NEWS East London LETTER

Bromeliad Society October 2016 South Africa Established: 25 July 2009

Our aim is to promote and encourage awareness and interest in Bromeliads in East London and all of South Africa!

ELBS is an Affiliated Society of Bromeliad Society International

September Meeting

There were 32 of us at the September meeting, a very enjoyable afternoon which was hosted by Denise O'Hagan in Beacon Bay. If you were not there, you missed seeing a gem of a garden, beautifully landscaped and immaculately maintained; there was so much to see with beautiful guzmania and vriesea growing in shady areas with lots of interesting features that are especially for the grandchildren. Thank you for sharing Our hostess, Denise O’Hagan with Dr Pete Pfister at the end of a lovely afternoon. your special place with us Denise!

Some Popular Bromeliads from the Spring Fair

The topic of the September meeting was a display and some information by the owners of the gorgeous bromeliads that drew the most attention and questions at the recent Spring fair held at Pioneer Nursery .

Dr Peter Pfister brought his Guzmania wittmackii, a stunning native to Ecuador/Columbia, the Andes zones where it is found in dense rain forest. Birds are the main pollinators. The plant lives for 3-4 years, grown in a 12 cm pot.

Another one of Pete’s was Vriesea fosteriana ‘Red Chestnut’ which he originally got from Ray's Palms in Durban many years ago. Grown in partial to full shade. He uses stone and polystyrene in the potting mix to create good drainage. Pete finds these vrieseas and their pups rot easily, so good drainage is essential. It flowers in the summer months. Vriesea fosteriana ‘Red Chestnut’ Guzmania wittmackii

Next meeting: Sunday 30 October at 2.00 pm. Hosted by Malcolm and Pam Stoltz at 2 Bamburgh Road, Stirling. Bring your chair , a mug, and one of your broms to brag about!

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Brenda Wegner showed her Guzmania which has no name but has the most magnificent, large maroon/red inflorescence. A stunner indeed!

Dudley Reynolds brought two plants which generated interest at the Spring Fair. One was ‘Flama’ which Peter displayed as well on the stand. Positioned next to each other, one would never say they were the same plant. My plant grown in lesser light displayed a subtle shade of green, yellow and red on the leaf while Pete's plant was very red with a touch of yellow, obviously grown in stronger light. This just emphasises the importance of labelling your plants correctly, especially with the Neoregelia ‘Flama’ Brenda’s Guzmania Neoregelia , where a slight difference in growing conditions may affect the visual appearance so drastically.

The second plant Dudley discussed briefly was Orthophytum ‘Iron Ore’ . This plant caught the attention of many people, the foliage colour and the young plants formed along the inflorescence. The plant also produces pups from the base of the mother plant. The genus is endemic to areas in South East Brazil and 53 are found there. The furry appearance of the leaf indicates that this plant enjoys strong light conditions.

Lyn Wegner showed her much admired Encholirium horridum . She was surprised and excited that a form plant, a green plant, could receive the most attention and interest at the garden fair. Lyn has had hers for a few years and it is doing well although she actually Orthophytum ‘Iron Ore’ knows nothing about the plant's requirements. She Googled it to find some information. This species comes from Eastern Brazil, it is xerophytic (needs little water) and is monocarpic which means it blooms and then dies, disappointing! It could grow for 5 to 10 years before flowering. The species does form clumps on very short stolons in the wild but these may be difficult to grow. They are usually seed grown. Lyn discovered that they supposedly prefer sun to half shade and like to be dry to moderately moist in Summer and no water in Winter but she grows hers in almost full sun and waters very generously all year round, it is doing very well.

Billbergia 'Beadleman' and Billbergia 'Fireworks' These beauties excited many visitors to the fair. They are both Don Beadle hybrids. Thank heaven for Don Beadle says Lyn! You will enjoy the article, Mr Encholirium horridum Billbergia's Deep Legacy by Karen Andreas at fcbs.org/Don Beadle. They both grow in a sunny spot with many more spectacular bills, receiving little water and no feeding. “I love my billbergia!”.

Edmundoa 'Alvim Seidel' The albomarginated form was in our display. A large, beautiful bromeliad. These were first known as Edmundoa lindenii albomarginated. They were named after the collector Alvim Seidel who founded the Seidel nursery in Brazil in 1906 and 100 years later is still in the family. Alvim's life was spent collecting plants and thanks to him Billbergia 'Beadleman' many species were saved when old Billbergia 'Fireworks'

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trees were felled. They are shade loving and it is said that they need to be kept moist to avoid brown marks on the leaves if the soil or the air around them is too dry. I grow a group of Edmundoa in a shady spot where they do very well.

Barbara Black brought her Hohenbergia correia-araujoi. Hohenbergia is a genus of more than 40 species and 20 cultivars are listed. They are native to parts of Brazil, central America and the Caribbean. They are tough and can take the sun. They don’t like frost too much, so prefer a sub tropical garden. This plant was discovered in 1979, it is extraordinary with its leaves of stiff coppery brown, heavily banded with silver. Some nurseries refer to it as Hohenbergia Fudge Ripple, Edmundoa 'Alvim Seidel' although not registered as such, you can see why if you look at the leaves!!! Awesome markings! The flower spike is also rather nice with a 'woolly' pink stem with branching flower clusters of silver. Lasts a long time too. It can be grown in the ground or as an epiphyte in a tree. It needs to be elevated so that the drooping lower leaves, referred to as the skirt, can be best viewed. Some growers prefer to remove the skirt. It can reach up to 1.7 meters in its natural habitat. This plant was made available to growers for the first time at the 1980 World Bromeliad Conference where seven small plants were sold at high prices. Specimens were entered in many bromeliad shows in 1984 and during the early months of 1985. On each occasion the plants have attracted a great deal of attention because of their size, colour, and unusual markings. Just shows how quickly it was cultivated after being discovered. I love the cylindrical shape and stiff leaves with their incredible markings, truly an eye catching plant in our garden. We have three pups off the original mother plant we got many years ago from Lyn. They are grown in large pots placed in the garden Hohenbergia correia-araujoi with a free draining mix in full morning sun. and its inflorescence.

Show and Tell Dudley Reynolds and Lyn Wegner compared their Aechmea ’Jean Merkel’ bromeliads, right, to show and discuss how light impacts on the colouration of your bromeliads. Quite astounding. Dudley's is positioned in a shadier spot while Lyn grows hers in full sun. Both beautiful!

Helena van der Ham Lyn’s Aechmea ‘Jean Merkel’ on the left and Dudley’s on the right. Helena’s ‘Sweet Isobel’ brought along her Tillandsia ‘Sweet Isobel’ to discuss why the flowers look dried up without ever having opened. We decided they had bloomed while Helena was looking the other way!

Library - Brenda Wegner Bromeliads: Tropical Air Plants by Bill Seaborn. Bill’s extensive knowledge of plants began with practical experience in a nursery and four years of college studying Agriculture, Horticulture and Landscaping. With his interest in horticulture he and his wife, Estie, opened Seaborn’s Del Dios Nursery in Escondido, California. The book is

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an easy, quick read with many photos of the different varieties. Just to mention a few of the topics covered: What is a bromeliad? Where will they grow? The life in a bromeliad, natural habitats, culture, transplanting and mounting, propagation, identification section, pests and a glossary of botanical terms. To the author, Bill and his wife, Estie, the Nursery provided both a very satisfying way of life and an excellent source for meeting new friends.  Please contact Brenda should you wish to take any books out of the library.

Thanks • Denise O'Hagan for hosting the September meeting. • Larraine Parathyras and Joyce Hattingh for supplying delicious goodies for tea time! • Dr Pete Pfister, Lyn Wegner and Gayle Kockjeu for Lucky Draw plants.

Tea Duty To facilitate catering, please confirm with Larraine Parathyras who will now be co-ordinating the tea roster, cell: 082 594 4559 or [email protected] if you are unable to provide eats for the meeting when you are on duty.

October: Bev Owen, Helena van de Ham, Malcolm and Pam Stoltz. November: Annual Bring and Braai. We need volunteers to make desserts, you can be reimbursed for the cost of the ingredients.

When you are on duty this is what your duty entails: • One of the Catering Co-ordinators will bring everything required for tea, eg, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, paper plates and styrofoam cups, spoons and serviettes. • There will be three people (or partners) allocated per meeting to cater for tea. • Each person on duty to supply 2 plates of eats (sweet or savoury). Biscuits or sandwiches are just fine! • The people on duty must put out everything required where the host wants tea to be served, so it is a good idea to arrive a bit earlier. • Check that the urn/kettles are full and prepared in time for tea time after the meeting has concluded. • Cut cakes, serve tea etc… clean up and wash dishes and assist the host where necessary. • All this applies to the guys as well when they are on tea duty ! • If you are not able to do your duty, please contact Larraine as soon as possible after you get the reminder message/e-mail, to provide time to find someone to swap duties with you.

Raffle Winners for September

All the ladies won the local raffles this month! • Irene Manthe chose Neoregelia ‘Perfection’. • Sue Pema chose Neoregelia ‘Margaret’. • Nancy Brindley chose Neoregelia ‘ Milagro’. • Miriam Kennard chose Neoregelia ‘Kahala Dawn’. • Chris van Zyl from Somerset West chose Billbergia 'Carnaval'. • Stephanie Christiane from Port Edward chose Neoregelia carolinae x concentrica x 'Big Blue'. • Clint Gordon from Johannesburg chose Tillandsia seleriana. • Allan and Jolanda Nel from Pretoria chose a selection of Aechmea and xBillmea.

Lucky Draws

We had numerous lucky draw winners, enjoy your new bromeliads!

From the Chairman - Dudley Reynolds Recently the Pam Golding Gardens of East London show was held where 25 gardens were opened by home owners to raise funds for various local charities. Included were 2 of our member's beautiful gardens, Larraine Parathyras and Miriam Kennard. The public support was great and I am sure that a nice amount was generated for the charities. What interested me most was the amount of bromeliads which were grown in most of these gardens. The most popular seemed to be neoregelia grown in sunny positions and a lot of the guzmania varieties grown in the shadier parts. I also noted lots of tillandsia which were mounted in trees, Tillandsia aeranthos was very noticeable because they are in flower at this time of year. Congratulations to all the exhibitors and charity organisations for what has become a prime annual gardening event in East London. Well, it's back to gardening, I have many new ideas for my own garden, I hope I have enough time to do it all. If not I will have to consider installing floodlights. Some folk might consider us nutty, but nuts are healthy. Happy bromming until next time.

From the Committee • In order to prepare for the BBB (Black Bag Brom) surprise Lucky Dip at the end of year function, start prepping a bromeliad to give as a gift in a black bag.

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• Also do set aside any bromeliads and/or plants you wish to donate towards the auction. The money raised this year will go towards the BSI 66 Fund . • Reminder from Lyn Wegner! Please let us have a few photos of some of your special broms and/or tills, an area of your garden or shade house which is looking good as well as a few lines about yourself, where you live and something about the photo/s etc... for possible inclusion in the BSI Journal. We need to show the world what is happening in beautiful South Africa with our diverse weather conditions.

Upcoming Society Events

30th October: Hosted by Malcolm and Pam Stoltz at 2.00pm at 2 Bamburgh Road in in Stirling. Topic : Flowering Bromeliads and the Structure of the Inflorescence. Plus a demonstration and talk by Dudley Reynolds on growing bromeliads from seed. Bring along a flowering bromeliad from you collection to add to the display. Don’t forget your mug and a chair if you want a seat. Bring along your brag or problem plants for discussion.

Save the date!!! Sunday, 27th November: You are invited to our annual social day and the last time we meet for the year. This function is for members, their spouses and children. To be hosted by Bev and Theo McGregor at Solitaire Estate, Cove Ridge, starting at 12.00am, fires to be lit at 1.00pm. • We will have a Bring and Braai and meet at 12 o’clock, not our usual 2pm. • PLEASE BRING: A chair/s, your meat, braai tongs, plates, cutlery, glasses and drinks. The fire, paper plates, salads, rolls and fun will be provided. • There will be a BBB Surprise Lucky Dip!! (Black Bag Brom Surprise) In order to participate, you need to bring a bromeliad wrapped in a black bag, so it cannot be seen, they will all be put together and you will have a chance to choose a lucky BBB Surprise! and go home with a bromeliad for your collection. • There will also be a fun auction, so bring plants or anything garden related you wish to donate to put up for auction to raise funds towards the BSI 66 Fund. This is always loads of fun!

January 2017! Our first meeting of the New Year will be hosted by Trevor and Lyn Wegner at Bromeliads for Africa, 18 Wentworth Road, Sunnyridge at 2.00pm. Topic to be advised.

Upcoming International Events 2017: The 19th Australasian Bromeliad Conference, Sunnybroms on the Sunshine Coast will be held in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland 31 March to 2 April 2017. For more information do check out http://sunnybroms.com

2018: World Bromeliad Conference to be held in San Diego, California from 29 May to 3 June. Check out the Conference Corner at bsi.org for more information.

Member’s Corner

The Process of Hybridising Bromeliads by Christo van Wijk, Pretoria

Willie and I make a great team when it comes to the hybridising process. He does the cross (taking the pollen from one plant and putting it onto the stigma of the other parent), and I grow the plant, I also do the culling, as Willie is too soft when it comes to that part of the process. When the pollen is transferred the flower gets tagged immediately, in the case of neoregelia, we cut a small piece of plastic plant label into a ‘teardrop’ shape, and this gets placed directly into the flower, large vriesea, aechmea and billbergia get a cable tie with a tag tied to the bract or stem of the pollinated flower. This is essential, as the bees and birds may pollinate flowers on the days that we aren’t early enough to do this, and those should not be planted, as there is no way of knowing what the other parent will be. Waiting periods for the seed to ripen vary according to genera and species. Aechmea bracteata for example, takes only 2 weeks to ripen, and Vriesea fosteriana may take as long as 12 months. Best is just to get to know them Pollinated Vriesea Example of a pollinated ‘Midnight Splendor’ seed flower with tear-drop through trial and error and check on a weekly basis. pods with cable tie. lables.

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Harvesting seed: This is where it helps to know a bit of the technical side of bromeliad culture. The group (Neoreglia , Aechmea, Billbergia, Nidularium , etc.) form berries, and the seed is covered in a sticky ‘goo’ that has to be washed off! We squeeze the berries into a fine kitchen sieve, then we wash them in the sieve in a bowl of clean water by stirring them and rubbing them against the sieve in a circular motion. The seed is then dried overnight on a white piece of paper. They are sown the next day. The pitcairnioideae group ( Dyckia, Hechtia, , etc) form capsules with thousands of ‘winged’ seeds that look a bit like tomato or chilli seeds. The capsules burst open from the tip, in sequence from the lower part of the flower stem to the top. We leave them on the mother until about the bottom 4 seedpods have burst open, and then cut the whole stalk into 20cm sections and store them upside down in a paper bag until all the seeds have dropped. This takes about 4 weeks. The group ( Tillandsia, Vriesea, Catopsis, Guzmania , etc) also form capsules, but the seeds are minute, and have long feathery plumes attached to help them get dispersed by the wind. We leave them until the capsules change colour, usually to dark brown, and then we open one to see if the seeds are ripe. If they are white, they are not ready, and we check again on another capsule after a week or two, unfortunately the white seeds are premature and we have to throw them away, if we get brown seeds in the test, we pick all the pods, and open them by hand indoors. The reason for this is if the pods open by themselves, they usually burst open on the hottest part of the day, and many get blown away before we notice that they are ready.

Sowing seed: Bromeliad seed can be stored in an envelope for about 6 months, but we prefer to sow them as soon as possible. They need light, so have to be sown on the surface, and should not be covered with soil. We use commercial germination mix or fine bark for germination. Method: We use see-through plastic 5l buckets with lids. In the bottom we place 5cm of washed pool filter sand, then a 3cm layer of moist germination Neoregelia seed just sown. mix on top. The seed gets sown on top of the germination mix, everything is misted down, the tag with the date and the cross gets placed inside the bucket before the lid is secured. This bucket stays shut for about a year or until the seedlings are about 2cm tall, and needs to be placed in a cool place with bright, but indirect light. Most germinate within 4 weeks, except some Vriesea and Catopsis that may take up to 6 months!! The progress of the Buckets with seed Neoregelia seeds about 2 months germinating. old. Note there are some seedlings are regularly checked, and if a fungus variegated ones. sets in (very rare) the bucket is opened and dusted with Dithane WG powder (dry powder, not mixed with water!) and closed again. If for some reason moisture is lost, the plants will have to be opened, misted and resealed.

Transplanting and culling: When the seedlings are about 2cm tall, they are removed from the bucket by hand or with tweezers and transplanted into a 128 cavity seed tray, plant clusters of 2 or 3 seedlings per cavity to create the ‘forest effect’, this makes them grow faster. They are planted into germination mix again, and will need daily misting for about 2 weeks to harden them off, keep them in a shady, protected spot for this period. After they have been hardened off they can be moved to bright light again, and watered when the top layer of the soil starts to dry, usually about every 2 days. If the aim was to create a variegated hybrid, only the variegated seedlings are planted into the tray, and all green ones are culled when they are removed from the bucket, this is the easiest culling as variegated seedlings are variegated from An example of Some selected Neoregelia unstable variegation, the start. If it’s a fast growing plant, I would remove green hybrids growing well. will probably be culled . seedlings in the bucket even before they get transplanted for the first time. Bromeliad seedlings get a growth spurt every time

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they are transplanted, so mine are transplanted every time the leaf tips reach the side of the pot into a one size bigger pot. Usually it goes like this: From the bucket – 3 per 128 cavity tray pocket Then divided after 3 months to 1 per cavity in a 128 cavity tray pocket (the whole tray gets one label). After another 3 months- into 7cm pots (each plant gets its own label from here on). After another 6 months- into 12cm pots. After another 6 months- into 15cm pots. Only exceptionally large plants get re-potted after this into larger pots. The plants get culled with every re-potting and only the ones with desired features are kept. Usually about 2000 plants are planted into 128 cavity trays, and by the time The only one of this cross Christo’s Alcantarea species they go to 12cm pots only 10 or so are still there! I cull that came out variegated. grown from seed. severely, but this is so that only the best of the best make it to the end. Unique plants are the only ones that make it to the final 10, and then the slow growing, weak and unstable ones still get culled, leaving only one or two to be registered in the end, but sometimes they are all culled, and I start over! I believe the culling should be harsh, it will help in the long run with the issue we are currently experiencing of ‘ALL THESE LOOK THE SAME TO ME’. PS. For those who are wondering– culling means ‘to discard’, plants that were only grown up to the tray size before being Good looking hybrid Another goal reached, A good vriesea specimen, discarded and go to the compost heap, with tag example. this one will be registered. the goal was reached! larger ones are burnt and the ash goes to the compost heap. The reason I do this is because I don’t want to add to the numerous unnamed plants that are already on the market, so I have stopped selling and donating them. A good motto is: I would rather give away a named plant than sell a no-name plant .

Local member , Gale Kockjeu sent in this photo of her stunning clump of Vriesea in bloom. “It is growing in my back garden under my guava tree – my first bromeliad to bloom since I started collecting broms for the garden – it really is looking lovely.”

Chris van Zyl: A photo of the progress of my Puya mirabilis seeds I got a while ago. What a slow growing process – but we are getting there !!!

Gale Kockjeu’s stunning Vriesea. Chris van Zyl’s Puya mirabilis seedlings.

COUNTRY AND LOCAL MEMBERS What is happening in your bromeliad world? Please send me news and photos of the exciting things or problems you are experiencing with your bromeliads. Local members if your bromeliad is too big to bring along to the meeting for Show and Tell, e-mail it to me or Lyn. We would love to hear from all of you.

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Editor’s Corner As I encouraged you all last month in the newsletter to consider visiting other ELBS members on your travels, we got a chance to practice what I wrote about. Eddie and I went to a family wedding in the Midlands last week and I could not pass up an opportunity to visit country member Craig Nicholas at his Kentia Grove Nursery on the outskirts of Durban. I got to know Craig through the society and bromeliads many years ago. Craig took us on a guided tour of his large property which he has had levelled off in parts to provide more space for a tunnel and more shade houses to enable him to grow more varieties of Craig with some of his own hybrids he plans to register soon and bromeliads. There are lots of lovely trees and natural myself with Craig amongst his seed grown Alcantarea imperialis . vegetation providing shelter and a nice backdrop to the nursery and gardens. Wow!!!! Broms, broms and more broms, everywhere and staghorn ferns too. Craig is known for his hybridising of clivia but there is so much more. Then on to the shade houses, a riot of colour and lots of seed being propagated in tubs and potted on. It is a full time job and I just love and admire Craig’s knowledge and passion for growing things, especially the magnificent clivia and of course bromeliads!!!! Needless to say we came home with the back of the car full of broms, my hearts delight!!! Do look for Kentia Grove Nursery on Facebook or on the internet or contact Craig at [email protected]. How did people find their way around the countryside in the old days? all we can say is thank you to the Garmin god for getting us there and back again, safely!

I hope this finds you all with much to think about with all this talk of seed growing, hybridising etc... I have heard from most of the recipients of the seed from Rob Murray in Australia and all are very excited to get cracking, some seeds are planted already! We look forward to feedback. Thank you Rob from all of us! Also thank you to Craig, for sharing an afternoon of brom talk with Eddie and I, it is always so inspiring and energizing to meet up with fellow bromaholics! Lastly thank you Christo for sharing part of your passion for bromeliads with all of us in the newsletter. Can’t wait to visit you as well one of these days…….

Till we meet at the home of Malcolm and Pam Stoltz at the end of the month, happy bromming everyone!

[email protected] 072 1787 421

This is a publication for the East London Bromeliad Society, South Africa for the interest of its members. Articles may be used by non profit societies with acknowledgement to the above. Any opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the Society.

ELBS is an affiliate of the Bromeliad Society International.

ELBS Address: c/o 18 Wentworth Road, Sunnyridge, East London 5201 South Africa, [email protected]

We meet on the last Sunday of every month, January to November, at various venues around East London. We have a topic for each meeting and Show and Tell where members are encouraged to bring along their brag or problem plants. There are member raffles, lucky draws for those present, tea time, library and member plant sales, plus a monthly newsletter sent out via e-mail only. Visitors are always welcome and can attend three meetings before they will need to join the society in order to continue attending. Annual subs are R120.00 for individuals/families and R60 for students.

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Committee Members Chairman: Dudley Reynolds 079 488 2360 [email protected] Vice- Chairman: Dr Peter Pfister 082 625 5533 [email protected] PRO & Secretary: Lyn Wegner 043 736 1737 082 970 2293 [email protected] Treasurer: Lynn Friend 043 748 2271 083 318 1179 [email protected] Editor & Publisher: Barbara Black 043 7212775 O72 1787 421 [email protected] Proof Reader: Lyn Wegner 043 736 1737 082 970 2293 [email protected] Raffles: Lyn Odendaal 043 726 1075 083 441 6813 [email protected] Sound System: Gerald Vogt 043 726 1075 [email protected] Librarian: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected] Catering Co-ordinators: Eddie Black and 043 7212775 082 5505 347 [email protected] Larraine Parathyras 043 726 3167 082 594 4559 [email protected] Events Co-ordinator: Brenda Wegner 082 743 2141 [email protected]

You will find ELBS on Facebook: [email protected] or type ‘East London Bromeliad Society’ into the fb search bar. You can request to join the group and will then be able to upload your photos and comments on the wall. The ELBS SA page and other bromeliad related sites are becoming a useful and informative forum to share and ‘meet up’ with other like-minded bromeliad folks. There are also many other bromeliad related sites that you can join and become part of a world wide online sharing environment.

You can view most of all the bromeliads mentioned in meetings or in the newsletter at the following websites:

The BSI’s official Bromeliad Cultivar Registry www.registry.bsi.org which is maintained by Geoff Lawn, the BSI Cultivar Registrar. Plus other information regarding the Bromeliad Society International is found at bsi.org fcbs.org (Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies). This is a very useful site to reference many bromeliads where you can clarify identification or just trawl through the site and add to your wish list!

Encyclopedia of Bromeliads - http://bromelia.club (Bromeliad Taxonomists and Growers Society) has photographs. It also now has keys for the genera and sub-genera. If you like to be informed what is happening, just follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bromeliadsencyclopedia

For internet resources you can also go to TAXON (The New Bromeliad List) for the most authoritative and right up to date list of genera and species, accepted and new names and taxonomic keys - http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/taxonList.php

Photo Credits: Barbara Black, Lyn Wegner, Brenda Wegner, Christo van Wijk, Gale Kockjeu, Chris van Zyl.

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