Orthophytum Beer (1854: 347)

Louzada, Rafael Batista & Wanderley, Maria Das Graças Lapa, 2010, Revision of Orthophytum (Bromeliaceae): the species with sessile inflorescences, Phytotaxa 13, pp. 1-26 : 2

Orthophytum Beer (1854: 347)

Prantleia Mez in Martius (1881: 257) . Type:— Prantleia glabra Mez in Martius (1892: 258) [currently accepted name = Orthophytum glabrum (Mez) Mez (1896: 117) ]

Sincoraea Ule (1908: 191) . Type:— S. amoena Ule (1908: 191) [currently accepted name = Orthophytum amoenum (Ule) L.B.Sm. (1955: 33) ]

Cryptanthopsis Ule (1908: 193) . Type:— C. saxicola Ule (1908: 193) [currently accepted name = Orthophytum saxicola (Ule) L.B.Sm. (1955: 34) ]

Plants rupicolous or terrestrial, stoloniferous; stems inconspicous, covered by the leaf sheaths. Leaves rosulate, patent or arching sometimes falcate. Leaf sheaths imbricate, triangular to ovate, green, whitish-green or greenish-yellow, lepidote, glabrous or sparsely lepidote, margins spinose. Leaf blades coriaceous to subcoriaceous, linear-triangular to narrowly-triangular, plane or concave, lepidote on both surfaces or sparsely lepidote, margins serrate or spinose, spines congested to sparse. Peduncles present or absent, terminal, erect, glabrous or lanate, with foliaceous bracts longer than the internodes. Inflorescences sessile or pedunculated, compound or simple. Primary bracts foliaceous or subfoliaceous. Vestigial floral bract present or absent. Floral bracts green or red, margins spinose to serrate, pungent. Flowers sessile or short-pedicellate. Sepals free, erect or suberect, asymmetrical or rarely symmetrical, acute, acuminate, mucronate or mucronulate. Petals free, white to greenwish-white, sublinear-spatulate, margins entire, with two sacciform or cuppuliform appendages lacerate or digitate and two callosities lateral along the filaments. Epigenous tube present or absent. Stamens not surpassing the petals, filaments filiform, first whorl free and opposite the sepals, second whorl adnate to the petals; anthers linear. Styles tricostate. Stigmas simple-erect. Fruits with sepals persistent. Seeds ovate and striped.