Tillandsia tricolor Schltdl. & Cham.

Tillandsia melanocrater L. B. Smith, Contr Gray Herb. 117: 31. 1937.
Tillandsia melanopus E. Morren; Mcz, in DC. Monog. Phan. 9: 680. 1896.
Plant stemless, not over 25 cm. high, often propagating by scaly branching rhizomes; leaves very numerous in a subspreading rosette, 15-20 cm. long, very densely and finely appressed-lepidote throughout; sheaths broadly ovate, very conspicuous, deep-castaneous; blades-curved-spreading, linear-triangular, long-acuminate, pungent, 8 mm. wide at the base, flat; scape erect or ascending, slender; scape-bracts erect, densely imbricate, broadly ovate, lepidote, at least the lower ones with a linear blade; inflorescence simple or digitate from a few spikes; primary bracts like the upper scape-bracts, scarcely longer than the floral bracts; spikes variable, from narrowly oblong in outline and acute to broadly elliptic and obtuse, 4-9 cm. long, 12-20 mm. wide, complanate with flat sides, often bearing several reduced sterile bracts toward the base; rhachis slender, nearly straight; floral bracts erect, imbricate but not always concealing the rhachis, ovate, acute or obtuse and apiculate, 20-25 mm. long, 9-12 mm. wide, exceeding the sepals, three to six times as long as the internodcs, .sharply carinate, coriaceous, even, glabrous or sparsely lepidote toward the apex; flowers subsessile; sepals lanceolate, acute, 15-19 mm. long, much connate posteriorly ; petals tubular-erect, narrow, 30-35 mm. long, -iolet; stamens and pistil exserted; capsules slenderly cylindric, acute, 3 cm. long.
TvPB locality: Cartago, Costa Rica. Distribution: Cuatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama.

Tillandsia tricolor .Schlecht. & Cham. I/innaca 6 : 54. 1831
Vritsia xyphoslachys Hook. Bot. Mag. pi. 52S7. 1861.
Tillandua comftanala "Bcnth."; K. Morren, Bclg. Hortic. 22: 300. 1872. Not T. complanala
Benlh. 1846. Plalyjtachys complanala E. Morren. Belg. Hortic. 22: 300. 1872.
Tillandua xiphoslachyi Baker, Handb. liromcl. 170. 1889. Not T. xiphoslachys Griscb, 1865. Tillandsia Bolleri K. Morren; Baker, Handb. Bromcl. 183. 1889.
Plant stemless, often propagating by scaly branching rhi/ximcs, 30-45 cm. high; leaves many in a den.sc rtjsette, alwut equaling or shorter than the inflorescence, the outer ones archedrecurving, densely and minutely appresscd-lepidotc throughout; sheaths clliptic-oblong, large, deep-castaneous; blades linear-triangular, long-acuminate, 1 cm. wide at the base, glaucousgreen; scape erect, slender; scape-bracts erect, involute, densely imbricate, the lower foliaceous, the ujjper elliptic, acuminate, red; inflorescence simple and distichous-flowered or laxly subdigitate from a few spikes; primary bracts like the upper scape-bracts, scarcely larger than the floral bracts; spikes erect or divergent, subsessile, linear-lanceolate in outline, acute, cuneate, densely many -flowered, 6-18 cm. long, 18-25 mm. wide, strongly complanate with flat sides; floral bracts erect and very densely imbricate, ovate, acute, 3 cm. long, only about 18 mm. wide, much exceeding the sepals, six times as long as the internodes, sharply carinate, coriaceous, even, glabrous; flowers sessile; sepals lanceolate, acute, 2 cm. long, sharply carinate, coriaceous, even, glabrous, much connate posteriorly; petals tubular-erect, 7 cm. long, ligulate, obtuse, violet; stamens and pistil exserted; capsule slenderly cylindric, acute, about equaling the floral bracts.
Type locality: Jalapa [Vera Cruz].
Distribution: Vera Cruz. Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Tillandsia tricolor is a species of flowering plant in the genus Tillandsia. This species is native to Central America (Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras) and Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas).