A hybrid of (concolor x roland-gosselinii) by Bill Timm. A knock out with broad, stiff, recurving leaves in a full rosette. The color is silvery with a reddish blush in strong light. The inflorescence is branched, not too tall, and yellow. An extremely nice plant! 

A cultivar of (stricta x aeranthos) by Woods. It is a medium sized plant to about six inches across with narrow, silvery-green leaves. The inflorescence is very colorful, dark pink bracts and deep, inky-blue flowers. Grows easily mounted and will form attractive clusters. 

A fairly large hybrid by Luis Ariza, (brachycaulos x fasciculata), to about 10 to 16 inches with many leaves in a spreading rosette. The leaves are somewhat softer than a fasciculata and dusted with silvery scurf. The inflorescence is a cluster of short red branches on a red scape, with long scape bracts that blush reddish too. The flowers are exceptionally long, tubular and light bluish purple. An easy grower that does well mounted. 

An Australian hybrid of (concolor x ionantha) by Margaret Paterson. A robust plant with many stiff, pointed leaves in an 8 to 10 inch rosette. The leaf color is light green with a dusting of silvery trichomes. There is no color blush at anthesis in spite of the ionantha parentage, but rather it produces a very short but very full and branchy inflorescence with red bracts and bluish-purple flowers.

A choice, easy to cultivate plant. 

A cultivar of (ionantha v. vanhyningii x ionantha ‘Druid’) by Bill Timm. A plant that can resemble the ionantha v. vanhyningii parent with thick leaves on a caulescent stem or can be more upright. The leaves blush reddish with blue flowers at anthesis. A nice hybrid that forms clusters of plants. 

Paul Isley’s cross of (bulbosa x butzii) is a cute, compact plant with a bulbous base. The leaves are terete and silvery and the inflorescence, borne on a short scape has pink branches. Easily forms clusters and is easy to grow. 

This plant from Bolivia has a good possibility of being a new species. However, for now, we are offering it as a ’giant form’ of vernicosa, a species to which it is most similar. The leaves are very stiff and many in an 8 to 12 inch rosette, dark greenish bronze with a beautiful multi-branched inflorescence of pinkish orange with small white flowers. The colorful inflorescence lasts for several months. The regular form of this plant is 4 to 6 inches and by comparison this form is a true giant.

*VIPP plants are small size, not in bud

This plant was imported in the early 1980s from Guatemala and came in mixed with Tillandsia caput-medusae. When this plant flowered it was obvious to us that it was a hybrid and we consulted with Harry Luther who agreed that it was likely a caput-medusae x brachycaulos natural hybrid. Until 2013 we had been growing this plant under that name.

I recently submitted a photo of it to Derek Butcher and Geoffrey Lawn of the Hybrid Registry and Derek wrote me back saying “You have the original T. brachycaulos var multiflora see attached. However the botanists decided it was a natural hybrid which I maintain should be in alpha order because you do not know mother thus brachycaulos x caput-medusae. So we are in a quandary.

Under ICBN rules your plant has a ‘name’. I am suggesting we stretch the rules and under the ICNCP rules call your plant ‘Zacapa‘ linking it to the Lyman Smith variety and thus the Field herb specimen.” And so we are. This plant has grown much larger under cultivated conditions and maintains a nice coloration. A choice plant.

A John Arden hybrid of (jalisco-monticola x capitata). A tough and showy plant with leathery reddish leaves in a symmetrical, very leafy rosette. The inflorescence is a tight cluster of many dark orange branches in a capitate head with long scape bracts exceeding the branches. Very long lasting in color. A heavy plant, tough and sturdy, easy to grow. Grows well mounted or potted in a fast draining mix with good aeration. 

A nice form of the somewhat variable Tillandsia funckiana, this clone from near Lagunillas, Merida, Venezuela.  A plant that came to us from the collection of the Marie Selby Botanical gardens with their accession number of SEL 1975-0090.  A silvery plant with nicely upright stems and very slender, silvery leaves that recurve slightly upward.  Not much of a blush at anthesis, but the leaves can tint slightly pink in good light.

A robust form of Tillandsia funckiana that we got from a collector in Colombia.  We are not sure of the exact origin although most of the similar clones come from the Andes of Venezuela near the Colombia border.  The stems grow to 10 inches or so and have needle thing leaves to just over an inch long.  The leaves curve upward but this form is quite different from v. recurvifolia.  The overall color is green with a coating of silver trichomes and a red blush in strong light and at anthesis.  This form is like all others; a cliff dweller that forms cascading clusters.