Pingwing. Ixtle, Pita plant
Aechmea magdalenae
Family: Bromeliaceae
What it is like
Aechmea magdalenae is an evergreen Perennial growing to 2.5 m (8ft) by 2.5 m (8ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 2.5
Where it is found
Abundant throughout the forest, often forming dense stands. Forests and thickets, usually found at elevations below 500 metres in Guatemala.
Northwestern S. America - Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela; C. America - Panama to Mexico.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed
Countries/locations it is found in
Amazon, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, South America, Venezuela.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Fruit - raw or cooked. The fleshy fruits are sweet and very tasty. An acid flavour, they are said to be better when made into beverages. The elliptic to ovate fruits are 5 - 6 cm long, to ca 2 cm. diameter. The yellow fruit becomes orange and soft at maturity.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating: 3
A fibre of excellent quality is obtained from the leaves. It is used for making rope and twine. The leaves are retted in water, and fibre is usually extracted by pounding them on stones in running water. It is a very fine and tough fibre, much used for hammocks, bags and string.
Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.
Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
How it is grown
An understory, terrestrial bromeliad found in neotropical rainforests from Mexico to Ecuador(Croat 1978). A. magdalenae is an herbaceous perennial 1 to 3.5m in height with a typical spread of 1.5 to 2m. It has a short, stout stem with a rosette of leaves sprouting at or near ground level. Its leaves are waxy, thick, and are typically 2.5m long and 5-10cm wide. Aechmea magdalenae is a shade tolerant plant found in the understory of tropical forests forming dense colonies that can spread to 500m and be found at a density as high as 7 colonies/ha in young forests and 10 colonies/ha in older forests (Brokaw 1983). The plant has been found to grow in areas of higher sunlight, such as in ca nopy gaps and secondary forest growth, and rosette production is higher in these light conditions. However, in low lig ht conditions, leaf extension has been found to be significantly higher (Villeagas 2001) and this is important for harvest of fiber from the leaves. Aechmea magdalenae is typically found in low, wet areas (Croat 1978). Sunlight caused by gaps increases the number of leaves, but if the areas are particularly dry, leaf production sign ificantly decreases (Villegas 2001).
Propagating it: Seed
Best place to grow:
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 10-12
Growth: Slow
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Full shade, semi-shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Pita, Pinuela, Ixtle
Synonyms
Ananas magdalenae (Andre) Standl. ex Standl. & S.Calderen Bromelia longissima Pos.-Arang. Bromelia magdalenae (Andre) C.H.Wright Chevaliera magdalenae Andre Chevalieria magdalenae Andre