Billbergia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. Description The Billbergia species are rosette-forming, evergreen perennials, usually epiphytic, occasionally terrestrial or lithotypic in habit. They are mostly medium-sized species with small funnel diameters. Most species are epiphytes, some species grow on plants, on rocks, as well as directly on the ground. Water collects in the leaf funnels. In many funnels there are small biotopes with several species of animals and algae and aquatic plants. The rough leaves are always reinforced on the edge (as with all genera of the Bromelioideae), with a spiked tip. In some species and varieties, the leaves are beautifully colored. In many species, suction scales are everywhere on the leaves, often also on the inflorescence.
They often bloom with brilliantly colored flowers with long-lasting inflorescence (inflorescences). The inflorescence often hang with terminal scape, erect or decurved. Strikingly colored bracts (bracts) often sit on the inflorescence; the color red dominates (usually with a blue component).
Flowers bisexual, sessile or conspicuously pedicellate; sepals free; petals free, threefold with a double perianth, with basal appendages, often spirally recurved at anthesis; stamens free or adnate to the petals, the anthers without appendages; inferior ovary. There are three sepals present. The three petals often have different shades of blue, there are also yellow, green and white. Birds are the pollinators of the blue-flowered species. An important characteristic that distinguishes them from other genera is that their petals curl up when they wither. The individual flowers only bloom for a few hours and can be pollinated for much less time. Most species have small scales (Ligulea) at the base of the petals. The six stamens and the style often protrude far from the flower. A large part of the species blooms at night. The flower formula is: bis
The fruits are multi-seeded berries, often heavily colored when ripe; red to blue dominate here. The fruits are eaten by animals (mainly by birds, less often by bats and monkeys). The seeds are excreted undigested and end up on branches with the feces.
Taxonomy The Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828) established the genus Billbergia in Plantarum Brasiliensium ..., 3, 1821 p. 30 with the type species being Billbergia speciosa. The genus, named for the Swedish botanist, zoologist, and anatomist Gustaf Johan Billberg (1772–1844), is divided into two subgenera: Billbergia and Helicodea. Species in subgenus Helicodea are distinguishable by the tightly recurved 'clock spring' flower petals, unlike other billbergias where the petals are flared.
Species Subgenus Image Scientific name Distribution Subgenus Helicodea Billbergia acreana H. Luther Brazil (Acre) Billbergia alfonsi-joannis Reitz from Espírito Santo to Santa Catarina Billbergia brasiliensis L.B.Sm. Rio de Janeiro Billbergia brachysiphon L.B.Sm. Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador Billbergia cardenasii L.B.Sm. Bolivia Billbergia cylindrostachya Mez Rio de Janeiro Billbergia dasilvae Leme Rondônia Billbergia decora Poepp. & Endl. Peru, Bolivia, Brazil Billbergia eloiseae L.B.Sm. & Read Colombia Billbergia formosa Ule Peru Billbergia incarnata (Ruiz & Pavón) Schultes f. Peru Billbergia issingiana T.Krömer & E.Gross Bolivia Billbergia jandebrabanderi R.Vásquez & Ibisch Bolivia Billbergia macrolepis L.B.Sm. Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana Billbergia magnifica Mez Brazil, Paraguay Billbergia meyeri Mez Brazil, Bolivia Billbergia microlepis L.B.Sm. Bolivia Billbergia oxysepala Mez Acre, Ecuador Billbergia pallidiflora Liebmann Mexico and Central America from Sinaloa to Nicaragua Billbergia porteana Brongn. ex Beer Brazil, Paraguay Billbergia robert-readii E.Gross & Rauh Peru Billbergia rosea Beer Trinidad, Venezuela Billbergia rubicunda Mez Suriname Billbergia rupestris L.B.Sm. Colombia, Acre Billbergia stenopetala Harms Ecuador, Peru Billbergia tessmannii Harms Peru Billbergia violacea Beer Brazil, Colombia, Guianas Billbergia zebrina (Herb.) Lindl. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay Subgenus Billbergia Billbergia ambigua (L.B.Sm. & Read) Betancur & N.R.Salinas, syn. Pseudaechmea ambigua Antioquia Billbergia amoena (G.Lodd.) Lindl. Brazil Billbergia bradeana L.B.Sm. Espírito Santo Billbergia buchholtzii Mez Brazil, but probably extinct Billbergia castelensis E.Pereira Espírito Santo Billbergia chlorantha L.B.Sm. Espírito Santo Billbergia × claudioi Leme - Brazil Billbergia distachya (Vell.) Mez southern Brazil Billbergia domingosmartinsis E.Gross Espírito Santo Billbergia elegans Martius ex Schultes f. Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais Billbergia euphemiae E.Morren southeastern Brazil Billbergia horrida Regel southeastern Brazil Billbergia iridifolia (Nees & Mart.) Lindl. southeastern Brazil Billbergia kautskyana E.Pereira Espírito Santo Billbergia laxiflora L.B.Sm. Espírito Santo Billbergia leptopoda L.B.Sm. Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais Billbergia lietzei E.Morren Espírito Santo Billbergia lymanii E.Pereira & Leme southeastern Brazil Billbergia macracantha E.Pereira Rio de Janeiro Billbergia macrocalyx Hooker Bahia, Minas Gerais Billbergia manarae Steyerm. Venezuela Billbergia minarum L.B.Sm. Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais Billbergia morelii Brongn. eastern Brazil Billbergia nana E.Pereira Bahia, Espírito Santo Billbergia nutans H.Wendland ex Regel Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay Billbergia pohliana Mez Minas Gerais Billbergia pyramidalis (Sims) Lindl. Brazil, Venezuela, French Guiana, Lesser Antilles, Cuba; naturalized in Mauritius Billbergia reichardtii Wawra Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais Billbergia sanderiana E.Morren southeastern Brazil Billbergia saundersii W.Bull eastern Brazil Billbergia seidelii L.B.Sm. & Reitz Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro Billbergia speciosa Thunb. southeastern Brazil Billbergia tweedieana Baker southeastern Brazil Billbergia viridiflora H.Wendland Belize, Guatemala, Tabasco Billbergia vittata Brongn. eastern Brazil
Distribution They are native to forest and scrub, up to an altitude of , in southern Mexico, the West Indies, Central America and South America, with many species endemic to Brazil.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families References
External links