Jim Irvin has a knack with Cryptanthus, (as well as other bromeliads!), and has produced numerous first-class hybrids.  This is one of which he can be proud.  This hybrid, a cultivar of ‘Sweet Tooth’ x ‘Ice Age,’ and a grex mate to ‘Very Cold Tooth,’ is a dark brown, almost black plant with closely spaced cross banding of silver trichomes with dense silver white scurf underneath.  The inch-wide leaves are long and graceful, undulating at the margins in a symmetrical rosette.

A large growing beauty by Stephen Hoppin can grow to a 24 inch rosette. The color is black to dark chocolate brown, glossy with wavy, silvery cross bands. Some silver shading in the leaves. Leaf tips turn downward.

A large growing Cryptanthus hybrid by Carole Richtmyer is a cultivar of (‘Nancy’ x ‘Peaches’) x argyrophyllus.  This Cryptanthus has 10+ very thick succulent lanceolate leaves forming a medium plant to 18″ in diameter with an open, rounded rosette shape.   This plant can attain larger sizes, over 24", in more shade.

The color of the leaves is pink to rosy pink changing to old gold or olive green with age and stronger light with dark grey edges and light scurf covering the entire leaf, both the face and back.  A exceptionally nice plant!

One of the most exciting species to come into cultivation in a long time.  A beautiful compact growing Cryptanthus with broadly triangular leaves, banded lengthwise with three rows of silvery trichomes over a base color of reddish chestnut-brown, in a full, leafy rosette.  Grows 4 to 8 inches across and produces a profusion of offsets on long stolons.  This stunning decorative species was extremely rare and fairly expensive when first introduced.

A hybrid cultivar of Cryptanthus ‘Hapa Haole’ x ‘Elaine’ by Australian, David Cross.  A full rosette of leaves to about 18 inches across.  The leaves are banded with silver over a background color of dark brown to reddish-brown, with slightly wavy margins.

This Ed Edmiston hybrid is a cultivar of ‘Jet Age’ x lacerdae ‘Menescal’ having 10+ lanceolate leaves forming a medium plant to 12″ in diameter with a full round, open, flat rosette.  The plants are larger than Cryptanthus lacerdae ‘Menescal,’ but lacks the long stolons.  The light chocolate background leaf color is marked with silvery grey central and marginal longitudinal stripes.  The bottom of the leaf is covered in a medium dense lineated white scurf.

This is a 2007 cultivar of ‘Durrell’ x ‘San Juan’ by Steve Hoppin.  The shape is a loose rosette up to 10 inches tall and 24 inches across with shiny green leaves that are wavy and have serrated edges.  The leaves have an olive green color that has a hint of bronze along the edge and slight scurfing on the underside of the leaves.

This is a cultivar of ‘Richard Lum’ x ‘Stephen Hoppin’ released by Steve Hoppin in 2007 and a grex mate to ‘Ziggy Stardust.’  The wavy leaves are bright green in color and have dark green mottling.  The leaf edges are reddish bronze in color and a central bronze colored stripe.  The leaves are triangular in shape and are densely serrated.  A large growing plant up to 20 inches across and 12 inches tall form a full open round shape.

This Larry Giroux hybrid is a cultivar of ‘Lirico’ x ‘Tabasco’ having 20+ linear-lanceolate leaves forming a medium plant 12″ in diameter with a full round shape.  Lime green margined with dark green and mottled, the entire leaf length is suffused with pink-red as it reaches maturity.  The undersides of the leaves have a light lineated scurf of white trichomes.

This Jim Irvin hybrid is one of three cultivars of ‘Kamehameha’ x zonatus ‘Silver,’  its siblings being ‘Alternating Current’ and ‘High Voltage.’  A large growing oval-shaped plant has flat charcoal purple lanceolate leaves with silver crossbands across the leaves that are thin at the tips and wider toward the base bleeding into moderately dense scurf.  The undersides of the leaves are dense with silver-white scurf.  A striking pattern on a striking plant.

This Stephen Hoppin hybrid is a cultivar of ‘Richard Lum’ x ‘Diverse Pink’ having 14+ lanceolate leaves forming a medium plant to 18″ in diameter with an open upright rosette.  The chartreuse green leaves are marked with dark green mottling, a pink-red varnish overlay, and edged with dark green.