Pitcairnia feliciana

Description

Pitcairnia feliciana is a plant endemic to central Guinea in West Africa and is the only species of bromeliad not native to the Americas. It can be found growing on sandstone outcrops (inselbergs) of the Fouta Djallon highlands in Middle Guinea. Its specific epithet feliciana commemorates Henri Jacques-Félix (1907–2008), the French botanist who first collected it. In 1937, he discovered the plants growing on the steep rocks of Mount Gangan, near Kindia in the former French Guinea. The speciation occurred around 10 million years ago, therefore its distribution cannot be due to continental drift, the Americas having separated from Africa much earlier. The species probably originates from seeds dispersed by migrating birds. It has bright orange-red, scentless flowers with abundant nectar that are typical of other bromeliads having birds as pollinators, although no actual sighting of birds pollinating the species has been recorded yet Pitcairnia is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae. It was named for Dr. William Pitcairn, Scottish physician and gardener (1711–1791). 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. Almost all Pitcairnias are terrestrial or saxicolous, and prefer moist areas. However, many are found growing epiphytically in trees. 44 Pitcairnia species had been classified in the genus Pepinia. Pepinia was first established as a subgenus by Lyman Smith and then elevated to a genus by Varadarajan and Gilmatin based on the absence of seed appendages. A molecular study supports the view that the plants are best classified within Pitcairnia.