Portea

Last updated

Portea
Portea.JPG
Flowering Portea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Bromeliaceae
Subfamily: Bromelioideae
Genus: Portea
Brongn. ex K.Koch
Type species
Portea kermesina

Portea is a genus in the plant family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. It is native to the Atlantic coast of Brazil.

Contents

The genus is named for Dr. Marius Porte, [1] a nineteenth-century French naturalist who died in 1866, in Manila, while on a specimen-collecting expedition for the French National Museum of Natural History. [2]

Characteristics

Portea is a small genus of New World plants, and according to the Bromeliad Binomial,[ clarification needed ] currently includes nine species. The bromeliads are endemic to the eastern Atlantic coast of Brazil, where the sea breezes, marine layer, adequate precipitation and year-round favorable temperatures can see these plants grow upwards of 5 feet (1.52 m) or taller, especially when blooms are accounted for.[ citation needed ]

They thrive in most lighting conditions, from bright shade to strong, indirect light as well as all-day sun or partial sun, being one of the bromeliad genera that does best in full sun. More light results in better leaf form, color; additionally, adequate lighting triggers repeat, annual flowering cycles, sometimes blooming twice in a year. The tall, profuse inflorescences are often dripping with nectar, and are frequented by many hummingbirds, sunbirds and other pollinators. [3]

The foliage of this genus often is quite attractive, if not simple in its lime-chartreuse green hue. Increased sunlight and slightly decreased moisture can give an appealing, “sun-stressed” reddish-bronze shade to the leaves, as can cooler autumn and winter temperatures. The length of the inflorescence is rather impressive, measuring nearly 3 feet (1 meter) long, eventually “drooping” slightly, from the weight of the flowers and berries (once pollinated), adding to the plant’s impressive stature as a whole.

As with many bromeliads, the leaves’ perimeters are lined with tiny, saw-like “teeth”, which, while not dangerously sharp—such as the spines of a Dyckia or Hechtia —, may cause an itchy reaction in the skin if contact is made. This is due to the natural presence of bromelain, an enzyme found among the Bromeliaceae and commonly used in digestive supplements. This enzyme is most prevalent, however, in pineapples (genus Ananas ), another type of bromeliad. [4]

Species

ImageScientific nameDistribution
Portea alatisepala 20090111.jpg Portea alatisepala Philcoxsoutheastern Brazil.
Portea filifera L.B. Smith Bahia state, southeastern Brazil.
Portea fosteriana L.B. Smith Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil.
Portea grandiflora flower (side view).jpg Portea grandiflora Philcox Bahia state, southeastern Brazil.
Portea Kermesiana pot.jpg Portea kermesina K. Koch Bahia state, southeastern Brazil.
Portea nana Leme & H. Luther Bahia state, southeastern Brazil.
Portea orthopoda - Marie Selby Botanical Gardens - Sarasota, Florida - DSC01740.jpg Portea orthopoda (Baker) Coffani-Nunes & WanderleyBrazil
Portea-petropolitana.jpg Portea petropolitana (Wawra) Mez Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Portea silveirae MezBahia, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais

Cultivars

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bromeliaceae</span> Family of monocot flowering plants

The Bromeliaceae 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, Pitcairnia feliciana.

<i>Tillandsia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Tillandsia is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of the Neotropics, from northern Mexico and the southeastern United States to Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to central Argentina. Their leaves, more or less silvery in color, are covered with specialized cells (trichomes) capable of rapidly absorbing water that gathers on them.

<i>Heliconia</i> Genus of plants

Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.

<i>Puya</i> (plant) Sole genus of the subfamily Puyoideae

Puya is a genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae. It is the sole genus of the subfamily Puyoideae, and is composed of 226 species. These terrestrial plants are native to the Andes Mountains of South America and southern Central America. Many of the species are monocarpic, with the parent plant dying after one flower and seed production event.

<i>Pseudolaelia</i> Genus of orchids

Pseudolaelia is a small genus belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae), the entire genus endemic to Brazil. The abbreviation used in the horticultural trade is Pdla.

<i>Neoregelia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Neoregelia is a genus of epiphytic flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, native to South American rainforests. The genus name is for Eduard August von Regel, Director of St. Petersburg Botanic Gardens in Russia (1875–1892).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithophily</span> Pollination by birds

Ornithophily or bird pollination is the pollination of flowering plants by birds. This sometimes coevolutionary association is derived from insect pollination (entomophily) and is particularly well developed in some parts of the world, especially in the tropics, Southern Africa, and on some island chains. The association involves several distinctive plant adaptations forming a "pollination syndrome". The plants typically have colourful, often red, flowers with long tubular structures holding ample nectar and orientations of the stamen and stigma that ensure contact with the pollinator. Birds involved in ornithophily tend to be specialist nectarivores with brushy tongues and long bills, that are either capable of hovering flight or light enough to perch on the flower structures.

<i>Billbergia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Billbergia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae.

<i>Puya raimondii</i> Species of plant

Puya raimondii, also known as the Queen of the Andes (English), titanka and ilakuash (Quechua) or puya de Raimondi (Spanish), is the largest species of bromeliad, its inflorescences reaching up to 15 m (50 ft) in height. It is native to the high Andes of Bolivia and Peru.

<i>Aechmea fasciata</i> Species of plant

Aechmea fasciata is a species of flowering plant in the Bromeliaceae family. It is commonly called the silver vase or urn plant and is native to Brazil. This plant is probably the best known species in this genus, and it is often grown as a houseplant in temperate areas.

<i>Aechmea blanchetiana</i> Species of plant

Aechmea blanchetiana, also known as orangeade bromeliad, is a common bromeliad species found in the restingnas vegetation along the Atlantic Coast which is part of the Atlantic forest biome in eastern Brazil. This plant grows from the State of Bahia south to Espírito Santo. It is common worldwide in tropical and sub-tropical regions for its use as an ornamental plant.

Heliconia excelsa is a species of plant in the family Heliconiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. 

<i>Dudleya pulverulenta</i> Species of succulent plant found in the U.S. and Mexico

Dudleya pulverulenta is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names chalk lettuce, chalk dudleya, and chalk liveforever. It is one of the largest Dudleya, with a silvery, waxy rosette that may greatly contrast with its habitat. It is also regarded as one of the most distinctive members of the Dudleya, with one of the most specialized inflorescences in the genus, adapted to hummingbird pollination through its red pendent flowers, the longest corolla, and the highest nectar output. Dudleya pulverulenta has the largest range of all Dudleya, over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), being found from southern Monterey County in California to the Sierra de San Borja in southern Baja California. It is closely related to Dudleya arizonica, a smaller desert species that tends to lack the specialized floral traits, and Dudleya anthonyi, which differs in a few morphological traits and is restricted to the San Quintín Volcanic Field.

<i>Puya alpestris</i> Species of flowering plant

Puya alpestris is a species of bromeliad endemic to the Chilean Andes. It is native to dry hills, rock outcrops in central and southern Chile at elevations of 0 to 2200 meters. It is one of the most southerly occurring species within the family. It is one of the few Puya species that are grown in some parks and gardens as an ornamental plant. It is more commonly known as the Sapphire Tower.

<i>Portea petropolitana</i> Species of flowering plant

Portea petropolitana is a plant species of the genus Portea, in the family Bromeliaceae.

Orthophytum magalhaesii is a plant species in the genus Orthophytum. This species is endemic to Brazil.

<i>Alcantarea imperialis</i> Species of flowering plant

Alcantarea imperialis is a species of bromeliad in the genus Alcantarea. This species is endemic to Brazil.

<i>Portea grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Portea grandiflora is a plant species in the genus Portea endemic to northeastern Brazil.

<i>Vriesea hieroglyphica</i> Species of flowering plant

Vriesea hieroglyphica is a plant species in the genus Vriesea.

<i>Tillandsia paucifolia</i> Species of plant

Tillandsia paucifolia, the potbelly airplant, is a species of bromeliad in the genus Tillandsia. This species is native to Central America, central and southern Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, the West Indies, and Florida.

References

  1. "Bromeliad Genera Etymology". Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  2. Centre historique des Archives nationales: Missions et voyageurs du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (in French)
  3. Hill, Shannon; Pyle, Melanie; Thaxton, Virginia; Thompson, Alexandra (19 September 2022). "Bromeliads: Wonders of the Tropics and Our Indoor Spaces". Smithsonian Institution . As a pollinator enters the flower to consume its nectar, pollen is transferred to it and carried to the next flower, thus facilitating sexual reproduction. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bats are among the most common pollinators, but bees are also known to visit bromeliads.
  4. http://mybscf.org/files/folders/178/download.aspx