THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

An attractive and bizarrely beautiful Euphorb from Madagascar. Thick, procumbent stems bear distinctive leaf scars and inch-long, succulent, very crisped or crinkled leaves. A very flat growing, mat forming shrub with an underground caudex. Flowers or cyathea are tan to pinkish. Light exposure will determine color which can range from deep green to pinkish brown. A superb plant for container culture or rock garden. Water about weekly in warm months and allow a drier rest during cooler periods. Propagate from seed or stem cuttings.

THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

This is a new but as yet taxonomically undescribed species from Tanzania. Collected by Mike Massara, it is a tall shrub, at least in our collection, with small, deciduous leaves. It apparently forms a pachycaul trunk in time. Not much information for sure, but then it's all that we know.

Definitely an unusual species, with few but thickly succulent leaves in a compact rosette. A neat 'windowed' species with a background color of dark green, tinted reddish, turning darker red in bright light and the leaf surface is patterned with gold tessellations. Flaring white and greenish-brown striped flowers appear on a tall arching scape that can reach over three feet! In nature, this species often grows under shrubs, sending it's inflorescence up through the foliage into the view of pollinators.

A very unusual species from Michoacan, Mexico.  A large grower to 30 inches across or larger, with wide, thickly succulent leaves a glaucous green.  No other species of Hechtia resembles glauca.  The marginal spines are broadly spaced and not sharp or stiff.  A rare gem.

* Plant has some leaf tips trimmed

Both parents of this Ray Lemieux cross of Hechtia lanata x myriantha have some interesting characteristics that should express themselves when the plants grow out. The seed parent, H. lanata, has broad, scurfy, twisting and curling leaves in habitat, which is a tropical desert environment on nutrient poor cliffs.

In cultivation, seedlings of this species tend to have straighter foliage, at least here in sea-level Florida. The pollen parent, H. myriantha, is a giant grower, perhaps the largest of all Hechtia species. Anecdotal stories report that this plant can reach the size of a VW Beetle! The intent of this cross was to produce a large growing hybrid with twisted foliage and silvery scurf. Only time will tell if that will happen. 

*READY FOR AN 8-INCH POT

A bizarre, epiphytic, caudiciform plant native to New Guinea and northern Australia. It belongs to the family Rubiaceae that includes coffee. It has a globular caudex with some bumps but mainly smooth, glossy, skin and many tiny openings that lead to a labyrinth of interior chambers.

The leaves are curled, thick and leathery with a smooth surface, borne on a full crown of small limbs that also bear fleshy fruit. In nature it maintains a symbiotic relationship with ants that make a home in its interior chambers, in exchange for providing food and protection to the plant.

In cultivation, no native ant species are attracted to it. Can be grown potted in loose, well-drained media, or mounted in the fashion of a Platycerium fern, using a thin layer of sphagnum moss. Needs frequent watering, but will not tolerate being constantly wet.

Jewels of the Jungle: Bromeliacea of Ecuador Part I - Bromelioideae ©2000 Jose Manzanares. A treatment of one of the richest bromeliad floras on earth. Ecuador contains an incredible 455 species of bromeliads in one of the smallest countries in South America. The first of four planned volumes. 9 x 12 Hardbound, with hundreds of magnificent photos.

Jewels Of The Jungle: Bromeliaceae Of Ecuador Part II - Pitcairnioidea ©2000 Jose Manzanares. A treatment of one of the richest bromeliad floras on earth. Ecuador contains an incredible 455 species of bromeliads in one of the smallest countries in South America. The first of four planned volumes. 9 x 12 Hardbound, with hundreds of magnificent photos.