Bromeliad Cultivar Register (12689) 2015-02-16

*VRIESEA ‘Kent's Surprise’*	? / Butcher D*	<1975
On 6 April 1997 Peter Huddy in Adelaide, South Australia got a so-called "seedling" from Queensland, labelled Viminalis-Rex x malzinei. Derek & Margaret Butcher acquired the plant in 2000 and their plant has just flowered 15 years later. It appears to have come from The Olive Branch Nursery (Brisbane) and Olive Trevor thinks she got the plant from Kent’s nursery in California under parentage many years ago. Although the label says "seedling" Derek feels sure it was a small offset. Olive is still growing it. What is interesting is that this plant was offered under this formula in Kent's catalogue 1979 for US$20 (today’s relative value over US$60). It was certainly a surprise to see an inflorescence after 15 years but Olive assures me it flowers more often under better growing conditions! Butchers' plant is 60 cms in diameter and 35 cms. high. The mid-green leaves are 4 cms wide and the rosette base has reddish overtones. The erect single spike (often branched with regular feeding, as per the seed parent) with crimson red bracts and creamy yellow flowers is 80 cms high . The fertile section is 45 cms long. Reg Doc 2/2015 by D Butcher. Postscript 2/2015 by G. Lawn. According to Victoria Padilla's book "The Colorful Bromeliads--Their Infinite Variety (1981), pp.48.49: "Vriesea 'Viminalis-Rex x malzinei is a recent introduction from Europe to America....whose origin is uncertain". Country of origin: Europe
Seed Parent: Viminalis-Rex	Pollen Parent: malzinei