Druid Revisited

It's amazing how a simple plant with simple flower spike can be so beautiful. I manage to capture it in full bloom before all the 3 flower spikes were spent.

A chandelier?

Just sharing my T. funckiana coming into bloom. It's amazing how a simple plant can grow to such wonderful shape. All frosty white with red flowers emerging out. Looks like light bulbs for a chandelier! Hmmmmm..................

A fasciculata hybrid

When I initially got this plant., I never really expect it to have horizontal banding like an Aech. chantinii. Interestingly the banding become more prominant as the plant mature. Now, after many years of waiting, it finally came into bloom. The inflorescent is somewhat pulled down to the center suggesting certain characteristic like ionantha. But to my surprise, this plant do carry fully erect multispikes of a fasciculata.

A robust growing plant which appreciate good sunlight and plenty of space. Nice coral red inflorescence. I haven't seen the true flower yet to determine it's identity.

Groups in bloom

The foreground is T. roland-gosselinii accompanied by a group of blushing brachycaulos from behind. Deep green flanked with bright red.....Hmmm kinda reminding me Christmas is approaching.

Aechmea contracta

This is one interesting plant in the genus of Aechmea. The leaves are oblong with dark brown or sometimes black spots at it's leaves sheat. The inflorescensce is very pendant, usually longer than the plant itself. Have pink bract complemented with pale yellow flowers. It grow best in shady area as the leaves are soft and fleshy.

Random plants in bloom

Some blooming plants after my long absent from last posting. Mostly are ionanthas though. It seem that ionanthas are seasonal bloomers especially towards the end of the year especially in the month of Disember.

T. capitata Silver Rose.

Yet one of may other form of capitata. This variety gets a very frosty pink coloration at anthesis. A small plant with white silvery many arching leaves. Like any other capitata, there are no prominent colorful bracts to show off it's bloom.

True identity

This plant was bought in as T. ionantha X brachycaulos. I'm quite happy when it started to show sign of flowering a couple of weeks ago. Now, with the whole inflorescensce has finally emerge out I'm begining to have doubt on its true identity. I suspect this hybrid could be a cross between ionantha with caput medusae rather than brachycaulos. Note the multi spike inflorescence? That's not the characteristic of brachycaulos.

Whatever it was, it's a very succullent fat plant though. Can adapt to direct morning without any burns.

High Voltage???

This is a selected cultivar from cross of Hannibal Lector and Foster Pink Tips. A medium sized plant measuring about 15" width. A very tight plain green background leaves with many red cross banding giving this plant a kind of hypnotic effect. The only interesting character I like in this plant!

A frosty pink bloom

A hybrid of caput medusae with ehlersiana. It doesn't form any very broad pseudobulb. Look kind of like an over grown caput-medusae but the inflorescence is totally different from the typical of caput. A medium sized plant with its' velvety trichomes filled slender long leaves. Some what dry loving plant that tolerate plenty of sunlight.

T. streptophylla X ?

When I bought this plant, it was labelled as T. streptophylla X xerographica. From the initial untill now I still have doubt on it's identity. The leaves is too soft for a xerographica hybrid. I find this hybrid is leaning towards streptophylla parentage. There are no prominent formation pseudobulb but plenty of curling leaves.

Anyway, recently one of my plant is coming into bloom. Can hardly wait to see it full bloom inflorescence. Here are some photos to share with.

T. mallemontii

This plant look no difference from the ordinary T. usneoides. Actually there are few 'lost' strands of T. usneoides for comparision!. It looks kind of unattractive messy ball of weeds. But the attractive part is the voilet blue large showy flowers that makes it look unique. I have seen it being plants en mass. Just imagine a silver background with many bluish purple star.........

Not a fussy plant. It require plenty of light and regular watering. The best part is it flowers very freely.

Something Black

This is one of the blackest and darkest Neoregelia hybrids ever found among bromeliophiles. It's called Neo. Pitch Black. Very handsomel dark broad leafed plant growing up to about 15" diameter in full rosette form under bright light. I couldn't decide which picture look best. Well, just post both up for appreciation. Enjoy!

Another Vriesea

Well, couldn't get over it yet. Here's another one. It's called Snows of Mauna Kea. It's leaves have pure white base color with fine green tessalations.

Intricate leaf banding

Thought of posting other bromeliads rather than Tillandsias. Let me introduce this Vriesea. It's a complex hybrid of fosteriana and heiroglyphica. What intersting about this plant is the intricate leaf patterns with much of tessalations running across each leaves. As a whole, it creates a hypnotising spiralling effect. Most of these hybrids are famous for their leaf patterns instead fo flowers.

T. ehlersiana

This is one of the fattest, bulbous Tillandsia apart from T. bulbosa. It grows to a girth of about the size of a softball. Some may grow larger. Somewhat a xeric grower that need plentiful of sunlight to have those fuzzy looking and ofcourse the 'tennis ball' look!

It's native to the state of Chiapas, Mexico at about 700m altitude where it grows at granite gorges.

Something nice on Sunday Afternoon

Just capturing the effect of sunlight shining through their leaves. This is what I like most about bromeliads, their leaves are always glowing when hit by sunlight. The plant featured at the centre is T. tomasellii, a cousin of xerographica with longer and slimmer leaves.

T. tricholepis

One thing I like about Tillandsias is that sometimes they don't look like any bromeliads at all. This is a small caulescent plant with needle like spiky leaves. Its' appearence makes it look like a moss or lycopodium. It grow well in our loeland humid enviroment although this plant grows naturally at 2300m alt. in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.

Aechmea brevicollis.

One of the most unique form where it has distichious leaves arrangement in the genus. A small plant not exceeding 6" in overall length and height with stoloniferous growth habit. It is native in Columbia, Brazil and Venezuela at altitude from 100 to 3oom above sea level. It produces small cream yellowish flower with attractive.orange bract. Much sought after for bromeliads fancier.

T. ionantha 'Rubra'

Yet another form of ionantha. So called ionantha rubra. Few of mine is flowering right now. Here's one of it. Slightly larger and rounder than 'Peanut'. Blushes red right now!

T. ionantha 'Peanut'

Yet another form of ionantha. This form is the predessor of var. stricta with tighter leaves forming or so called forma fastigiata. Ususally this form is simply called ionantha 'Peanut' Perhaps due to it looks like a peanut. Average size is around 1-2" to the max. Blushes bright red at anthesis with bluish purple flower. A shade growing plant which appreciate wit some period of sunlight preferally in the morning.

T. ionantha var stricta

This is a narrower leaf version of ionantha cvs. Have many stiff upright pointing leaves. A slow grower that blushes to striking red color upon flowering. The average size is about 3" tall, just slightly larger than it's Mexican cousins.

T. albida

Another caulescent type of Tillandsia with stiff white leaves. It rather pup very freely. T. albida prefer to grow in full sun with somewhat dry enviroment where it inhabit on large boulders in semi arid regions of Central Mexico.

T. Amigo

One of my favourite pendant type inflorescence hybrid. Supposingly a hybrid between T. jalisco-monticola and T. rothii This hybrid was created by one of the prominent hybridiser in Tillandsiodeae sub-family, John Arden. A large plant with frosty green very recurved leaves following T. rothii. Mine gave flower early this year. Had been 8 months already and still going strong. The pictures were taken at different stages of it's blooming cycle.