Lance rosette

Lance rosette
Lance rosette ( Aechmea fasciata ), a funnel bromeliad with its decorative inflorescence
Systematics
Commelinids Order : Sweet grass (Poales) Family : Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) Subfamily : Bromelioideae Genre : Aechmea Type : Lance rosette
Scientific name
Aechmea fasciata
( Lindl. ) Baker

The lance rosette ( Aechmea fasciata ) is a species of the genus Aechmea in the subfamily Bromelioideae within the bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae). The specific epithet fasciata means banded and refers to the drawing of the leaves. The Greek word aechme means lance tip and this is how the common German name comes from Lance rosette. Another rarely used common name is silver vase and refers to the silvery leaf funnel. It is one of the most common species of the Bromeliaceae cultivated as house plants. There are several varieties. This species is native to Brazil , especially in the states of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro at altitudes between 700 and 1300 meters.

description

The funnel or cistern bromeliad Aechmea fasciata is an evergreen, perennial, herbaceous plant . They have funnel diameters of up to 50 cm and heights of 35 to 50 cm. It grows as an epiphyte . The tough, up to 50 cm long leaves are reinforced on the edge (as with all representatives of the Bromelioideae). The leaf sheath is 9 to 10 cm wide. The 6 cm wide leaf blade is rounded at the end, but with a 4 mm long spike tip. Large amounts of water often collect in the leaf funnels. At the natural site there are small biotopes with several animal species as well as algae and aquatic plants in many of the funnels . The leaves have whitish suction scales (trichomes) on the top and bottom; they are distributed differently depending on the variety: they can cover the entire surface or there are transverse bands with and without scales, this leads to an interesting leaf drawing. There are also varieties with yellowish longitudinal lines (variegation).

Inflorescence with reinforced pink bracts and initially blue flowers that turn red when withering

The inflorescence stem has a diameter of 1 cm and a length of 30 to 40 cm. The handsome, long-lasting, at the base branched and at the top simple, head-shaped pyramidal total inflorescences (inflorescences) are composed of annual partial inflorescences . Sit at the inflorescences showy pink bracts (bracts) that have a prickly toothed margins.

The sessile, hermaphrodite, threefold flowers are about 3.5 cm long. The three asymmetrical, 1 cm long sepals are fused into a short (2.5 mm) tube; they are pink, whitish-woolly, and dull at the end. The three 3 cm long petals have grown together to form a short tube. Two small scales on the petals (ligulae) form a feature that botanists use to distinguish them from other genera of the subfamily. The color of the petals is initially blue, when they wilt they turn red at the top and white towards the base. There are two circles with three stamens each. Three carpels are one under constant ovary deformed, the mm a diameter of 5 to 6 and having a length of 6 to 8 mm.

The floral formula is: . ${\displaystyle \star \;K_{(3)}\;C_{(3)}\;A_{3+3}\;G_{\overline {(3)}}}$

There are berries formed.

Section of an inflorescence of the 'Primera' variety. In this variety, none of the leaves, including the bracts, are reinforced.

use

The lance rosette ( Aechmea fasciata ) is a very long-flowering, very easy-to-care for houseplant that is produced in large quantities. There are several varieties and also hybrids with other Aechmea species. The variety 'Primera' from Bak (in Rijsenhout, Netherlands) is a sterile hybrid and has smooth leaf margins.

The propagation by hobby gardeners and variegated varieties is done by Kindel . In commercial horticulture, propagation takes place via sowing or plant tissue culture . To accelerate the culture and to control the time of sale, acetylene from gas bottles can be introduced into the funnel water to induce flowers .

When grown in monocultures, it is very susceptible to a fungus from the genus Fusarium that causes wilting .

Systematics

This species was named Billbergia fasciata Lindl by John Lindley . Lindl. First described in 1828 (Botanical Register, 13). John Gilbert Baker recognized that it belongs to the genus Aechmea and published the name Aechmea fasciata in 1879 (in Journal of Botany 17, 231) . In 1989 LB Smith and WJ Kress ( New or restored genera of Bromeliaceae , in Phytologia 66, pp. 70-79) separated these and other species into a new genus Platyaechmea : Platyaechmea fasciata (Lindl.) LBSm. & WJKress, this view has not caught on. Further synonyms are: Aechmea hamata Mez, Aechmea leopoldii Baker, Aechmea rhodocyanea (Lem.) Wawra ex Mez, Billbergia glazioviana Regel, Billbergia rhodocyanea Lem., Quesnelia rhodocyanea Wawra ex Mez, Hohenbergia fasciata (Lindl.) Schult. & Schult.f., Hoplophytum fasciatum (Lindl.) Beer, Tillandsia bracteata Vell.

There are four varieties of Aechmea fasciata :

• Aechmea fasciata (Lindl.) Baker var. Fasciata
• Aechmea fasciata var. Flavivittata Reitz (Syn .: Platyaechmea fasciata var. Flavivittata (Reitz) LBSm. & WJKress)
• Aechmea fasciata var. Pruinosa Reitz (Syn .: Platyaechmea fasciata var. Pruinosa (Reitz) LBSm. & WJKress)
• Aechmea fasciata var. Purpurea (Guillon) Mez (Syn .: Billbergia rhodocyanea var. Purpurea Guillon, Platyaechmea fasciata var. Purpurea (Guillon) LBSm. & WJKress)

photos

• Play media file

  Time lapse video of the flower

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  Pink inflorescence of an Aechmea fasciata with blue flowers (only the gray-looking leaf belongs to this species)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Marketing information from the Flower Council of Holland. ( Memento of the original from July 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Maintenance description  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Patent of the 'Primera' variety.

literature

• Werner Rauh : Bromeliads - Tillandsias and other culturally worthy bromeliads , Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-8001-6371-3
• Lyman B. Smith & Robert Jack Downs: Flora Neotropica 14, Part 3 Bromelioideae , Hafner Press, New York 1979, pp. 1886-1888, ISBN 0-89327-210-8

Web links

Commons : Aechmea fasciata  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Edward F. Gilman: Aechmea fasciata , 1999: University of Florida data sheet (PDF)