Bromeliaceae VOLUME XLVII Third Quarter 2013 The Bromeliad Society of Queensland Inc. P.O. Box 565, Fortitude Valley Queensland, Australia 4006 Home Page www.bromsqueensland.com.au OFFICERS PRESIDENT John Olsen VICE PRESIDENT Barry Kable TREASURER Pam Butler SECRETARY Glenn Bernoth (07) 4661 36 34 COMMITTEE Peter Ball, Mal Cameron, Michelle Cameron, Chris Coulthard, Jennifer Coulthard, Barbara Murray, Rob Murray, Fred Thomson, Olive Trevor, David Vine MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Roy Pugh (07) 3263 5057 LIBRARIAN Evelyn Rees SHOW CONVENOR Pam Butler BROMELIACEAE EDITORS John Olsen, Chris Coulthard & Jennifer Coulthard BSQ WEBMASTER Rob Murray ASSISTANT WEBMASTER Peter Ball FIELD DAY COORDINATORS Ruth Kimber & Bev Mulcahy SEED BANK COORDINATOR Peter Ball SUPPER STEWARDS Selga Boothby & Sharon Born PLANT SALES Margaret Kraa & Lee Thornycroft ASSISTANT SALES Michelle Cameron COMPETITION STEWARDS Pat Barlow & Fred Thomson NEWSLETTER COORDINATOR Rob Murray ASSISTANT SHOW CONVENER Peter Ball HALL COORDINATOR David Rees RAFFLE COORDINATOR Lesley Gibbs EXHIBITION COORDINATOR Glenn Bernoth Editors Email Addresses: [email protected] :[email protected] :[email protected] GENERAL MEETINGS OF THE Society are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month except for December, at the Uniting Hall, 52 Merthyr Road, New Farm, Brisbane, commencing 7:30 pm. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING is held immediately before the February General Meeting Front Cover: Alcantarea Flower By: John Byth Rear Cover: Vriesaa Hybrid By: Pam Butler The Bromeliad Society of Queensland Inc., gives permission to all Bromeliad Societies to reprint articles in their journals provided proper acknowledgement is given to the original author and Bromeliaceae. This permission does not apply to any other person or organisation without the prior permission of the author. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributor and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Bromeliad Society of Queensland or of the Editor. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the information in their articles. 2 Contents Committee Details 2 Pitcairnia Inermis – Derek Butcher 4 Tillandsia Workshop – Barbara Murray 7 Bromelaids for all Ages – 10 Chris & Jennifer Coulthard Ten Top Tillandsia Species – John Olsen 12 Living with Large Black Ants in Bromeliads 18 Sharon Born Fertilizer Confusion – Les Higgins 19 Tillandsia Secunda – Peter Paroz 21 Aechmea Recuravata – John Catlan 23 Plant of the Month 27 Competition Schedule 2014 27 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 27th October 20013 – Billbergia Day 5th December 2013 – Christmas Party 16th January 2014 Meeting – Steve Flood 20th February – Annual General Meeting, Dennis Hundschidt 3 vargasiana, but because I spoke to PITCAIRNIA INERMIS him at the Conference and not when he was home at Selby Gardens he By Derek Butcher July 2012 was unable to advise further. In June 1999 I again saw this plant in To those of you who query what is flower and was allowed to take it on the label and look into anomalies home for “homework”. Using the you often get that warm fuzzy key in Smith and Downs I kept feeling when you find a true stumbling across Pitcairnia inermis, anomaly. One such person is Ross but the sepals were pointed to my Little who flowered a plant from mind, but the description said Peter Tristram called Pitcairnia obtuse! That was until I saw the line inermis var flava but the problem drawing of the sepal and it was the was that it had green petals and the same shape as mine! Secondly, I petals had appendages. So he was worried about the petals which contacted me. In South Australia, were yellow not red and there was no Keith Bradtberg had already appendage at the base. What was a flowered a similar plant from Peter in surprise was the fact that these two the 1990’s only at that time we had criteria were how Lyman Smith different worries as the following differentiated between the type article written by me in 2004 shows; species and the variety flava. It was Pitcairnia inermis var. flava by a surprise because on the one hand Butcher 2004. we had Lyman Smith splitting two genera, namely Tillandsia and This plant was imported from the Vriesea on petal appendages and USA as Pitcairnia vargasiana by here he was not splitting at species Peter Tristram in the 1980’s and an level! You are never too old to offset found its way to South learn. Everything clicked from then Australia in 1989. I came into the on so I’m quite sure that the plant picture in the mid 1990’s and should have been identified as P. suggested the plant was wrongly inermis var. flava. It comes from named. I even took it to pieces in my 2000m altitude in Central Peru and search! In 1996 I took a photograph shares a similar habitat to the less- with me to the Orlando Conference well documented P. vargasiana. and spoke to Harry Luther about my problem. Harry agreed it was not P. 4 In June 2013 we again contacted can only assume that Smith got this Peter Tristram and got more information from Macbride 4077, information. The plant originally 1946. But ligulate! As for leaves, came from Rob Phillips, collected in Meyer, originally was of the opinion Peru about 1985 and flowered in they were spineless hence the name, quarantine (Peter at that time had his but from Mez 1935 onwards we own Quarantine house). Most of the seem to have sheaths that are spiny fantastic stuff he collected took and as the leaves age, the blade is exception to the Methyl Bromide deciduous at this join. treatment and abruptly died. He grew on some seed. Harry named it In 1954 Smith created the variety P. vargasiana. Peter is still doubtful flava and the protologue is a follows; as to what it really is, and it may be Pitcairnia inermis var flava var an undescribed species. He assumed nova L. B. Smith, Phytologia 5: 46. at the time that Rob had collected it 1954. near Tarapoto or Moyabamba, but he A var. inermis petalis flavis differt. also went to Tingo Maria and the Flowering plant 8dm high; leaves Machu Picchu area, with Lee Moore, serrulate below the abscission line; the Adventurer. petals yellow, naked. Type in the Museo de Historia Back to the books because these days Natural “Javier Prado” Lima. Peru, there is a wealth of information collected in tropical forest, at available to use, courtesy of the Cayumba, near Las Palmas, between internet. Big problems! We have Huanuco and Tingo Maria, Province conflicting information. In the of Huanuco, Department of original description of P. inermis, Huanuco, Peru, altitude 800-900 Meyer says “Petala angustissima meters, July 15, 1948, by R. Ferreyra calyce plus duplo longiora, basi (No. 4228). squamis differte,” but does not refer to colour. Baker in 1889 in It would seem that this species can Handbook of Bromeliaceae says have different coloured petals, with petals are white but does not mention or without appendages so this should petal appendages. Mez in 1935 in not deter us from linking these Das Pflanzenreich does not mention seedlings of Peter’s to P. inermis as colour but does mention petals are well as being consistent in our ligulate. Smith in 1974 Flora approach. The chance of cross Neotropica we read “Petals scarlet, pollination in Peter’s quarantine rapidly fading to white.” And we house seems remote. Therefore, I 5 suggest that this new find be called On a more positive note, we do know P. inermis ‘Green petalled’ without it that Eric Gouda at the Utrecht being registered, because we do not University does have some of Peter’s know if it is a sole survivor. When seedlings and is now eagerly more of this clone are available it awaiting their flowering. We may may be opportune to register it as P. even see a different approach to ‘Inermis Green’. identity! Picture above: Pit inermis Green Little. Picture left: Pit inermis flava DBI THE BSQ LIBRARY Your attention is drawn to the Society’s library. It is a service to its members. Members are able to borrow books & magazines from the library at any of our monthly meetings. ‘Genus Tillandsia’ The World’s most Unusual Air Plants, by Paul T. Isley III. This delightful little hand book gives a brief introduction into the Characteristics, Blooms, Reproductions, Care & Mounting Procedures Of Tillandsias. The Society also sells specialist books relating to Bromeliads – see the website for details. 6 tables showing the breakdown of TILLANDSIA WORKSHOP nutrients given to his plants in controlled situations and the results. By Barbara Murray He compared the NPK with plants in the wild and with his plants. Andrew then went further to discuss A long and educational day was the relationship of trace elements to experienced by a large number of the growing of bromeliads. The attendees. Bromeliad enthusiasts presentation was filmed in its travelled from far and wide. There entirety and is available to members. were even 3 from Singapore, here for the weekend. The program was Plants produce food and animals varied ranging from scientific to consume food. Plants need nutrients practical. Here is a collection of my to produce food. Seeds, given poor gleanings from some of the nutrition, will remain small plants, presentations. Other presentations and will not respond to nutrients were given on the day so this is just a when given as older plants. Seeds selection. when given lots of nutrients will grow twice as fast. Plants that are The first speaker was Andrew given adequate nutrition to maintain Flower from New Zealand. His topic optimal growth will react over a was on nutrients but he began his period of time and find the nutrient talk with a synopsis on the delivery toxic.