In the summer of 1980, 2 plants flowered at the same time and I was able to obtain viable seed. In May, 1981, the seeds matured, were sown, and the young plants produced assure the further distribution of this very attractive new species.
In the fall of 1977, I received from Mrs. Amanda Bleher of "Lotus Osiris" in Brazil, a piece of bark with 8 young bromeliads each about 10 cm tall growing with the little epiphytic fern: Polypodium vaccinifolium. I was fascinated by the very attractive, dense, purplish-red spotting of the leaves of the bromeliads. I fastened the piece of bark with some peat moss to a larger piece of bark and hung it on a wire in the moderate temperature section of the greenhouse. Care of the plant consisted only of fogging it with water and occasionally dipping it in a weak solution of fertilizer. By the end of May, 1979, I noticed that one specimen was developing an inflorescence, and by July, it produced flowers. Remarkably, the inner leaves lost their green color at the time of flowering so that the other coloration became more prominent and no longer was somewhat muted in its intensity because of the presence of chlorophyll. The bright, purplish-red color of the center leaves is especially attractive when light is transmitted through them. Examination of the floral organs revealed that this was a hitherto undescribed species. Using L.B. Smith's key, I discovered that its closest relative appears to be Neoregelia tigrina (Ruschi) Ruschi 1954, but it differs from that species in having symmetrical and longer floral bracts and in having sepals with awl-like tips which are bent into almost a complete circle. —SeeJ. Bromeliad Soc.
