NEWS East London LETTER Bromeliad Society August 2014 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 Change - Do we need it or not? Dudley Reynolds As time marches on and more research is done on all subjects, change is inevitable. Do we need change? I know as a person becomes older we become more reluctant to change and we are quite happy with what we know and understand. Now with DNA testing, which has been around for a while and plants being researched with more advanced scientific methods we have already seen change in the bromeliad family. What we knew as 56 genera has already been increased by further development and division. My keen interest in orchids over the last few years has dwindled slightly due to the massive changes in nomenclature. I just cannot grasp all the new names, what I used to know as has changed so much, my brain is too old to learn new names. Fair enough, orchids are a much bigger family to their neighbourly epiphytes, bromeliads. Do we need change? Of course we do! What will be the extent of the changes? Well, that remains to be seen and left up to the taxonomists. Maybe our grandchildren who inherit our collections will be speaking a whole new language one day. Food for thought hey? Tillandsia Diaphoranthema Today I am going to discuss a tillandsia subgenus, Diaphoranthema . There are 55 species and subspecies. This genus is characterized by the following: • The flowers are few and small. • They differ in leaf shape, flower number, number of bracts and morphology. • The embryo in relationship to the seed: normally the embryo of a bromeliad seed occupies a third to a quarter the volume of the seed pod. • In Tillandsia diapho ranthema the embryo almost fills the entire seed pod. The seeds are parachute type, and are wind distributed. • All these species self pollinate themselves. The Diaphoranthema subgenus is divided into a further six groups which are: Tillandsia caliginosa, myosura, loliacea, rectangula, capillaris and recurvata . Some examples from the above groups: Tillandsia andicola - many trichomes Tillandsia bryoides - now known as Tillandsia minutiflora Tillandsia andicola Tillandsia bryoides Tillandsia capillaris Next meeting: Sunday 28th September at 2.30pm, to be hosted by Andre and Maureen Eybers at 28 Kersboom Crescent, Bonza Bay. Please remember to bring a chair for yourself! East London Bromeliad Society August 2014 Page 1 Tillandsia capillaris Tillandsia erecta - easy grower and pups freely. Tillandsia funebris - interesting form Tillandsia gilliesii - similar to T funebris in form. Tillandsia rectangula - nice leaf shape. Tillandsia funebris Tillandsia recurvata - commonly known as ‘ball moss’. Tillandsia tricholepis - Tillandsia erecta Tillandsia gilliesii lovely moss-type species. Tillandsia usneoides - we all know this as ‘Spanish Moss’ or ‘old man’s beard’. Tillandsia Diaphoranthema Tillandsia recurvata subgenus is the most widely distributed of all the subgenera of tillandsia Tillandsia tricholepis from Florida in the USA to Southern Argentina. Tillandsia rectangula There are at present six subgenera of tillandsia. There are approximately 620 species in the genus Tillandsia usneoides and there are still new species being discovered in remote areas of Central America. I have brought a few Tillandsia cyanea examples of species from the other subgenera, with the exception of s u b g e n u s Pseudoalcantarea , which Tillandsia grandis comprises 4 species, one being Tillandsia grandis, which develops into a massive specimen, with a flower spike of Tillandsia crocata Tillandsia lindenii approximately 3 metres! Subgenus Anoplophytum has 45 species of which a few are well known to us: Tillandsia aeranthos , albertia na, araujei, lorentziana and stricta . Subgenus Phytarrhiza has 37 species. Examples include Tillandsia anceps, cacticola, crocata, reichenbachii, lindenii, cyanea and narthecioides . Subgenus A llardia includes approximately 191 Tillandsia ionantha Tillandsia bulbosa species. Some examples are: Tillandsia arenicola, chaetophylla, confertiflora, edithae, secunda and reuteri. Subgenus Tillandsia comprises of 269 species, some of these are the pseudobulbous types such as as T. bulbosa, streptophylla and intermedia and also includes the poplular ionantha varieties. This level of detail might not interest all tillandsia collectors but I found it very rewarding to research, to share what I have learnt and to show you some of my tillandsia collection. East London Bromeliad Society August 2014 Page 2 Show and Tell Lyn Wegner showed us a beautifully coloured Neoregelia carcharodon 'Rainbow' x (Fireball x pauciflora ) and then she showed us a really ugly, tatty, colourless bromeliad. The same plant but grown in too much shade in a pot which was lying on its side between other bromeliads. We will see the plant again at a future meeting and watch this 'ugly duckling' turn into the 'Cinderella' it actually is. Pete Pfister right, brought along a few interesting and unusual ananas he found on display at Spargs shopping complex. One had developed loads of pups around the base. The display was Neoregelia carcharodon 'Rubra' x ('Fireball' x provided by a local pineapple pauciflora ) farmer. August Meeting and News Dudley Reynolds welcomed quite a crowd for the end of August meeting held at the home of Larraine Parathyras on a hot Spring afternoon. It was good to see some visitors join us for a busy and interesting meeting and also to enjoy a walk around Larraine's beautiful garden which will be one of the gardens ‘on show’ for the Pam Golding Garden Show in October. It is full of lush well established shrubs, colourful baskets of annuals and a new shady corner where a huge tree has been chopped down and its trunk used to mount a host of bromeliads. Paved walkways lead you around the garden which wraps around the house. Beautifully laid out, with trimmed shrubs and mass plantings. Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with all of us Larraine, it is always so inspiring. Dudley shared his passion for tillandsias with us once again, this time all about the sub genus Tillandsia Diaphoranthema. Some views of Larraine's stunning garden. Right: Larraine with her host’s plant that she chose, Neoregelia ‘Petra’. Member news: • Our condolences to Robert and Sanet Petschel on the loss of a much loved gran. Thanks • Larraine Parathyras for hosting the meeting and providing some give-away gifts for the lucky draws. • Sue Pema, Christine and Koos Steyn and Larraine Parathyras for providing Admiring Larraine's bromeliads mounted on a delicious eats for tea. recently chopped down tree trunk, Nevelyn van • Pete Pfister, Larraine der Walt, Barbara Black, Pete Pfister, Sue Pema and Miriam Kennard. Parathyras and Lyn Wegner for plant give-aways. East London Bromeliad Society August 2014 Page 3 Tea Duty September: Lynn Friend, Peter Pfister and Miriam Kennard. October: Billy and Sheila Gerretsen, Barbara and Eddie Black and Brian and Bridget Kroger. To facilitate catering, please confirm with Maureen Eybers (076 534 6054 or [email protected] ) if you are unable to provide eats when you are on duty. Library Book Review by Brenda Wegner Bromeliads for Modern Living by Louis Wilson Dr Louis Wilson had at the time of going to press in 1977 assembled more than 2000 bromeliads, representing 200 species in his private collection in East Lansing, Michigan. He got his bromeliads the hard way – climbing trees and fording swamps in the Central and South American jungles where these spectacular plants grow wild. Some of the topics discussed: Pick your Bromeliad for your environment, Light, Temperature and Water Requirements, Fertilize for Vitality and Beauty, Hanging Bromeliads and Bromeliad Trees, Many from one Plant, Pests and Diseases, Disorders of Bromeliads and more. Although this book was written a long time ago it was informative and I found the section on pests, diseases and disorders interesting. Raffle Winners for August Only Society members can buy tickets for the Raffle Draw. They can be bought for R5.00each from Norma Hart at the meeting. Country members can buy raffle tickets from Lyn, your winning bromeliad will be posted to you. The Attendance Lucky Draws are open to members and visitors at the meeting. Members are encouraged to bring special bromeliads for the raffle draw selection. They will be paid for their plant if it is chosen by a winner. Congratulations to our August Winners!! Raffle Winners • Di Kriel chose Vriesea ‘Nova’. • Nancy Brindley chose Billbergia ‘Hallelujah’. • Brenda Wegner chose Neoregelia ‘Beach Party’. • Fransie Rademeyer from Napier chose Neoregelia 'Blushing Tiger' x 'Gespacho'. • Chris and Delia Bogaards from Nylstroom chose Vriesea ‘Nova’. • Christo van Wijk from Pretoria chose Vriesea ‘Margarita’. • Chris van Zyl from Somerset West also chose Vri esea Vriesea ‘Margarita’ Neoregelia 'Blushing Tiger' x Vriesea ‘Nova’ ‘Margarita’. 'Gespacho' Attendance Lucky Draw Winners • There were many lucky draws and give-aways to choose from. East London Bromeliad Society August 2014 Page 4 Upcoming Society Events 28th September: To be hosted by Andre and Maureen Eybers at 28 Kersboom Crescent, Bonza Bay at 2.30pm. Topic: A seminar from the New Zealand “Cool Broms’ conference DVD - ‘Bromeliads Light up your Life’ by Nigel Thomson. 26th October: To be hosted by Brenda Wegner at 19 Putney Avenue, Nahoon Valley at 2.30pm. Topic: Lyn Wegner will share her experiences of the 21st World Bromeliad Conference in Hawaii. 30th November: End of year function hosted by Eddie and Barbara Black. Upcoming International Events 16 - 19 April 2015: 18th Australasian Bromeliad Conference, Parramatta, Australia hosted by the Bromeliad Society of Australia. For more information go to www.bromeliad.org.au Member’s Corner Spring has brought some unwelcome though interesting visitors to local gardens! Andre Eybers: I was told this is a Brenda Wegner: Here is a Spotted Dudley Reynolds also had a Boomslang and it was on top of Bush Snake sunning itself on some recent visitor to his garden.