There’s more than cacti in eastern Brazil—Some bromeliads we encountered

Lee J Miller

Although the CSSA trip to Brazil was organized as a cactus tour, we naturally saw many plants that belong to other plant families. Most succulent hobbyists also have an interest in bromeliads, especially the more xerophytic plants like Dyckia and Hechtia, since their cultural requirements and spiny forms are so compatible with cactus culture. And while bromeliads are not at all related to cacti taxonomically, they share largely the same geographical distribution, so cactus hunters invariably encounter bromeliads in their travels, lending to their fascination.

From our very first excursion into the field we encountered bromeliads, and we would see them at most, if not all, of the habitats we visited. Our first stop took us to the restinga sand dune vegetation near Abaeté State Park outside of the city of Salvador. Here we found a Hohenbergia species that looked to me like any number of epiphytic bromeliads, but this one was growing directly on the dunes. This was most likely H. littoralis, a “pioneer plant” that helps to stabilize the dunes1. It is restricted to sandy coastal habitats in the state of Bahia.

Driving out into the caatinga we began to see members of the genus Encholirium growing on large granite outcrops. Encholiriums are terrestrial bromeliads that form dense, stemless rosettes with spiny leaves and have flowers usually born on a simple raceme. These large plants would be difficult for the windowsill gardener to maintain, and would probably tax the patience of veteran greenhouse hobbyists as well. It was difficult to determine most of the species we saw with any certainty, mainly because they were not in flower, but also because most of the larger bromeliad species are not sufficiently covered in popular literature. They are probably just too big to interest most hobbyists.

We encountered bromeliads nearly everywhere, including growing on cacti. When we stopped for a group photo under a very large Cereus jamacaru tree we noticed that it had several epiphytes growing on it, including Rhipsalis lindbergiana and Epiphyllum phyllanthus. On its lower branches were numerous specimens of the ball moss bromeliad, Tillandsia recurvata.

West of Seabra, in white sandy flats at the base of a sandstone hill, I came across a tall, vaselike bromeliad with grayish white, horizontally banded leaves. It looked to me like a Billbergia, but I had imagined billbergias to be strict epiphytes. Renowned bromeliad expert Elton Leme identified the plant as Billbergia porteana, indeed normally found growing epiphytically on palm trees. Here it was growing uncharacteristically in white sandy soil.

Visiting a small remnant of deciduous Atlantic Dry Forest (810 meters elevation, 15 km south of Vitória da Conquista on the road to Itambé) we found the very tall and interesting Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis, numerous epiphytic cacti, and some epiphytic bromeliads, including Vriesea procera.

Near Pedra Azul, on a granitic inselberg, we found a distinctive and quite attractive Encholirium species with dark green leaves and branched inflorescence. This turned out to be E. horridum, whose name refers to the viciously spined leaves.

Well represented in Brazil is the genus Bromelia. These plants are terrestrial, and, unlike many other members of its sub-family (like Aechmea, Billbergia, and Neoregelia) do not possess tank-forming leaves. We saw Bromelia aff laciniosa, with its bronze colored leaves and striking yellow fruits, growing in limestone gravel near Sao Rafael, west of Morro do Chapéu. And on a rocky hill 12 km west of Mato Verde we found an attractive and brightly colored Bromelia whose central leaves had turned a brilliant red color, an indication that it was preparing to bloom.

Though most of the bromeliads we found in cactus habitats are probably not suitable for the hobbyist collector, members of the genus Orthophytum decidedly are. Plants in this genus, also endemic to eastern Brazil, have surprising soft spines. Though the pretty rosettes are much smaller than the encholiriums we saw, they do clump to form large mats. Between the towns of Itatim and Milagres we found plants believed to be Orthophytum saxicola—pretty bronze rosettes with small white flowers.

Bromeliads are an inescapable distraction in the search for cacti, and they add significantly to the Brazilian landscape in much the same was that agaves and yuccas enhance the cactus habitats of the southwestern US and northwest Mexico, with rosettes in lovely colors, both subtle and bright. Brazil’s bromeliad treasures form a topic as vast and varied as its cacti, and they’re a joy to behold at every cactus locale.