Hohenbergia stellata

Description

Hohenbergia stellata is a perennial species of the genus Hohenbergia. It is native to Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles, Venezuela, and northeastern Brazil (Alagoas, Bahia, Piauí etc.). Hohenbergia stellata exhibits sharp spines in its inflorescence. Flowers are purple-red and are present along the plant's strong stem, which grows up to 100 cm tall. In Brazil this plant forms a microhabitat of the tarantula Pachistopelma bromelicola. Some research suggests that the Hohenbergia stellata may actually be more closely related to members of the genus Aechmea than to other species of Hohenbergia. Hohenbergia is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. It is native to the West Indies, the Yucatán Peninsula, and northern South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil). The genus name is for the Prince of Württemberg, a German patron of botany known as Hohenberg. This genus has two recognized subgenera: the type subgenus and Wittmackiopsis Mez. Recent DNA studies have shown the two subgenera are not monophyletic, and the species of subg. Wittmackiopsis have been transferred to the resurrected genus Wittmackia.