Is this real?

stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area

9 years ago

I have no other info. Got it off the internet.

Featured Answer

splinter1804

9 years ago

He everyone.

Stan – The plant in your picture is a Neoregelia and not from
the genus Aeonium as Chuckerfly suggests. Although there are some similarities,
the genus Aeonium are succulents and not bromeliads.

The picture you’ve posted shows a magnificent example of
what’s commonly called “leaf stacking”; I’ve seen several pictures of
Neoregelias with great stacked leaves but never one as good as this.

From what I can gather, leaf stacking is quite common in South
East Asia especially Thailand and Vietnam as well as other countries with a
tropical environment, and it seems that tropical climates and the associated
high humidity are the cause of this phenomenon.

If you go to: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1770659/brom-show-and-contest-at-baan-and-suan-fair-thailand?n=34 (which is just one of many terrific threads
in the archives) you will see many Neoregelias exhibited at a Thai bromeliad
show and among them are several example of plants with leaf stacking albeit
none are as good as the specimen you’ve posted.

They say for every “positive” there is a “negative” and growers
from these areas will tell you that the “down side” to growing plants with exaggerated
numbers of multiple stacked leaves such as these, is that they are very shy
when it comes to producing pups as all of the Mother plant’s energy is expended
producing leaves. This is a big problem when you want to increase numbers of a
particular high quality plant by the usual method of pup production.

In these
cases tissue culture is the route most commonly chosen. Be warned though; the tissue cultured replicas won’t automatically
reproduce plants with the same leaf stacking feature as the Mother plant unless
of course you live in a tropical environment; and even then it’s not guaranteed.

All the best, Nev.

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Comments (8)

chuckerfly
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Apparently, lots of pics on the net with this name Greenovia dodrentalis, in the same genus as Aeonium. Never seen it in person though. Lovely shape!

An old thread about this one:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1757983/greenovia-anyone
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chuckerfly
9 years ago
Great info, Nev. I was just referring to an old discussion and googling results of that name. I was originally from Southeast Asia, but never seen it in my area (or maybe I just didn't know where to look then, hehee).. ;)
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I wondered if it was Photoshop but now that you explain it.. I wonder too if its been treated with chemicals? Seems like some auxin might cause that..but since it would be need to be treated forever,it MIGHT be a case of, to get that look-take a photo,and that's that-lol.
User
9 years ago
It is real.
splinter1804
9 years ago
Hi everyone.

Gonzer - Good to see you're still around, I was beginning to think you had deserted us.

Re. the picture Stan posted, I am told by a New Zealand bromeliad hybridiser friend of mine who also has a property and plants in South East Asia and understands just what changes a tropical climate can provide. He says that the picture is real and it is in fact a picture of Neo. 'Ninja' which is a registered hybrid on the BCR.

After checking the BCR image ( http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=6031#6031 ) I found that the two plants look nothing like each other and I questioned whether or not they were in fact the same plant

I understand completely just how different climates can alter the appearance of a plant but to look at the image on the BCR and the image above, I find the differences "mind boggling".

He says its a good example of leaf stacking and there were many like this recently in a Thai national show, images were shown on Face Book by Chanin Thurot who is now judging that competition. (For those who don't know, Chanin was a regular on this forum for many years)

My friend goes on to say that Neo 'Ninja' starts out green with perimeter edge leaf colour as per the top right plant in the image on the BCR and that's very similar to the stacked version above with the leaf edge and tip. They really are almost unrecognisable in Thailand. Also, Ninja turns dark at flowering.

Given that climatic conditions can alter the number of leaves and the colour, I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that it can also alter the shape of the leaf tips which look nothing like each other.

See the close up images below for comparison.

Close up of Thai image of Neo. 'Ninja'

Close up of BCR image of Neo. 'Ninja'

Maybe someone with more knowledge than myself could explain how these leaf tip changes occur, as it's certainly puzzling to me.

What's your opinion Gonz?

All the best, Nev.
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
9 years ago
Love this forum - I always learn so much!

Nev, that was fun cruising back through Stephania's old 2008 post about the Thailand Brom Show. These days, I consider us fortunate when the photos have survived. On many old Gardenweb threads, the photos - especially those on Photobucket and MobileMe - are no longer available.

Carol in Jacksonville
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
Original Author
9 years ago
It also appears to be a dwarf Neo? Would that be a 6" pot say? Those opalescent Neo's are usually more warm needy. I doubt they make it through a cali winter. Maybe Gonzer has better results.