Racinaea contorta (Mez & Pittier) M. A. Spencer & L. B. Sm.

Tillandsia contorta Mez & Pittier; Mez, Bull. Herb. Boiss 11.3:224. 1903.
Stemless, 17 cm. high; leaves densely rosulate, forming a pseudobulb 6 cm. in diameter, convolute, subfistulose, very minutely appressed-lepidote (especially the younger leaves); sheaths broadly ovate-elliptic, brovra-lepidote, not at all violet-colored; blades 6 mm. wide, very narrowly triangular, more or less undulate-crisped, not at all spotted, canescent-lepidote ; scape slender, decurved; scape-bracts tubular, shorter than the internodes; inflorescence pendulous, about equaling the leaves, 9 cm. long, 7 cm. wide, densely bipinnate; axis slender, at length glabrous ; primary bracts very small, not attaining the lowest flowers of the spikes ; spikes densely 1 4flowered, the lower ones long-stipitate, suberect to spreading, 50 mm. long; floral bracts suberect, ovate, obtuse, much shorter than the sepals, rigid, nearly glabrous, distinctly convex; flowers suberect, sessile, scarcely more than 5 mm. long, 2.5 mm. apart; sepals free, asymmetric, broadly rounded, brown; capsule cylindric, 8 mm. long.
Type ujcality; Near Tuis, Costa Rica. Distrtbution: Known only from the type collection.

Tillandsia guanacastensis Standley, Jour. Wash Acad. 17: 247. 1927.
Stemless, 15-20 cm. high; leaves about 25, densely rosulate, 10-20 cm. long, densely lepidote throughout with gray appressed scales; sheaths 2-3 cm. wide, broadly ovate with a narrow hyaline margin; blades 10 mm. wide at the base, narrowly triangular, subulate-involute, erect or recurved; scape erect, 7-9 cm. long, almost completely concealed by the leaves, sparsely palelepidote; scape-bracts small, about equaling the internodes, ovate-elliptic, apiculate, palelepidote; inflorescence digitate or pinnate, of 2-9 spikes, equaling or slightly exceeding the leaves; primary bracts like the scape-bracts, extending no higher than the lowest flower of the spike; spikes densely 12-22-flowered, straight, nearly erect, 3-6 cm. long, about 1 cm. wide; floral bracts 4 mm. long, distinctly shorter than the sepals, convex, not at all carinate, ovateobtuse, green, sparsely pale-Iepidote, even, thin; flowers sessile, nearly erect; sepals 5-6 mm. long, asymmetric, obovate, keeled toward the base, rounded and emarginate at the apex, very sparsely and obscurely lepidote, even; petals 6 mm. long, yellowish-white; stamens and pistil included; capsule slenderly cylindric, abruptly short-beaked, 18-20 mm. long, 2.5 mm. in diameter; seeds pale-brown, fusiform, 2 mm. long, the coma white.
Type locality; La Tejona, north of Tilardn, province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, altitude 600 to 700 meters.
Distribution: Costa Rica.