''Aechmea distichantha'', the Brazilian vaseplant, or vase plant, is a

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa ...

typical of

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are ...

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic charact ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, which is also native to northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Versieux, L.M., Wendt, T., Batista Louzada, R. & das Graças Lapa Wanderley, M. (2008 publ. 2009). Bromeliaceae da Cadeia do Espinhaço. Megadiversidade 4: 98-110. This plant is often used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

. The following varieties are recognized: # ''Aechmea distichantha'' var. ''distichantha'' - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay # ''Aechmea distichantha'' var. ''glaziovii'' (Baker) L.B.Sm.(1943) - southeastern Brazil # ''Aechmea distichantha'' var. ''schlumbergeri'' E.Morren ex Mez (1892) - Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay # ''Aechmea distichantha'' var. ''vernicosa'' E.Pereira (1979) - Rio de Janeiro State

Cultivars

* ''Aechmea'' 'Chantichantha' * ''Aechmea'' 'Dawson' * ''Aechmea'' 'Distibachii' * ''Aechmea'' 'Pacifica' * × ''Neomea'' 'Flame' Image:Aechmea disticantha (flowering patch).jpg, Flowering patch of ''A. disticantha'' Image:Aechmeadisticanthaepiphyte.JPG, ''A. disticantha'' as an epiphyte.

References

External links

''Aechmea distichantha''''Aechmea distichantha''
* distichantha Flora of South America Plants described in 1853 Garden plants {{Aechmea-stub