Aechmea

From Gardenology.org - Plant Encyclopedia and Gardening Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search


Aechmea fasciata inflorescence


Plant Characteristics
Habit   bromeliad

Lifespan: perennial
Origin: Mexico to S America
Cultivation
Exposure: part-sun
Sunset Zones: 22-27, or indoors
Scientific Names

Bromeliaceae >

Aechmea >


If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!


Aechmea is a genus of the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae. The name comes from the Greek “aichme” (a spear). Aechmea has 8 subgenera and 255 species distributed from Mexico through South America. Most of the species in this genus are epiphytes.


Read about Aechmea in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

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.

Culture same as Billbergia.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


Cultivation

Do you have cultivation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Grow in shady spot with great air circulation. Soil should retain water, and be watered when dry to touch. Water should be poured into cups of leaves regularly. Can be grown in soil, pots, moss in the crotch of trees.

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Species

Aechmea has 8 subgenera and 255 species

Subgenera:

Species:


Read about Aechmea in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 
  • A. aurantiaca, Baker~Canistrum aurantiacum.
  • A. Barleei, Baker. Corolla pale yellow. Honduras.
  • A. brasiliensis, Regel. Lvs. rauch dilated at base, whitish below, black-toothed: petals light blue: calyx and rachis red: panicle branched. Brazil.
  • A. bromeliaefolia. Baker. Dense spike: Lvs. whitish below, 3-4 ft. long, serrate or spinescent: fls. light yellow. S. Amer.
  • A. Cornui, Carr.~A. nudicaulis.
  • A. Drakeana, Andre. Lvs. whitish, finely dentate: spike simple and lax; fls. long-tubular, light blue; bracts and ovaries coral-red: berries rose, becoming blue. S. Amer.
  • A. exsudans, Morr.~Gravisia exsudans.
  • A. Furstenbergii, Morr.~Streptocalyx Furstenbergii.
  • A. gigas, Morr. Floral lvs. crimson: fls. in a dense infl.; sepals white, lepidote; corolla pale green. Brazil.
  • A. glomerata, Hook.~Hohenbergia stellata, Schult.
  • A. Hystrix, Morr. Lvs. lepidote, whitish, crowded: spike oblong, dense; fls. purple, tomentose. Guiana.
  • A. lavandulacea, C. H. Wright. Fls. distichous, paniculate, the sepals awned. green, the petals deep violet. Grenada. B.M. 8005.
  • A. macracantha, Brongn. ~A. Schiedeana.
  • A. Melinonii, Hook. Panicle 3-pinnate, dense; petals bright red: lvs. spiny. 1 1/2-2 ft. Guiana.
  • A. mexicana, Baker. Lvs. long and large, fine-toothed: panicle 2-pinnate. long and lax, the peduncles mealy; petals crimson. Mex.
  • A. miniata, Hort.~Bilibergia thyrsoidea(?).
  • A. myriophylla, Morr. Allied to A. distichantha. Lvs, narrow, 2-3 ft., spiny, silvery-scaly on the back: fls. red, the petals fading blue. Trop. Amer. B.M. 6939.
  • A. nudicaulis. Griseo. Lvs. long and straight, brown-toothed: bract-lvs. subtending: spike large, brilliant red; petals yellow. Trop. Amer. R.H. 1885:36 (as A. Cornui, which is a form with shorter and denser spike).
  • A. paniculigera, Griseb. Lvs. large and long: panicle 1-2 ft. long, with few-fld. branches: scape tall, reddish, downy; fls. purple. Trop. Amer.
  • A. Schiedeana, Schlecht. (A. macracantha. Brongn.). Lvs. large, rigid, strongly armed: panicle 3-pinnate, pubescent: fls. pale yellow. Mex. Gt. 43 p. 175.
  • A. serrata, Mez. Panicle very dense, bipinnate; fls. distichous, sessile; sepals spinulose; petals violet, mucronate. Martinique.
  • A. zebrina~Billbergia zebrina.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


Gallery

References


External links