No, not all of them, and not even that many of them (I think just a handful are known for this), but Gonzer will know.

Mike

No they don't, in fact very few do. The plants that grow pups off the flower spike are called viviparous. The ones that come to mind are T. somnians, some forms of latifolia, secunda, a form of bayleyi, propagulifera, the Venezuelan form of flexuosa, Mmmm, that's all I'm seeing right now. Below are some shots of the ones I have with viviparous pups. My propaguliferas and secundas haven't bloomed yet.

Here is an immature somnians
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the form of bayleyi
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T. latifolia var. latifolia
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and latifolia var. Enano
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What about paucifolia, gonzer, or has that undergone a name change? The pendant form that I'm used to seeing doesn't look anything like the one pictured on FCBS.

It's an odd thing, I'm trying to think of any other (bromeliad) genus that occasionally does that and all I can come up with are Orthophytum and Ananas, both terrestrial. There are a number of gingers and Costus that do that too, but not all of them.

i know its not a tillandsia but would a pineaple plant be counted as one of these

just wondering is there is any one here who i can buy some of these viviparous i am gessing that they cant be sent over seas, but i wouldnt know

Hard to get plants into Australia but it can be done. Find out where your local Brom Society is. They will help you locate suppliers I'm sure

Lisa, thanks for jogging the gray matter, there is a cultivar of paucifolia named by Isley called "Dimmitt's Delight". This plant is viviparous and was found growing in certain locales of Mexico. It is much larger than the norm. Mark Dimmitt had a hanging specimen 2m x 3m. A VERY hard plant to come by.

I don't know if that's the same one I'm thinking of, gonzer. We have one here that has been around for as long as I can remember. It's not a particularly big species, at least in terms of the individual rosette, but it's one of those plants that is so prolific and easy to grow that everybody's happy to give it away to their friends and neighbors, so it's fairly common. It hangs upside down and the pups from several generations of inflorescences can form a long chain. The bracts are plain green as I recall, not showy.

brom phil: pineapple = Ananas, so yes.

Hehe, not to steer this discussion too far from its proper subject, but I must ask, gonzer if you can tell us anything about that disembodied skull perched on the wall there in that first picture? Nice touch!

Mike

OK Mike, you first. I'm also a collector of bones, animal skulls, and other eccentricities (no, I'm not a budding serial killer) which, when placed along the window ledge seem to make a lot of people keep their distance. They think my yard has bad juju! :-O The "human" skull is plaster of paris.
Lisa, your plant sounds like T. intermedia which forms chain-like networks of plants from basal stolons, not the inflo.

That skull must have jogged the memory...another one is Tillandsia secunda. I was given a pup recently, & the guy just pulled it off the old flower spike, seems to be quite prolific.

Here is a picture of T. intermedia I was recently looking at on an out-of-date Tropiflora page, which shows the chain-like cascades a little more clearly than the example on fcbs.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:436887}}

around Halloween, some bright pink t. ionantha in the eye sockets might make it even more frightening...

Yup, that looks more like it, Mike, but aren't some of those coming from the inflorescence? They don't all look like basal stolons to me.

Lisa, might I add belatedly, intermedia WAS known as T. paucifolia var. schubertii, sometimes still is.

brom phil,
HDD's got your best solution. Check out your local bromeliad societies in Australia. I know that there are some Tillandsia enthusiasts living there. I remember Len Colgan's presentation at the San Diego conference about his collecting trip to Bolivia. Really cool! So you can be sure that there are at least a few Aussies bringing some exciting stuff (if not viviparous) into the country.
Paul

Hey brom phil,
I'm an Aussie and a bromaholic - there are plenty of us around. If you live in Queensland, then Neville Ryan of Brisbane is a great tillandsia grower. Also Australian ebay has plenty of tillandsias always for sale, as well as other broms. Bromeliad societies are scattered around Australia, and maybe one not far from you. I travel over 2 hours each way to get to my closest brom society monthly meetings at the Gold Coast. Tell me your area and I'll try to help with local contacts.

Cheers,
Kerry

Interesting Lisa, I am not sure. But take a look, this is what it stated on the Tropiflora website re: T. intermedia

" The most unusual of the proliferating Tillandsias. Long, thin plants have stiff gray leaves ending in a tight curl. It blooms, producing an offset from the tip of the spike and additional ones from its base, eventually forming huge clusters of intertwined plants."

See link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tropiflora, Vol 15 No 1 - May, 2005

Thanks, Mike!

"tip of the spike"....... I rest my case. ;-)

Good to know about the name change too, gonzer!

hhey kerry_t_australia thanks, good to know i aint the only maniac over here, sadly i live down in NSW
Hey brom phil, what is Neville Ryan of Brisbane address ill have to go visit him wonday when i go visit my Nan. as for the brom society i live in Kempsey 2441 any ideas were the closes one could be thanks

hey brom phil,
I'm afraid you live right in the middle of a void re brom societies. You are in between Newcastle and The Gold Coast brom societies - I think Newcastle would be the closer, but still a long drive. I have a friend who travels from Bellbrook (inland of Kempsey, towards Armidale) to the monthly meetings at the Central Coast brom society. I live north of Lismore in N.S.W., hinterland Byron Bay, and travel north to the G.Coast meetings. Then there is the Qld soc. based in Brisbane, and the Sunshine coast soc. as well - worth checking out when you visit your nan. Contact me via email if you want more information.

Cheers,
Kerry