Pitcairnia Explained

Pitcairnia is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae. It was named for William Pitcairn, Scottish physician and gardener (1711–1791).[1] The genus Pitcairnia ranks as the second most prolific of the bromeliad family (after Tillandsia). They are most abundant in Colombia, Peru and Brazil, but can also be found in areas from Cuba and Mexico south to Argentina. One species, Pitcairnia feliciana, is found in tropical West Africa and is the only member of the family Bromeliaceae not native to the Americas.[2]

Almost all Pitcairnias are terrestrial or saxicolous, and prefer moist areas. However, many are found growing epiphytically in trees.

Taxonomy

Pitcairnia was established as a genus by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1788. In 1870, Pepinia was established as a genus by Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart in a publication by Édouard André. Pepinia was reduced to a subgenus of Pitcairnia in 1881 by John Gilbert Baker, but elevated again to a genus in 1988, largely on the basis of the morphology of its seeds. The use of morphological characters to differentiate Pepinia from Pitcairnia was rejected in 1999; a view confirmed later by multiple molecular studies.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted 407 species, including those formerly placed in the genus Pepinia, now treated as Pitcairnia subgenus Pepinia.

Cultivars and hybrids

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bromeliad Society International – Genera Etymology . 2007-02-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070203011214/http://www.bsi.org/brom_info/genera.html . 2007-02-03 . dead .
  2. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=258274 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

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