Industrial Crop: Fiber  Management: Standard  Regional Crop

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).

Carbon Farming

• 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.