Ornamental and landscape potential of a bromeliad native to the Cerrado

Abstract

Bromelia reversacantha Mez is an endemic species of the Cerrado Biome, for which there is no published data about its ornamental potentiality. The objective was to identify the ornamental and landscape potential of this bromeliad native from Cerrado. In September 2015, researchers specialized in the field of native plants evaluated the vegetative, reproductive and aesthetic characteristics of twenty plants of natural occurrence in the Biological Reserve Prof. José Ângelo Rizzo, in Mossâmedes, GO. In a scale of zero to ten, the bromeliad received an average score of 7.1 for the ornamental aspect, being 7.4; 7.3 and 6.6 respectively for the flowering plant, plant with fruits, and plant in the vegetative stage. The vigorous size, contrast, and color of the leaves and bracts, the showy inflorescence, the flowers, and fruits were shown as ornamental attributes. Bromelia reversacantha presents several characteristics favorable to its introduction in landscape projects, suggesting the use in gardens, or as living fences/borders and in pots; as well as in ornamentation in decorative arrangements with the use of inflorescences and fruit bunches.