Hey guys,
Of the three described 'spineless' Hechtias (well, there are also the debatable lindmanioides and purpusii also...), tillandsioides is the smallest and lundelliorum is the largest, with caerulea in between but still a bit larger than tillandsioides.
From Smith&Downs:
Inflorescence:
till. - <1m tall
caer. - >2m tall
lund. - >1m tall
Leaves:
till. - 20-30cm long
caer. - nearly 1m long
lund. - more than 1m long
Some people (more knowledgeable in this area than me) seem to consider caerulea not to be a different species. Somewhere I also saw that the female flower is supposed to be white while the male flower has some color for tillandsioides.
Now, reflecting on what all I saw, I wouldn't be able to say anything for sure. Using lundelliorum certainly feels like 'safe' bet. We saw several populations that did have some size range between each other. I would lean toward saying that there were local cultural influences that would account for the size range. That and simple genetic variability. The populations were fairly widespread, also ranging from 700 to 1600m elevation (and I am sure we didn't find the vertical extremes in either direction). The current trend in the Hechtias seems to be lumping as they are studied further and the range of variability of each species is documented.
We didn't see anything in habitat that I would claim to be tillandsioides. But all of the 'spineless' Hechtias are in the same region (Veracruz, Hidalgo, Mexico, Queretaro, and SLP). There is a lot more to study. Kind of fun and exciting if you ask me...even if it is a bit frustrating at times.
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