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Aechmea (from aichme, point; referring to the rigid points on the calyx). Bromeliaceae. Epiphytic herbs, of about sixty species, natives of tropical South America, grown in choice greenhouse collections.
Flower-cluster arising from a cluster or rosette of long, hard lvs. which are serrate; petals 3, tongue- shaped, obtuse or pointed, 2-3 times the length of the spine-pointed calyx-lobes; stamens 6, shorter than the petals; ovary inferior, 3-celled. The fls. are subtended by (in the axils of) fl.-bracts; the entire head or fl.- cluster is often reinforced or subtended by conspicuous lf.-bracts; in the compound-infl. types, the individual branches are usually subtended by branch-bracts. In some species, as A. Lalindei and A. Mariae-Reginae, the large colored lf.-bracts are the most conspicuous part of the plant. In others, as A. Veitchii, the entire head is the showy part. Monogr. by Baker, Journ. Bot. 1879:129, 161,226. Includes Canistrum, Echinostachys, Hohenbergia, Hoplophytum, Lamprococcus, Pironneava, Pothuava; and some of the species have been referred to Billbergia, Cryptanthus, Guzmannia, Tillandsia, Chevaliera, and others.
The aechmeas are closely allied to the billbergias, from which they are distinguished by smaller flowers, which are little exserted from the calyx and not widely expanding, short filaments and small anthers, sharp-pointed sepals and conspicuous sharp-pointed flower-bracts.
For culture, see Billbergia.
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