Bat pollination ofEncholirium glaziovii, a terrestrial bromeliad

The many-flowered, brush-like spikes ofEncholirium glaziovii, a ground-dwelling pitcairnioid bromeliad of the “campo rupestre” formation of southeastern Brazil, was observed being pollinated by the glossophagine bat,Lonchophylla bokermanni, in the Serra do Cipo (Minas Gerais). Nectar feeding was while hovering, and the pollen was preferentially transferred by the bat's snout. The floral pattern is chiropterophilous; unlike known tillandsioid bat flowers, stamens and style are protrusive beyond a small, persistent perigon, and anthesis, apparently protogynous, extends over several nights, with gradual onset and cease. Although various other flower-visitingChiroptera are known to occur in the…