Pitcairnia spicata (Lam.) Mez

Pitcairnia spicata (Lam.) Mez, in DC. Monog
Phan. 9:392. 1896.
Bromelia spicata Lam. Encyc. 1: 146. 1783.
Pitcairnia latifolia Redout^, Lil. pi. 74. 1804.
Pitcairnia hracteata a Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. 2: 202. 1811.
Pitcairnia racemosa Woodf.; Schultes. in R. & S. Syst. Veg. 7: 1245, as synonym. 1830.
Pitcairnia fulgens Decaisne; A. Dietr. AUg. Gart. 19: 25. 1S51.
Pitcairnia Gireoudiana A. Dietr. Allg. Gart. 21: 105. Ap 1853.
Pitcairnia bracteola V3.T. fulgens Regel. Gartenflora 2: 163. 1853.
? Billhergia bifrons Lindl. Jour. Hort. Sec. Lond. 8: 54. Je 1853.
Pitcairnia bracteata var. Gireaudiana Beer, Bromel. 51. 1857.
Billhergia pyramidata Beer, Bromel. 123. 1857.
Pitcairnia commutata Regel, Gartenflora 16: 289. 1867.
Pitcairnia bracteata var. commutata Regel, Gartenflora 17: 8. 1868.
Hepelis spicata Mez, in DC. Monog. Phan. 9: 974. 1896.
Stemless, up to 8 dm. high ; leaves all alike, persistent, many in a dense fasciculate rosette, 4-6 dm. long, entire or the sheaths of the outer ones spinose-serrate, only the outer ones at all contracted between sheath and blade; sheaths ovate, conspicuous, brov/n-lepidote; blades linear, acuminate, 20-35 mm. wide, glabrous above at maturity, pale-tomentulose-Iepidote below; scape stout, straight, arachnoid-lepidote; scape-bracts erect, densely imbricate, broadly ovate, acute, green, lepidote, the upper ones 4-6 cm. long; inflorescence simple, densely racemose, several-many-flowered, cylindric or ellipsoid, rarely subcorymbose, broadly obtuse, 6-21 cm. long, 4 cm. in diameter without the corollas, furfuraceous-Iepidote; floral bracts broadly ovate, acute, green or rarely red, the upper ones about three-fourths as long as the sepals ; flowers much decurved at anthesis ; pedicels strict, about 8 mm. long ; sepals lance-oblong, obtuse and slightly cucullate, 20-22 mm. long, 5.5 mm. wide, more or less carinate toward the apex, glabrous; petals linear, acute, up to 48 mm. long, exceeding the stamens, bearing a large ovate entire or dentate scale at the base; pistil barely exserted; ovary two-thirds superior; ovules caudate. Type locality: Martinique.
Distribution: Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique.