Can't help you with I.D but George is living in South Queensland now ,had a visit from him and his dad recently ,First met him in Cairns ,at world Conference ,very nice young man,
Jack

Hi Jack

Yes I agree, he comes home every holiday season so we may get a gap to go and see what new goodies he has!

Cheers

Dennis

Hi Dennis.

I am also mates with George - a fine fellow.

Your Hohenbergia looks like it could be the species which has been questionably-labeled as Hoh. lanata in Australia. There is a much larger species circulating in Australia as Hohenbergia salzmannii. Both of these formerly-named Hohenbergias are now considered by some (Leme) to be differing forms of Aechmea floribunda - especially the larger salzmannii.

I grow one with the label Hohenbergia lanata, and in very bright light to full sun the leaves are purple like yours. I have not flowered it yet.

I have photographed the same-named plant in flower, from the same source as mine (Mike Symmons, Qld), at Pedro's place. At the time of photographing it, the inflorescence was further advanced than yours, and possibly growing in less light than yours.

Hohenbergia lanata (?) flowering in Pedro's garden, January 2008.
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Dennis - Maybe you could compare the inflorescence of yours, when more developed, with the photos of Pedro's - and decide if you think it could be a match.
Pedro - do you concur with this possible I.D.?

George may also be able to trace the original source of his. I will ask him, if you like.

Cheers,
Kerry

Well, what do ya know. I was hesitating to ask and pester you guys about Hoh. lanata when you guys were talking about it a little while ago. I have no idea how that purple leaf plant can be confused with or be the same plant as the H. salzmannii/Ae. floribunda. I recently got a "Hoh. lanata" from someone here in San Diego and the only picture I could find online was from Bird Rock and it looked the same as mine (so I'm assuming that's my plant's source). It is a purple leaf and 'furry', but much more narrow and tubular like a dark Billbergia stenopetala. In fact, when I saw it I thought it was a huge Billbergia. I'll post pictures of my 'lanata' and the 'salzmannii/floribunda' with me next to it for scale when I go to the garden this weekend. Fun, fun, fun. So nice to be able to compare plants around the world.
-andy

Hi Guys

Kez: ja, that maybe a match. I have been been waiting very patiently for the flower to develop but its taking ages! As soon as the flower is fully formed I will snap another pic so we can compare! Thanks...

Andy: Yes a pic of yours would be great. I am going to visit the Bird Rock site and see what I find.

Cheers

Dennis

Ok, so here is my lanata. I'm 6'2" to give you an idea of the scale of the plant. Tomorrow I will take a picture of me standing next to the salzmannii/floribunda. This lanata is big, but nothing compared to the salzmannii/floribunda. The mother has lost a lot of her 'hair', but the pup shows it pretty well. I just got it recently, so I'm going to slowly introduce it to as strong of light as I can which might make it a little more compact...but we'll see...

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-andy

Here is a link that might be useful: Birdrock Lanata

Hey all,

I agree Andy. It's so good to compare notes and ideas and experiences from around the globe with like-minded people.

Gee Andy, your Hoh. lanata sure is a different beast to ours! I've never seen anything like that in Aussie circulation. Anyone?
Your backyard looks good - and now I might recognise your half-disguised face! :-)
Looking forward to seeing that salzmannii/floribunda dwarf the tall boy.

I photographed another one of our Hoh. lanata (?) in flower, at Pedro's yesterday - what luck and timing! I paid more attention to its shape as well. It does not have the bulbous shape of Dennis' plant, nor is it "furry" and narrow like Andy's plant. It is more open with wide, frosted leaves.
The above photos of the Aussie Hoh. lanata do not capture the true petal colour. These new ones are more accurate. This plant is about as high as Andy, from base to top of the branched inflorescence. The leaves are approx. one metre (3') high and wide.

Aussie Hoh. lanata (?)
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Pedro thought Dennis' plant might be Hoh. vestita. See photos below of mine by that name, in flower. It is a much smaller plant, and more bulbous in form.
Hohenbergia vestita
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Dennis, I sent this thread to George, who has kindly provided some very interesting information regarding your plant, albeit no definite ID, as copied and pasted below.

"Regarding Dennis' plant. This plant was from a batch of seedlings grown from Brazilian seeds. From memory the seeds were supplied as Hohenbergia leopoldo-horstii. I was never told if the seed was collected from wild plants or cultivated plants, so in reality they could be anything from a species to a hybrid. Perhaps even a variant of the species from a certain population. There was only a very small amount of variation amongst the seedlings, mostly with the foliage. Nearly all plants came up bottle-shaped with reddish-bronze foliage. Leaves are held stiffly upright but do not have that hard cardboard-like feel that some Hohenbergias have. All produced thick, soft undeground runners when planted in the ground. I selected the plants with the best shape, vigour and colour and culled the rest. I also held on to one or two of the oddballs from the batch. A very small number of seedlings came up with slightly greener foliage and a very small number came up with hard, darker leaves more typical of what I know to be H. leopoldo-horstii. There was no variation in inflorescence colour or shape. Dennis should put his plant in the sunniest spot he has to get the best shape and colour. It is a very hardy plant that grows well in the open ground, especially in the sandy soils found in Natal.
Hope this helps.
George"

Thanks George! It's a small world, after all.

Andy - whatever you have, I'd be keen to see your narrow furry Hoh. when it flowers.

I keep needing to be reminded that inflo details are the major identifying factors. The same species can look so different in size, shape and spines in various localities/colonies in their natural habitat...but that ol' floral spike reveals all. Not being into measuring peduncles, or such, I appreciate the work of those who are.

K :)

Ok, so here is the salz/floribunda. It is normally larger, but the leaf tips have been trimmed back quite a bit (maybe up to 12" or so) to keep it presentable as possible. And this one isn't even full grown. When more mature, the cup seems to be wider at the bottom.

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The rosette looks like a 'normal' little brom...
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...until something gives it some scale. I should have pushed the camera case all the way to the bottom. It is kind of hard to get the depth in the picture.
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Biiiiiig, tough leaves.
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Sometimes our club is allowed to remove some plants for shows...I'm going to try to get a pup of this one out and get it in more sun to see if I can get it to bloom.
-andy

Oh, Kerry...forgot to mention...looking at that one in Pedro's garden, I can see how that 'lanata' and 'salz/floribunda' are now recognized as the same plant. I was just really confused when you guys were saying that they are now considered the same plant when I was comparing my 'lanata' and this 'salz/floribunda'. Pedro's lanata sure looks like the more beefy plant here. Now I'll just have to wait for the blooms.
-andy

Hi all

WOW, some great plants in this thread!

Andy I reckon its safe to say my plant is not lanata...but now I am going to have to find one and a salz/floribunda. Absolutly stunning! Thanks for the pics!

Kez...thanks for getting in touch with George! Did he mention when he is coming back to SA? I was hesitant to plant the little guy in full sun just incase it got fried, but i remember that George had his in full sun. I will put some of the pups in the sun and see how they do. H vestita looks pretty close too.

Thanks again all!

Dennis

Hi Dennis, Kerry, Andy

I have logged on again - busy with renos and other stuff but Kerry asked me about this thread.

George (now at Caboolture just nth of Brisbane) has a neat collection. The Hoh is good match for vestita but the other plant (H lanata) has an interesting history. It was grown from seed by Peter Sargent and eventually id'd as H lanata erroneously. I got one from Mike Symonds eventually and keyed it to A floribunda with UD on the case too. The other giant was imported by me and a few others as Streptocalyx floribundus in about 1980 from Kent's and is another A floribunda, more typical of the Rio area forms, certainly not H salzmanii. It is interesting that the H lanata-not plant actually is similar to the type of A floribunda esp with the mauve fragrant flowers.

Andy's lanata could well be the real deal. Unfortunately my one from Pam died in Q. Seed appreciated!

Cheers, Pedro

There are so many fantastic giant Brazilian Aechmeas!

Cool Pedro. Thanks for the additional information. Its good to get some context for the plants. I am so new to it all, I'm always happy to get more information. We'll see if I get it to bloom and if it will happily self pollinate (anyone have any educated guesses/prediction with Hohs?).

You mentioned other giant Aechmeas...do you have pictures or names (I'm assuming they have been named)? Or at least imaginative descriptions? I imagine there aren't too many pictures of them online as they probably aren't the most popular plants in hobby gardens (or easiest to trade around). But I'm fascinated by big monsters.
-andy

Hi Andy, sorry about slow reply - been busy as hell.

Most Hohs self in my experience but they also cross if other spp and pollinators are about, including ants.

Some of the big monsters are A castanea, A sphaerocephala (what a beast!), A multiflora, in fasct most of the A/Chev spp from Eastern Brazil (they are pretty slow growing though), A blanchetiana and the rest of that difficult to id group. Add in some Alcanareas and giant tank Tills and tat's enough to fill most city back yards!

Cheers, Pedro

I never see any of the Chevalieras except tayoensis. I don't think that there are any registered hybrids from that subgenera but I'd like to give it a try if I ever get the chance.

BTW, everybody says to grow them in shade, but I didn't know any better and put my tayoensis where it gets quite a bit of sun and it's doing quite well.

A tayoensis does well under 50% but hates much cold unlike the Eastern Brazilian Chevs. I can grow huge too, and fast. As far as hybrids go, some of the commercial guys have worked with germinyana and veitchii but nothing better came out. Soimetimes the species are the best and well worth preserving. Most of my collection is of species. There are quite a few Chevaliera type species in various collections in Aus, mainly grown from seed from Leme and others. Some are yet to bloom so remain unknowns. They grow well in the garden here. Pedro

I'd be happy to help preserve some Chevalieras if somebody wants to send some seed this way.