Bromeliace ae VOLUME XLVII First 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 ORGANISER 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 Bob Cross HALL COORDINATOR David Rees RAFFLE COORDINATOR Lesley Gibbs Editors Email Address: [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: Neoregelia ‘Delirious’ Skotak By Herb Plever Rear Cover: Tillandsia Aeranthos Boe Fl PT By Peter Tristram 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 the 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 February 2013 - President’s Report to AGM - John Olsen 4 Butchers Vr Gemma Report – Derek Butcher 5 Florida Bromeliads in Habitat – John Olsen 7 Tillandsia Osterdiana – Peter Tristram 12 Bob’s Amigo – Bruce Dunstan 12 Xero Hybrid Report – Bob Hudson 13 What’s in the Mix – Greg Aizlewood 16 Invitation to Share – Jennifer and Chris Coulthard 19 Terminology – Peter Paroz 21 Frequently Asked Questions 21 Feral Bromeliads – Peter Paroz 22 Shirt Orders 23 Book Reviews 24 Native Bromeliads of Florida 24 Bromeliad Hybrids 25 World of Tillandsias 26 Plant of the Month 27 Back Page 28 CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2013 18th April – General Meeting Uniting Church Hall, Merthyr Road, New Farm 26th May – Tillandsia Workshop Newmarket State Primary School 8th August – EKKA Display Volunteers welcome 24th August – Getting Started with Bromeliads Workshop 2nd – 3rd November – Spring Show The Brisbane Table Tennis Centre 5th December – Xmas Party 3 Reviewing 2012, the central core of President’s Report to AGM activities has continued. We have enjoyed 21 Feb 2013 good presentations and proceedings at Monthly meetings; continued our By John Olsen monthly Newsletter; mounted 2 shows; provided a display at the Ekka and followed up with a public workshop to The Bromeliad Society of Queensland is encourage beginners. a very active Society. The list of activities held over a year is substantial and these While some things stay the same, we things don’t just happen. I want to start by have made improvements and changes in thanking my Committee for their efforts 2012. Members have Society shirts at in 2012. This group has displayed good nominal cost. Bar coding equipment has teamwork and willingness to meet the been purchased and implemented for challenges of managing the Society. That plant sales. We expect the equipment will said we are a plant society not BHP so a replace the efforts of 3 people for 2 days key focus has been to deliver benefits for at each show. the members in a social atmosphere. Encouraging members to show their best Two members of our Committee – Bruce plants has been a focus in 2012. The Dunstan and Bob Cross are not standing Competition schedules have been revised, for re election to the Committee and will a photo section introduced to the shows, be missed. Thanks to you both. In the and a “Lucky Entrant” prize instigated for case of Bob Cross this will be the first monthly shows. The Trophies for year in 30 odd years that Bob will not be Champion and best of section have been on the Committee. His long service and renewed and expanded to recognise those capacity to deliver remarkable displays who have made special contributions to for our shows and the Ekka have been a the Society. As an adjunct to the shows, great asset to the Society. Thank you judge’s schools have been held to expand Bob! the number of judges. Also not continuing, is Ross Stenhouse The position of the Society as one of the who has edited Bromeliaceae for the last few sources of information on bromeliads seven years producing 46 editions. Ross which led to its founding has changed has lifted the bar in terms of production remarkably. We have “dipped our toe” in quality of the magazine. this new information age. We have a new website; BSQ is on Facebook; and we As well as the Committee, our activities have electronic cash handling gear. The depend on a large number of volunteers challenge for the Society is to maintain its who run various aspects of our meetings, position as a social activity which helps shows and workshops. There is an us to learn more about bromeliads and opportunity for every member to their culture right here in SEQ. Hopefully contribute to one or other of our this translates to enjoying your garden as activities. Thanks to those who have a fantastic pastime. contributed in 2012. 4 Note for the pedants amongst you. Vriesea Vriesea ‘Gemma’ barilleti was the spelling in those days even though you spell it Vriesea barilletii these days. Report by Derek Butcher If, by the way, you are growing this species February 2013 please let the writer know. We don’t know how ‘Gemma’ got to Australia In 1995 Adelaide hosted an Australian other than from a record in the infamous ledger conference and Adam Bodzioch presented a of Pinegrove nursery where it shows they got the paper on Vrieseas from Belgium, that had been plant in 1984 from Margaret Paterson. She in written by Gilbert Samyn from the Agricultural turn got her plant from Mr G. A. (Don) Patterson Research Centre in Ghent. Details were from Coff’s Harbour in the 1970s. Don was one published in Journ. Brom Soc 45: 99-109. 1995. of the founding members of the Australian In the many revelations, mention was made of a Brom. Society and linked to ‘Beautizone’ Study Vriesea ‘Gemma’, a Duval hybrid in 1893. The group around Coff’s Harbour area. This group problem was that his photo showed no seems to have quietly faded away. We do not resemblance to the ‘Gemma’ as grown in know where he obtained it, but it could have Australia. In fact our ‘Gemma’ looked like a been imported by one of his contemporaries. ‘Mariae’! The description of ‘Gemma’ in the Bromeliad Cultivar Register is confusing. I Further investigation has revealed that about 40 quote, ‘A small plant with bright green foliage years ago Robert and Gleness Larnach were and a single upright flattened spike with yellow looking for bromeliads at Ferguson’s Nursery bracts edged in bright red – lemon yellow at Baulkham Hills in Sydney, and there on a flowers.’ Dutrie (1946) said, “Small plant, short round table was a Vriesea ‘Polmanii’ (Butcher’s fat spike, bright red.” comment – We think this is a mis-spelling of Vr. ‘Poelmanii’ in its many forms.) which lead to Because I had no concrete information this further enquiries. Jammed under a privet hedge apparent misidentification was put on the was a plant called Vriesea ‘Gemma’. The backburner. assistant said that some old guy had deceased and the collection had been bought by Ferguson In 2013 I was browsing through an old but no one knew what they were or what to do publication in DC Monogr Phaner. IX 1896 by with them, so it was obvious that he was a Mez where on page 567 I found the following:- collector of these imported exquisite plants very Vr. Gemma Hort. Duval [Barilleti x (carinata x early on. psittacina)] x Vr. (duvaliana x incurvata). Est mixture infernalis, hortulanis gaudium, We are therefore not certain if ‘Gemma’ was botanicis horror, specie cujusque aliquid imported once or on more occasions but all the praebens. Bracteis minute punctulatis et hic Vr. action seems to be in the Central Coast area. Barilleti compositionis partem esse affirmatur. Importation would be more likely from the USA Inflorescentia flabellata. rather than Europe and where better than a large concern in California? We know that in the Roughly translated this says – An infernal 1967-8 catalogue of California Jungle Gardens mixture, gaudy horticulturally, botanically a there is a reference to Vriesea ‘Gemma’ horror. Bracts minutely spotted as per Vr. described as a free flowering small edition of Vr. Barilleti. Inflorescence fan shaped. ‘Mariae’ on offer at US$ 2.50 Vriesea ‘Mariae’ at the same time was US$4.00, so ‘Gemma’ The parents of Vr. ‘Mariae’ are [brachystachys must have had a lower status! (now known as carinata) x barilleti] and you can see some similarity in the parents used, with Vr. In trying to find what the real differences were ‘Mariae’ easier to understand. If a re-make were between Vr. ‘Mariae’ and what we grow as Vr.