

Leaf blade- more or less recurved, ascending towards the tip, 10 to 50 mm long, base 2 to 4 mm diameter, terete, subulate-acuminate.

Scape- 10 to 60 mm long, 1 mm diameter, sub-glabrous.

Scape bract- rarely one immediately below the inflorescence.

Inflorescence- 1 to 3 flowered, distichous, 10 to 25 mm long.

Flower- subsessile.

Flower bracts- dense lepidote, nerved, ecarinate, erect, 7 to15 mm long, 5 mm wide, oval or lanceolate, acute, as long as or exceeding the sepals.

Sepal- 10 – 12 mm long, dense lepidote, lanceolate, thin, nerved, equally short connate.

Petal- yellowish, blade of the petal narrow, erect, forming a tube.

Stamen & Gynoecium- included, petals twice as long as the genitalia.

Anther- orange (1.4-) 1.7 (-2.1) mm long, 0.25 to 0.3 mm diameter; pollen same colour as anther.

Filament- pale, one nerved (3.2-) 3.8 (-4.9) mm long, inserted at base of filament.

Style- 1/3 or 1/4 size of ovary.

Stigma- inconspicuous.

Ovary- (3.8-) 4.3 (-5.2) mm long, (1.8-) 2.2 (-2.7) mm diameter.

Capsule- cylindrical, to 20 mm long.

 

Habitat- epiphytic on trees, bushes or Cactus

 

Type -Bolivia, Dept. Cochambamba, Punata near Cochabamba, 2600 m  August 1979, leg. H. and L. Hromadnik HR 5001 (WU).

 

Differs from T. gilliesii by

1. Leaves – tomentose.

2. Stem – evident.

3. Leaf blade – terete, not at all compressed.

4. Distribution area different.