Portea

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Portea
Portea petropolitana

Portea petropolitana

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Sweet grass (Poales)
Family : Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae)
Subfamily : Bromelioideae
Genre : Portea
Scientific name
Portea
Brongn. ex K.Koch

The Portea are a genus of plants in the subfamily Bromelioideae within the bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae). The range of the approximately eight species is limited to eastern Brazil .

Description and ecology

Habit, leaves, unbranched, upright inflorescence and flowers of Portea kermesina
Branched, loosely structured, almost upright inflorescence of Portea alatisepala
Branched, loosely structured, upright inflorescence of Portea petropolitana
Straight, upright inflorescence and threefold flowers of Portea kermesina

Appearance and leaves

The Portea species grow as evergreen, perennial herbaceous plants and are funnel or cistern bromeliads. Specimens of the same species grow epiphytically or terrestrially. There are small to large species with a funnel diameter of up to 1 meter. The tough leaves are always reinforced at the edge (like all representatives of the Bromelioideae), with a spike tip. Suction scales are mainly seen on the underside of the leaf. Large amounts of water often collect in the leaf funnels. In many funnels there are small biotopes with several species of animals, algae and aquatic plants.

Inflorescence and flowers

In depending on the species, short to over 1.7 meters long, upright to overhanging, mostly handsome, long-lasting, richly branched, paniculate inflorescences (inflorescences), the many flowers are arranged cylindrically, densely or loosely. Sitting at the inflorescences in some species bright colored bracts (bracts); they are bluish-red, there are also whitish ones.

The flowers are usually long (1 to 4 centimeters) stalked. The radial symmetry , threefold flowers . The flowers are compressed at the sides. The three sepals have grown together to form a short tube. The three petals are free above the ovary. The petals have scales (ligula) at their base. The petals are blue or blue-violet, yellowish or whitish. Birds are the pollinators of the blue-flowering species . There are two circles with three stamens each. The inner stamens are fused with the petals. Three carpels have become an under constant ovary grown.

The flower formula is:

The low-juice berries are often strongly colored when ripe; red to blue dominate here. The fruits are eaten by animals (especially birds , less often bats and monkeys ). The seeds are excreted undigested and get onto branches with the excrement.

Systematics and distribution

The derivation of the generic name Portea is not certain.

The distribution area of the genus Portea is limited to eastern Brazil .

There have been around eight Portea species since 2007 (as of 2014):

  • Portea alatisepala Philcox : It only grows epiphytically at sea level in the Brazilian state of Bahia .
  • Portea filifera L.B.Sm. : It occurs only in the Brazilian state of Bahia.
  • Portea fosteriana L.B.Sm. : It thrives in the sun in the sand at altitudes of about 600 meters only in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo .
  • Portea grandiflora Philcox : It only grows epiphytically in the Brazilian state of Bahia.
  • Portea kermesina K.Koch : It only thrives terrestrially in the coastal forest in the Brazilian state of Bahia.
  • Portea nana Leme & H.Luther : It was first described in 2003 from the Brazilian state of Bahia. It thrives epiphytically at altitudes of 500 to 600 meters.
  • Portea petropolitana (Wawra) Mez : There are three varieties:
    • Portea petropolitana var. Extensa L.B.Sm. : It thrives at altitudes of around 100 meters in the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo .
    • Portea petropolitana var. Noettigii (Wawra) LBSm. (Syn .: Portea noettigii (Wawra) Mez ): It thrives at the transition from forest to coastal shrub vegetation in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.
    • Portea petropolitana (Wawra) Mez var. Petropolitana (Syn .: Portea glaziovii Baker ): It thrives terrestrially in forests and in coastal shrub vegetation in the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.
  • Portea silveirae Mez : It thrives terrestrially in forests in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Minas Gerais.

Has not belonged to the genus Portea since 2007 :

use

Due to their size, Portea species are rarely found in private collections in areas where they cannot be cared for outdoors due to frosts. But in some tropical parks and gardens and also in almost all botanical gardens you can find these relatively undemanding but decorative plants, most commonly Portea petropolitana .

swell

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jason R. Grant An Annotated Catalog of the Generic Names of the Bromeliaceae , In: The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1998. (Origin of the generic names in the family of the Bromeliaceae in English)
  2. ^ Harry E. Luther: An Alphabetical List of Bromeliad Binomials , 2008 in The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens , Sarasota, Florida, USA. Published by The Bromeliad Society International .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l In “Species Index” click on Portea at Eric J. Gouda, Derek Butcher, Kees Gouda: Encyclopaedia of Bromeliads , Version 3.1 (2012). last accessed on December 19, 2014

Web links

Commons : Portea  - collection of images, videos and audio files