''Alcantarea imperialis'' is a robust

lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of bromeliad (family

Bromeliaceae 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, ...

) in the genus ''

Alcantarea ''Alcantarea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Bromeliaceae family. It is named for Dom Pedro d'Alcântara, second Emperor of Brazil. It is related to the genus ''Vriesea'' in the subfamily Tillandsioideae Tillandsioideae is a subfamily ...

''. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It was first described in 1888 as ''Vriesea imperialis'' by

Élie-Abel Carrière Élie-Abel Carrière (4 June 1818 – 17 August 1896) was a French botanist, based in Paris. He was a leading authority on Pinophyta, conifers in the period 1850–1870, describing many new species, and the new genera ''Tsuga'', ''Ketelee ...

, who dedicated it to the Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil with the species epithet, ''imperialis''. It was assigned to the genus, ''

'', by

Hermann Harms Hermann August Theodor Harms (16 July 1870 – 27 November 1942) was a German taxonomist and botanist. Harms was born in Berlin. He worked as a botanist at the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, Botanical Museum in Berlin. ...

in 1930.

Description

This large terrestrial

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

was once classified as ''

Vriesea ''Vriesea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Tillandsioideae. The genus name is for Willem Hendrik de Vriese, Dutch botanist, physician (1806–1862). Its species are widespread over Mexico, Cent ...

imperialis'' but is now recognized as part of the genus ''Alcantarea''. It can be found growing on rocky slopes in the

Serra dos Órgãos The Serra dos Órgãos ("Organ Range") is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It contains the Serra dos Órgãos National Park. Location The Serra dos Órgãos is the name of the region of the Serra do Mar in the central ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. It can tolerate dry conditions and full sunlight. Considered one of the giants of the genus, "its leathery leaves measuring 6 inches in width and 5 feet in length." It will take up to 40 years before producing an imposing red

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

that reaches eight or even in height. Its tank will hold up to of rainwater. Alcantarea imperialis PC060946.jpg, in flower Alcantarea imperialis PC060954.jpg File:Alcantarea Imperialis red form.jpg, Alcantarea Imperialis - Red Form File:Alcantarea Imperialis green form.jpg, Alcantarea Imperialis - Green Form

Cultivars

* ''Alcantarea'' 'Ajax' * ''Alcantarea'' 'Black Cinder' * ''Alcantarea'' 'Gladys' * ''Alcantarea'' 'Helenice' * ''Alcantarea'' 'Purple Skotak' * ''Alcantarea'' 'Silver Plum' * ''Alcantarea'' 'Tarawera' * ''Alcantarea'' 'Totara Orange'

References

*
BSI Cultivar Registry
Retrieved 11 October 2009 imperialis Flora of Brazil Taxa named by Élie-Abel Carrière {{Tillandsioideae-stub