Guzmania claviformis Luther was described in the JOURNAL OF THE BROMELIAD SOCIETY in 1991. The type originated from Ecuador (Morona-Santiago), but the plant is also known from Peru.
It is a very large and spectacular species. It is not readily available in cultivation however, probably due to it's large size. I vividly recall the first time I laid eyes on this large beautiful species. It was just coming into flower at Bak's nursery in the Netherlands. The inflorescence was over 1.5 m and the diameter of the rosette was over 1 m. At that time (June 1988) the species had not yet been described ( although the senior Mr. Bak had advised me that Harry Luther was in the process of describing it. )
Of course I was greatly interested in the plant. I was both happy and a bit befuddled when Mr. Bak said that I could take one home. How could I possibly get it into the trunk of my little French car without destroying that magnificent inflorescence? However, I did manage to get the plant home in one piece and my wife was dumbfounded to find me standing there in the doorway with this huge plant in my hands. I had not been in the habit of bringing flowers home to her, and now to be confronted with this! It looked as if I'd gotten a bit carried away.
Living in a small apartment, we could not keep the plant, but at least I'm happy that I could make some nice slides of the Costus (Ginger) like inflorescence. One day it flowered with two circles of flowers, which perhaps is not normal, but is nonetheless spectacular! The spike was nearly spherical and over 10 cm long.
This plant was originally collected by Lee Moore, presumably from Peru and mentioned by Harry Luther (as a paratype) when he described the species. This particular specimen has since been lost but I would love to grow one in the Utrecht Botanic Gardens, when I can get my hands on it again. I doubt that anyone would deny that it is well worth growing. —SeeGouda 2000bp. 50(3): 136-137
