Tillandsia mandonii    Morren ex. Mez         in. DC. Mono Phaner. IX 871 (1896)

 

Plant- moderately thick, less than 10 cm long.

Leaf- to 15 cm long, 3 mm thick, more or less twisted decurved, clearly distichous, sub terete, rigid, quite acute, very dense white lepidote.

Scape- slender, clearly seen, often almost equalling the leaves, dense pruinose lepidote, terete or more or less angular at the tip. Between the middle and the tip is one long acute stem bract or rarely naked.

Inflorescence- 2 flowered, dense; almost leathery bracts, dense lepidote tomentose and prominently veined, elliptic, broad rounded, to 14 mm long, equalling or exceeding the sepal.

Flower- strictly erect, sepals naked, equally free, prominently veined, with violet horizontal mid stripe, elliptic, almost rounded to 10 mm long.

 

Habitat- Bolivia betweens. Pedro and Coaconi (Mandon 1180) Paraguay one collection Miers 1367.

 

Studies in Bromeliaceae VI  p. 184 (1935) by Lyman Smith:

T. mandonii was based on very old and weathered material.  The only character in its description to distinguish it from T. crocata is the supposedly glabrous sepals but both Mandon and Miers collections show some scales still left on the sepals.