Androlepis skinneri

Habit and inflorescence of Androlepis skinneri.

Androlepis skinneri is the only species of the genus of the subfamily Androlepis Bromelioideae in the family Bromeliaceae ( Bromeliaceae ). The genus name Androlepis derives from the Greek words " andros " for man, man and " lepis " for dandruff. The specific epithet honors the British botanist George Ure Skinner (1804-1867), who collected this species in Guatemala.

Dissemination

The home of Androlepis skinneri ranges from Guatemala to Costa Rica.

Androlepis skinneri is found in many botanical gardens; it is relatively undemanding in culture.

Description

Androlepis skinneri is a funnel or Zisternenbromelie. It is a relatively large species with up to 1 m funnel diameters and usually 1 m rarely up to 2 m long inflorescences. It grows as an epiphyte. The tough, parallel venation, wide - lineal, usually 76-155 ( 38-172 ) cm long and 6.5 to 9 ( 10 ) cm wide leaves are on the edge slightly reinforced (like all representatives of Bromelioideae ), with a spiked tip. Saugschuppen are mainly seen on the underside of leaves. In the leaf hoppers often collect large amounts of water. In many craters there are small habitats with more species of algae and aquatic plants.

In an upright, long-lasting, branched, ährenrispigen, cylindrical inflorescence ( inflorescence ) are very short, one-to fünfblütige, Rispige part inflorescences together. The greenish or whitish bracts ( bracts ) are inconspicuous.

This species is an exception within the Bromelioideae dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ). The functionally unisexual flowers are more than short-stalked, radial symmetry and threefold. The three sepals are fused into a short tube. The three yellow petals are fused. There are two circle each with three stamens present, which are fused with the petals. The anthers have an appendage. The scaly ovary is inferior.

Flowers formula:

The fruits are berries. The fruits are of animals (especially birds, rare monkeys and of Fledertieren ) eaten. The seeds are excreted undigested and pass with the feces on branches.

Swell

• Harry E. Luther: An Alphabetical List of Bromeliad Binomials, 2008 The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida, USA. Published by The Bromeliad Society International. (PDF file, 314 kB)
• Derek Butcher: Description of Androlepis skinneri with pictures. at Bromeliad Encyclopedia of the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies.