I'll take a stab and say Ae. eurycorymbus.
-andy

I dunno.....my gut says no to eury, Andy. It may have the size, but the color, texture and form are off. I'm hesitant to even guess without seeing a flower, though. There are too many possibilities and it's a bit too shaded to show its full potential, but I'm getting more of a mexicana, mariae-reginae or even Andr. skinneri sort of vibe.

Hi Guys

Huge call with-out a flower spike, seems as we are not putting a sheep station on it, I hope, I'd call it a Androlaechmea, possibly Sampson.

Hold the bets till it flowers.

Pinkbroms

Hi Guys

Brod, I forgot to ask, is your Ae. dealbata Fireman Sam or is it Ae. esseriana.

Pinkbroms

Yeah, on second look the rosette's form is nice and open. I mis-read the part about being in the shade. But in the shade mexicana wouldn't have a blush, right? Okay, I don't have any more wild guesses. Always fun to have a mystery!
-andy

I'd say Ae paniculigera.

Pinkbroms, Here is a photo of the Dealbata clump. I'm assuming it is dealbata species but you could be right with 'Fireman Sam'. What do you think. I forgot to say at the begining this not my garden but I was interested in the big brom.

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Hi Brod

Probably Fireman Sam, it has a larger spike/head than dealbata.

Pinkbroms

Thanks all for your coments. I see this semi regularly so I'll post a photo when it flowers.

Just adding my thoughts on the mystery brom.

At this stage, and considering the shade-grown aspect, I think it could be Androlepis skinneri. I have grown one in a fairly shaded spot, and it looked very similar to the plant in question - including those small, close-set spines typical of skinneri.
Is that a recent photo Brod? The reason I ask is that I find skinneri usually colours more on its leaf ends in its flowering season (early to mid winter in Australia), and at the same time in earlier years, pre-flowering. I have a lovely one, grown in brighter light, which is flowering at the moment. Almost all of the leaves have coloured a glowing bronze-red on the upper surface.

If not the species, I'm with Ross in thinking it could be a bigeneric hybrid - and most-likely with And. skinneri as a parent. Ross - do you know if xAndrolaechmea Sampson is grown in Australia?

There is another bigeneric which it might be, growing in a few larger, established collections in the Brisbane area. John Catlan grows it, and brought a shade-grown, flowering specimen to one of our Gold Coast soc. meetings a while back. It was so big, I had to view it in his old Kombi! I bought mine about 10 years ago from Olive T. It was labeled the same as John and Genny's - Androlepis skinneri x Ursulaea macvaughii. I have never been able to find any reference to such a cross. My first plant grew very large in light shade, and coloured reddish at the ends of its leaves, especially in winter, like the mystery brom. It was damaged badly in a freak frost before flowering, and now I have a large pup from it growing very slowly in my shade house. Its leaf ends have also coloured reddish. The small spines are set closely, but not quite as close as its skinneri parent.

Does anyone else know of, or grow a brom under the formula of Androlepis skinneri x Ursulaea macvaughii?

As already said, the mystery brom's ID should be revealed in its flowering.

K :)

Hi Guys

I bought a plant as Androlaechmea Sampson around 1998, I questioned the ID when it flowered, a couple of years ago I received a small pup, leaves 1 mtr plus, of skinneri x macvaughii which has not yet flowered so I haven't been able to compare the 2, I'm sure they are likely to be the same thing, but not Sampson.

Has anyone got a photo of skinneri x macvaughii, spike & flower.

Pinkbroms

Kerry,

This a recent photo. Below is a pic of an Androlepis skinneri in flower. It is growing not far from the mystery brom and in similar light. There are a couple of them and they are huge a lot bigger than nearby Alcantarea imperialis. Note the leaves are much stiffer that the mystery brom and lighter green and more blotchy.
I'll put in my two bobbs worth, what about an Aechmea 'Exotica Mystique'. I have never seen one except photos and maybe in the shade they are less red.

Androlepis skinneri nearby in similar light

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Brod