ORTHOPHYTUM ‘Red Frost’ | ? / Jim Pearce* | wild-collected circa 2009 | |
Mature large caulescent rosette to 75cm. diameter x 45cm. high in flower. In strong light, bright pink to burgundy, spiny leaves with heavily-scurfed edges and narrowly-tapering to a point. Erect, scurfed scape with green clustered fascicles of green bracts and white flowers. Wild-collected about 2009 by Rafael Oliveira in Ecoporanga, Espirito Santo, Brazil. Two leading bromeliad botanists disagree on its botanical status, so this cultivar name was chosen. Expert 1: "It looks like Orthophytum rubiginosum and the sparse pubescence of the leaves is not so important to influence in the identification." Expert 2: "I have seen these plants in the field and my hypothesis is that this plant is a natural hybrid between O. rubiginosum (= O. foliosum) and O magalhaesii. Both species can be found in the same place flowering at the same time." Reg. Doc. 5/2016 by Eloise Beach. Country of origin: Brazil | |||