It Always Pays to Check. - by Derek Butcher Sth. Australia in Bromeletter Jan. 1996 p7
Any plant that comes from the nursery of Alvin Seidel in Brazil needs to be checked when it flowers and you can get some interesting surprises.
This concerns Neoregelia seideliana. In South Australia we have grown seed called N. seideliana from the American Society seed bank and as the plants flowered they have checked out to be within the description. It is a sort of nondescript plant of botanical interest only. So I was rather intrigued when Marj McNamara said her Neoregelia seideliana turned white in the centre as we expect a N. carolinae to turn red. Yes, I got an offset and there it is, sitting in my shadehouse, waiting! Then, a few weeks ago I read Elton Leme's article in Bromelia, the Brazilian Society's Journal, June 1995 edition, where he described a new species Neoregelia lactea. This was the first description I had seen which specified that the inner leaves were white at flowering. This caused a flurry of phone calls and I soon got a flowering specimen of the alleged N. seideliana from John Catlan and all I had to do was wait for just one flower to open. All was excitement because at first glance this just had to be the new species. The inflorescence and scape were removed, and as each piece was taken off measurements & descriptions were noted on the worksheet. Alas, I could find no compound inflorescence nor were the sepals serrate, so it was damn, damn, damn. It did not fit the official description of N. seideliana either, and I had to reluctantly admit that it could be yet another Seidel hybrid. BUT I haven't given up hope yet as I'm sending photographs and all my workings to Elton Leme seeking guidance.
In the meantime I think we should call the plant 'Milky Way' to differentiate from the rather nondescript N. seideliana.
What intrigues me is that this plant is different to so many other neoregelias but does not appear to have been used in a hybridising programme.There are umpteen Neoregelia hybrids being churned out which if the label were lost, so too would any chance be of re-identifying it! Would a red leaved Neoregelia with white centre at flowering with blue petals be different?
NOTE This plant has since been identified as N. nivea and it is un-necessary to use the name 'Milky Way'. —SeeJ. Bromeliad Soc.
