Hi everyone - Firstly to answer Karen's question; my plant came to me from a friend with just the name of Aechmea recurvata and is the same as many others grown by my friends in our local area where it's commonly just known as 'recurvata'. I've asked more knowledgeable growers than I if the ID was correct and they have all agreed that is is the species Aechmea recurvata and not a special clone, even though it does produce that brilliant colour and is still capable of winning prizes in shows.

Now to continue with the wonderful Ae recurvata, I thought I'd share some more pictures of the different forms, as well as some of the hybrids I have bred using it as a seed parent.

Firstly, here's a picture of my recurvatas growing in the top of my old dead Peppercorn tree. When the tree first started to die I decided it would be a good host as it has nice rough bark that doesn't shed. The recurvata plants quickly established themselves and made quite a show when they coloured up. Unfortunately, not long after this picture was taken, the tree started to grow again, so now it's hard to see the recurvatas in all their glory.

Aechmea recurvata

As well as the basic Aechmea recurvata there are also other forms and hybrids. Probably the most popular form after the one pictured above is Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii. This is a smaller plant and also comes in different forms and colours. I have two different forms which are shown below.

Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii - This is the most prolific plant I have and grows and flowers very easily.

Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii (Dark Form) - This is another form which is much darker than the others but it is also a bit slower growing. It does however have an interesting feature; it changes colour as it ages. The plants In the picture below haven't been in flower for very long.

Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii (Dark form) - As it ages the colour of the leaves becomes darker as seen below.

Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii (Dark form) - Once the flowers are finished, the foliage becomes even darker still, and looks almost black. Not everyone's "cup of tea" but certainly something different.

Aechmea 'Aztec Gold' - This attractive variegated form is another which is very popular. It started life as a sport of Aechmea recurvata and has an interesting history See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=AECHMEA&id=32#32

There have been many hybrids bred from Aechmea recurvata with over one hundred being registered.

Aechmea recurvata 'Blushing Pineapple' was the name on this attractive hybrid when I bought it but unfortunately, it's unregistered. This doesn't in any way detract from its beauty but it makes it impossible to trace the parentage.

The following pictures are of hybrids I've bred using Aechmea recurvata as a parent. The first few were bred from Aechmea recurvata x Aechmea caudata, and it's very interesting to see just how different they look to each other even though the seed all came from the same seed capsule - The names are the names I registered them, under.

Aechmea 'Little Surprise' - This is a much smaller plant than any of the others and is only half the size of the usual Aechmea recurvata.

Aechmea 'Apricot Torch' - Although the leaves don't have the brilliant orange colour the beauty of this plant is in the flowers.

Aechmea 'Rocklow Gold' although a bit different again, is another hybrid from the same batch of seed.

I've reached to limit of pictures I can post so I'll continue my recurvata post tomorrow.

All the best, Nev