3350 



TILLANDSIA 



TILLANDSIA 



TILLANDSIA (Elias Tillands was professor of medi- 

 cine at the University of Abo, Sweden; in 1673 he made 

 a catalogue of plants of the vicinity of Abo) . Bromelia- 

 cese. Mostly epiphytes and all natives of America, allied 

 to billbergias, sechmeas, guzmanias, pineapples, and the 

 like; ornamental glasshouse subjects. 



Perennial herbs, mostly of upright growth (the com- 

 mon T. usneoides being a marked exception), the bases 

 of the narrow entire Ivs. often dilated and forming cups 

 that hold water and in which utricularias and other 

 water-plants sometimes grow: fls. usually borne in 

 spikes or heads, singly beneath bracts, perfect, with 3 

 sepals and 3 petals which are twisted or rolled in the 

 bud, 6 stamens, a superior ovary with filiform style: fr. 

 a 3-valved caps, containing hairy or plumose seeds. 

 Vriesia is distinguished by having 1 or 2 scales or 

 ligules at the base of the petals on the inside, whereas 

 the petals of Tillandsia are eligulate. By some authors 

 the Spanish moss is placed separately, as Dendropogon 

 usneoides, Raf., distinguished by the habit and also by 

 characters of flower and seed. Some of the cult, tilland- 

 sias belong to still other genera. This is the case with 

 T. zebrina, which is properly Cryptanthus zonatus (Fig. 

 1120, Vol. II). This is an odd plant, producing crinkled 

 deflexed saw-edged Ivs., which are whitish beneath and 

 brown-barred above, and small clusters of white fls. See 

 p. 902, where other kinds of Cryptanthus in the Ameri- 

 can trade are described. Many species are described in 

 horticultural literature as having been intro. into cult, 

 but most of these are known only to amateurs and in 

 collections where species of botanical interest are 

 chiefly grown. In the American trade about 30 names 

 appear, many of which are to be referred to other genera. 

 The generic limits of Tillandsia, as of most bromeliace- 

 ous genera, are ill defined. By different authors a 

 given species may be placed in any one of a half-dozen 

 genera. Lately, Tillandsia and Vriesia have been 

 merged, but in this book Vriesia is kept distinct, fol- 

 lowing Mez's monograph. It is useless to attempt a 



^ftlW 1 



-fmMj. 



3816. The Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) hanging from the trees. Gulf coast 



description of all the tillandsias that by chance may 

 occur in collections. Persons who want to know the 

 species other than those regularly in the trade should 

 consult Baker's Handbook of the Bromeliacese, 1889, 

 or Mez's Bromeliacese in DeCandolle's Monographise 

 Phanerogamarum, 1896. The latter work, which regards 

 Vriesia as a separate genus, admits 248 species of Til- 

 landsia. The genus extends northward into the U. S., 

 growing chiefly in Fla., and Texas, although one or two 

 reach S. Ga., and the Spanish moss (which is Tilland- 

 sia usneoides) reaches Va. and is common throughout 



the South. The native upright tillandsias are not in 

 the general trade, but they are sometimes offered: of 

 such are T. recwrvata, T. tenuifolia, T. fascicidata, T. 

 utriculata. 



Tillandsias are grown both for foliage and for flowers. 

 The foliage is usually scurfy and sometimes blotched. 

 Many of the species are very showy when in bloom, 

 sending up strong central clusters of blue, violet, red, 

 yellow, or white flowers. In nature, the seeds are 

 carried in the wind by means of the soft hairs, and find 

 lodgment on trees, where the plants grow. A few 

 species, however, grow on the ground. In cultivation, 

 most of the species are treated as pot-plants. The 

 growing season is summer. In winter the plants should 

 be kept nearly dormant, although not completely dry. 

 They need a warm temperature and plenty of light 

 while growing. Give a soil rich in peat. In some cases 

 sphagnum may be added to advantage. Propagation is 

 by suckers; also by seeds. For further cultural notes, 

 consult Billbergia. 



A. Plant-body slender and hanging: fls. solitary in 



If.-axils. 



usneoides, Linn. SPANISH, FLORIDA, or LONG Moss. 

 Figs.. 3816, 3817. Whole plant hoary-gray, hanging 

 from trees, the sts. very slender and often several feet 

 long: Ivs. scattered, narrow-linear, 1-3 in. long: fls. 

 solitary in the If .-axils, small and not showy, the petals 

 yellow and reflexed at the end. Trop. Amer. and in the 

 U. S. from Texas to Fla. and E. Va.; extends southward 

 to S.Brazil. B.M. 6309. Gn. 37, p. 221. Gt, 45, p. 267. 

 This is one of the most characteristic plants of our 

 southern regions. In moist regions it gives a most 

 weird aspect to the forests. It is used as a packing 

 material, and also, when specially prepared, for 

 upholstery. It is rarely cult., although it is not uncom- 

 mon in greenhouses, being hung on branches and 

 beams; but it must be renewed frequently. The plant 

 is named for its resemblance to the lichen Usnea. 



AA. Plant-body stiff and nearly 



or quite erect. 

 B. Stamens shorter than the 



petals. 



c. Fls. few in the cluster. 

 recurvata, Linn. (T. Bdrtramii, 

 Ell., at least in part). A few 

 inches high, tufted, with scurfy 

 terete or filiform recurved 2- 

 ranked Ivs.: fls. 1-5 on spike 

 that is sheathed at the base but 

 naked above, the corolla blue 

 and exceeding the calyx. Fla. to 

 Argentina and Chile. 



cc. Fls. many, distichous. 

 anceps, Lodd. (Vriesia dnceps, 

 Lem.). Erect, the fl.-st. 6^12 

 in. tall and bearing a spike with 

 large distichous green bracts 

 from which small blue fls. emerge : 

 Ivs. stiff, about 1 ft. long, dilated 

 and striped at the base: fls. 2 in. 

 or less long, blue or purplish, the 

 perianth much exceeding the 

 calyx. Costa Rica, Trinidad. L.B.C. 8:771. 



Lindeniana, Regel (T. lAndenii, Morr. Vriesia Lin- 

 denii, Lem.). Lvs. rosulate, about 1 ft. long, dilated at 

 the base, long recurving: spike large, the showy dis- 

 tichous bracts carmine: fls. large, much exserted beyond 

 the bracts, the large wide-spreading segms. bluish 

 purple. Ecuador, Peru. I.H. 16:610; 27:370 (as var. 

 Regeliana). G.C. II. 12:461. R.H. 1872:230; 1898: 

 206 (as var. tricolor). F.M. 1872:44. A handsome and 

 popular species. This interesting species has also been 

 described as Phytarrhiza Lindenii, Morr. 



